33 replies to this topic

[DaBearSox]

What did you go through to get your job? Brewing Diploma? Knew Someone? Apprentice for awhile?

[earthtone]

Only worked for a few months so far but I can tell you you can get to the top as a labourer - filtering, kegging, bottling, cleaning, etc. If you want to brew then you're going to need formal training, otherwise get a foot in the door on a bottling shift and then stick it out. The turnover is pretty high on these kind of labour jobs and I know the guys at my brewery who are running the bottling machines and doing all the transfers etc. have no formal training in brewing and know less about the process than I do as a new homebrewer. The assistan brewer and head brewer both are highly trained however and do all the recipe formulation and the majority of the brewing - minus a bit of manual labour.The truth is much of the work at breweries - in fact almost the majority - is not brewing related and all you need is training as to the procedures involved and you can do the work. You are probably asking about the more skilled positions, though after working at a brewery my dreams of being a headbrewer someday are long gone. The two breweries I have seen inside and out, the headbrewer does more work organising shifts and fixing mechanical problems (microbrewery scale) than brewing and only brews once or twice a month. The brewing process for the assistant brewer is loooooong hours and tons of work, but more brewing so it would be more my thing.Anyways, sounds like you are more interested in a higher up brewing related position rather than simply a high labour position in a brewery but I thought I'd chime in with my experience. I'm sure the pro brewers on this forum can give you mroe info on what they went through to get where they are!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Man - I wish there was a risk free way for me to try out some pro brewing at a small place where a few guys do it all.

[DaBearSox]

Only worked for a few months so far but I can tell you you can get to the top as a labourer - filtering, kegging, bottling, cleaning, etc. If you want to brew then you're going to need formal training, otherwise get a foot in the door on a bottling shift and then stick it out. The turnover is pretty high on these kind of labour jobs and I know the guys at my brewery who are running the bottling machines and doing all the transfers etc. have no formal training in brewing and know less about the process than I do as a new homebrewer. The assistan brewer and head brewer both are highly trained however and do all the recipe formulation and the majority of the brewing - minus a bit of manual labour.The truth is much of the work at breweries - in fact almost the majority - is not brewing related and all you need is training as to the procedures involved and you can do the work. You are probably asking about the more skilled positions, though after working at a brewery my dreams of being a headbrewer someday are long gone. The two breweries I have seen inside and out, the headbrewer does more work organising shifts and fixing mechanical problems (microbrewery scale) than brewing and only brews once or twice a month. The brewing process for the assistant brewer is loooooong hours and tons of work, but more brewing so it would be more my thing.Anyways, sounds like you are more interested in a higher up brewing related position rather than simply a high labour position in a brewery but I thought I'd chime in with my experience. I'm sure the pro brewers on this forum can give you mroe info on what they went through to get where they are!

Great info....yea I am interested in higher up but would love to get my foot in the door as a laborer. Then as time rolls along save up enough money for formal training.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Man - I wish there was a risk free way for me to try out some pro brewing at a small place where a few guys do it all.

Zym, Don't you have any local microbreweries in your area? Why couldnt you go to a local and get on as a laborer and get to see how a brewery works and functions. I have a friend in the homebrew club that has worked a couple days a week on and off for a local micro. He gets free bags of grain for his efforts and help. I am thinking of doing it as well as I would like to seriously open a microbrewery here in the next 3-5 years. Then you can have some hands on experience.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Zym, Don't you have any local microbreweries in your area? Why couldnt you go to a local and get on as a laborer and get to see how a brewery works and functions. I have a friend in the homebrew club that has worked a couple days a week on and off for a local micro. He gets free bags of grain for his efforts and help. I am thinking of doing it as well as I would like to seriously open a microbrewery here in the next 3-5 years. Then you can have some hands on experience.

There is one pretty close by but the one time I went there I wasn't overly impressed. I may try it again to see how it is. Most of the small breweries are a bit of a drive away.

[tag]

Great info....yea I am interested in higher up but would love to get my foot in the door as a laborer. Then as time rolls along save up enough money for formal training.

Which part of Denver are you in? I dont' think we can walk a block or two without bumping into a brewpub! (Lucky us.) Make friends with the brewer at your local brewpub or microbrewery and ask to help out to see if you are interested in pursuing it further.

[DaBearSox]

Which part of Denver are you in? I dont' think we can walk a block or two without bumping into a brewpub! (Lucky us.) Make friends with the brewer at your local brewpub or microbrewery and ask to help out to see if you are interested in pursuing it further.

I live in city park west...I am about 2 blocks from the Vine St Pub, so literally I can walk 2 blocks and run into a brew pub...i am pretty sure they still do all their brewing down at their 2 places in boulder but I have herd they are trying to get licenses and such to start brewing on site there....so i need to work some angle, i dont know the brewers though...I have a friend that works at the Mountain Sun in boulder so i may try to get a hold of him, or write them a letter or something, should have some time on my hands pretty soon with an impending layoff.

[drewseslu]

Lots of homebrewing and hanging around the breweries/brewpubs in the early days. I would frequently stop by for yeast and bring in some samples of what I had brewed recently.The first job I got, however, was not at a brewery I had frequented as much as others, but my name had been passed around enough that when a position opened, I got the call.Having spent so much time hanging around the breweries, I had nearly an apprenticeship that way, and the background in chemistry didn't hurt either.Once I got my foot it door, things sort of took on a life of their own...

[MolBasser]

I went through the UC Davis Master Brewers Program.BrewBasser

[denny]

A good friend just started brewing for Rogue. He is a microbiologist by training and spent years doing that for a living. He has been a homebrewer for probably 10-15 years. No formal brewing training, had never brewed on a commercial system til he started there.

