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hans_shu_east_gluff

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So I have no formal training, no school, no experience other than at home. But I have been brewing for a while and have tried a little bit of everything as far as home brewing goes. Maybe even more so than some, (tried malting my own barley for a while and drying/roasting it for all-grain recipes)

I emailed a brewery in an area I plan to move to in the near future. The head brewer got back to me and confirmed that they don't hire a lot because they are a smaller brewery but requested my resume and cover letter anyways.

My question it: What kind of things should I talk about in my cover letter? What are important points and things to really stress about my brewing experience? I am in love with brewing and want to go commercial in order to gain experience. I know breweries don't pay well and the work can be hard. I'm an all-year round roofer in Canada, a brewery would be easier (physically) and a step up for me in pay. Any help at all would be appreciated. Its been so long since I have had to modify my resume or write a cover letter.
 
Stress how much you love to clean, work hard, and wear rubber boats. Mention how strong you are, and how you can wield a shovel to muck out mash tuns. :D

I'm joking, but not really. At that level, brewing is about 1% of the job while hard, backbreaking work with a good attitude is 99% of it.

Even the brewmaster walks around in rubber boots, with a canoe paddle for a mash paddle, and works their butt off. It's HARD work.

I have one friend who owns his own Nano, and he's the hardest working guy I know. One of my friends is the brewer at a brewpub, and he works just as hard. Carrying around sacks of malt, emptying mashtuns, cleaning, sanitizing, etc is the bulk of the work.

For your cover letter, I'd be clear that you're not romanticizing working in a brewery, but instead really willing to put in a hard day for being able to work in the field.

Roofing is probably much easier in many many ways, and definitely pays more than working in a brewery as a brewery rat.
 
Good points. I definitely don't have a romantic vision of working in a brewery. I know the kind of work I am up against. That's a great idea to mention in my cover letter. I'm not really concerned with pay. I'm near the poverty line and would trade cold outside work on a roof in a heartbeat. More with having experience and maybe some form of education at the end that I can use.
 
Yeah, you should definitely stress how much you understand how tough the work is going to be and also stress how you're used to hard work, but you'd like a shot at being a part of a company that produces good beer that people like to drink. You should give him the impression that you're going to take pride in your work.
 
The probably get inquiries all the time that say "I am a homebrewer and I want to work commerically. I will work really hard etc etc.".

Try to find something distinctive about yourself that sets you apart.
 
I work as the brewer for a small brewpub and Yooper hit it spot on. It is constant cleaning and heavy lifting interrupted by brewing ocassionally.
 
All of the above, plus it would do you well to get in with a local brewing club and basically live at the tap room of said breweries. Most positions that open up at nano brews (from my experience) are more about who you know than your actual skill level.

That being said, it's still amazing to me why there are so many breweries still opening up with the current popularity surge. Most produce a mediocre product at best, and about one in 100 actually make a beer that's unique or truly magical.

I'm waiting for the beer bubble to burst so that I can snitch up some cheap large scale used brewing gear.
 
Can't reiterate what the guys above be have said: it's hot, it's sweaty, it smells of chemicals when cleaning, but at the end of the day it's the most fun I have.

Honestly, you should be 100% willing to volunteer your time for a few weeks or a couple months. You admittedly have no experience, no commercial brewing experience, and these guys will have to train you. Be open to working for free until you're trained and offer some value to the brewery. After all, we do this for the love, not the money. And you might just find a couple full fermenters coming your way if you're volunteering.
 
Lol as in I have no chance or lol because I'm insane for wanting this kind of work so badly?

lol as in everybody and their brother on here wants to do this, until they realize how hard it is to get the job and how hard the work is.
Homebrewing does not equal commercial brewing.
Search the threads and you'll see dozens of similar ones to this one. A variation on the theme, too, is the "I want to open my own brewery" thread.
Good luck.
 
Can't reiterate what the guys above be have said: it's hot, it's sweaty, it smells of chemicals when cleaning, but at the end of the day it's the most fun I have.

Honestly, you should be 100% willing to volunteer your time for a few weeks or a couple months. You admittedly have no experience, no commercial brewing experience, and these guys will have to train you. Be open to working for free until you're trained and offer some value to the brewery. After all, we do this for the love, not the money. And you might just find a couple full fermenters coming your way if you're volunteering.

This says it all. Get in there, do the dirty work to help them out, prove you can do the work. Worst case, if they don't end up hiring you, you could probably use them as a reference when you were to move to a paying gig. Nothing says I'll bust my butt for you more than busting your butt for free.
 
That being said, it's still amazing to me why there are so many breweries still opening up with the current popularity surge. Most produce a mediocre product at best, and about one in 100 actually make a beer that's unique or truly magical.

I guess it depends on where you live.
 
Print your cover letter on a beer label and put it on one of your homebrews. Mail it with your resume. Call them after some time has passed and ask for a critique. Hopefully someone will have the balls, or clitoris, to try it. Might give you a moment in breaking the ice a little more comfortable.e
 
You know what? If that is what you want to do, then go for it. You will probably make $12 an hour and be indoors, but you will be in the brewing business. I would emphasize; labor intensive is not a problem, detail oriented and attention to detail is your personality. You don't often find those two traits in one person. People think they are hard workers until they swing a hammer all day.
 
If you haven't already start volunteering at local breweries on your day off. I have worked a ton of tours at one brewery as that is all they let volunteers do, but I have worked many a day in another local brewery doing the labor. I've spent full days washing kegs, lifting grain bags to mill grain, cleaning mash tuns, scrubbing the outside of fermenters, and a little bit of brewing. I'd love to do it commercially, but unless I own it I can't take that kind of pay cut. It is a ton of work and my body hurts after a day at the brewery, but it is a blast, my mantra at work is "I'd rather be washing kegs."
 
Dittos, best way to get "hired" anywhere when you have 0 experience is tell them you'll work for free, "X" many hours per week, at whatever jobs they have.
They'll probably at least hire you on to get the grunt labour done, even the lowest expectation on their part is they'll get a few dozen grunt hours out of you for free.

Some formal education certainly can't hurt, I don't know what kind of part time or college courses are offered in your area but maybe something is available.
 
Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm starting to get a sense that I might fall out of love with brewing if I work at a brewery. That's based on a lot of your experiences at least. I kind of like the idea of volunteering or working part time to see if its the kind of job I could do and prove myself that way.

I appreciate all the comments so far. I'm in no particular rush at the moment. Getting a job would be life changing. Partially because of brewing but mostly because I'd have to move to a new city in a new area with no guarantees of success. You all helped me put a few things in perspective. I think I am going to go make a stout and ponder...
 
Go in and talk to some of the employees...brewmasters, cellarmen, packaging manager...

I got a job at one of (arguably) the best breweries in the country just by getting into a conversation with one of the managers at an event. I had no experience. I started at the bottom, packaging...but was offered opportunities to move up relatively quickly.

Granted, I guess this all depends on the scenario of the brewery you're trying to work at...for me it was one of the fastest growing in the country. If you're able, try to seek out a scenario like that.

It is very hard work for little pay...it's also a hell of a lot of fun and at the very least you will learn some valuable things and most importantly, you'll come in contact with a lot of important people in the industry.
 
Print your cover letter on a beer label and put it on one of your homebrews. Mail it with your resume. Call them after some time has passed and ask for a critique. Hopefully someone will have the balls, or clitoris, to try it. Might give you a moment in breaking the ice a little more comfortable.e

You know that may have been meant as a joke (my sarcasm meter is off in this place a bit) but I like this idea, I might put it to use in my own search down the road.
 
FYI - a lot of companies (not just breweries) will not let people work for free. It's a huge liability, especially when manual labor is involved. They are responsible for anyone working on the floor (paid or unpaid) and if you were to cause harm to yourself, someone else, or expensive equipment the onus is on them to compensate for the incident. They might let you wash kegs, but probably not much else.
 
FYI - a lot of companies (not just breweries) will not let people work for free. It's a huge liability, especially when manual labor is involved. They are responsible for anyone working on the floor (paid or unpaid) and if you were to cause harm to yourself, someone else, or expensive equipment the onus is on them to compensate for the incident. They might let you wash kegs, but probably not much else.

Agree, I was thinking about the "free labor" aspect when I made my post, but I still say it's worth offering though. It's not like he is an experienced brewmaster who is selling himself short, they'll understand he's trying to get his foot in the door. The offer of working for free, might tell them he is dedicated to making this a career path. Maybe they could end up hiring him at minimum wage or get him into an intern program with them, which are rarely paid. I think at the very least, putting the offer out there, shows you want the job.
 
FYI - a lot of companies (not just breweries) will not let people work for free. It's a huge liability, especially when manual labor is involved. They are responsible for anyone working on the floor (paid or unpaid) and if you were to cause harm to yourself, someone else, or expensive equipment the onus is on them to compensate for the incident. They might let you wash kegs, but probably not much else.

Around here a lot of them allow you to volunteer time, granted we only have two fair sized breweries (both micros) and a few brewpubs/nanos but they allow it. From my understanding it is not an "everyone gets to" kind of thing but they do allow it to happen regularly and it is an excellent way to get your foot in the door and a great reputation in such a small industry.
 
One thing you'll find at most breweries with a taproom is that the brew staff will sit and have a few beers after their shift. Show up at the bar regularly, if they have one, and wait for the right opportunity to strike up a conversation and give them a 6-pack of some impressive homebrew. Stop by every few days and just talk to them without being too annoying. Then once they have some confidence in your knowledge, find out when they're brewing next and just show up with beer. Ask if you can just hang out and watch. Ask lots of (good) questions without being annoying and if they're comfortable with you being there, pick up a squeegee and start on the floors.

Sending in a resume will do nothing if you don't have credentials and they don't know you. So make sure they can put a face to the resume.
 
I guess it depends on where you live.

In a thriving craft beer market with no fewer than