[Salsgebom]

I homebrewed for 6 years and spent 2 of those working at the homebrew shop. There I met a lot of local brewers and all the folks opening new breweries. I volunteered at a place locally and decided to take Siebels WBA course. Once I returned, I contacted one of the new breweries and got another volunteer gig. I worked nearly full time for free for about 4 months under the head brewer. Over time I became the guy with the ideas and started revamping the entire process. I proposed all kinds of additions to the brewery and I was the one to build them and learn how they work. I saved the brewery from putting out an infected batch and convinced them to dump and recall a lot of beer, at which point I enforced a much more strict cleaning regime. After some drama and politics, they fired the head brewer and hired me. Now I run the show and they pay me very nicely for a brewers wage. I finally got to brew one of my own recipes 2 days ago, an APA that maxes out both malt and hop character for the style- very balanced. I will be pouring beer at the Broyhill festival in Boone here in a couple hours. Anyone going?

[Big Nake]

What's the likelihood that someone without formal training would get a head-brewer gig? My assumption is that the likelihood goes down as the size of the place goes up... just thinking out loud. The other question for you professional brewers: Do you think it's crazy for someone without formal training to open a brewpub and become the head brewer there?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

What's the likelihood that someone without formal training would get a head-brewer gig? My assumption is that the likelihood goes down as the size of the place goes up... just thinking out loud. The other question for you professional brewers: Do you think it's crazy for someone without formal training to open a brewpub and become the head brewer there?

Yesterday one of my friends again is asking when I'm opening the brewery - I always just laugh. On the inside I'm wondering though...

[Salsgebom]

What's the likelihood that someone without formal training would get a head-brewer gig? My assumption is that the likelihood goes down as the size of the place goes up... just thinking out loud. The other question for you professional brewers: Do you think it's crazy for someone without formal training to open a brewpub and become the head brewer there?

I'd say you're right about the likelihood going down the larger the brewery is.. as it should. There's a lot at stake and a larger brewery can easily hire someone with the right education and experience for the job. There are so many factors in commercial brewing that homebrewing will never expose you to. Getting into the appropriate commercial brewing mindset is crucial for upkeeping quality, which was one of the better things I gained from Siebel. Be anal about everything, and be aware that everything makes a difference. There is no such thing as 'close enough', and there's no such thing as 'fixing' a batch. If there is just one person in the brewery (brewer, sanitation crew, QC and QA, managers, cellarmen) who is not following a solid scientific process, then quality goes to shit. Brewery design is critical. Every pathway, if too long or too short, too wide or too skinny, vertical when it should be horizontal, etc etc etc will be a make or break. And it's tricky because you may not have problems with a poor design until you make a subtle change like using a different brand of malt or running something at a slightly different temperature. The brewing process is a chain with hundreds of links and one design or process failure means a broken chain. It's necessary to discover what the industry has already learned thus far (education) and combine that with extensive personal experience to build or run a proper brewery. It's unwise to be any less prepared.

[RommelMagic]

Yesterday one of my friends again is asking when I'm opening the brewery - I always just laugh. On the inside I'm wondering though...

One of my neighbors and his wife keeps asking me why I don't open a brewpub in town too. If I had the money I'd definitely do it even though I don't have a great deal of experience. And when I say money, I mean money that i could afford to throw away should the place sink for one reason or another.EDIT: and a lot of people ask me if i sell my brew too. I wish I could

Edited by RommelMagic, 06 September 2009 - 09:51 AM.

[ncbeerbrewer]

One of my neighbors and his wife keeps asking me why I don't open a brewpub in town too. If I had the money I'd definitely do it even though I don't have a great deal of experience. And when I say money, I mean money that i could afford to throw away should the place sink for one reason or another.EDIT: and a lot of people ask me if i sell my brew too. I wish I could

Even though I really wanna open a microbrewery and know a couple of others that do too here its funny because people ask me if I sell my homebrew too. I agree wish I could for sure.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Even though I really wanna open a microbrewery and know a couple of others that do too here its funny because people ask me if I sell my homebrew too. I agree wish I could for sure.

It's really too bad there isn't an easy to way to transition from home brewer to pro brewer. It would be nice to be able to make some batches at home and have them served at a local beer bar and get some feed back. Or someone who really like brewing could get a substantial enough setup at home to make some big batches every once in a while to sell.

[ncbeerbrewer]

It's really too bad there isn't an easy to way to transition from home brewer to pro brewer. It would be nice to be able to make some batches at home and have them served at a local beer bar and get some feed back. Or someone who really like brewing could get a substantial enough setup at home to make some big batches every once in a while to sell.

I am not sure but in doing some research into the idea of opening a microbrewery I thought I read somewhere that in PA you can have your homebrew served in a bar or restaurant? I believe it was still true that you could not be compensated for it but you could get feedback and see how quickly your beer got consumed. Anyone here from PA able to confirm that idea?

[tag]

I live in city park west...I am about 2 blocks from the Vine St Pub, so literally I can walk 2 blocks and run into a brew pub...i am pretty sure they still do all their brewing down at their 2 places in boulder but I have herd they are trying to get licenses and such to start brewing on site there....so i need to work some angle, i dont know the brewers though...I have a friend that works at the Mountain Sun in boulder so i may try to get a hold of him, or write them a letter or something, should have some time on my hands pretty soon with an impending layoff.

Cool. I live on the 700 block of Marion. Maybe you're the guy I smell brewing sometimes? Wonder how far that aroma travels.Definitely check with your friend at Mountain Sun. The Vine Street Pub plans to get a brewery in there, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet.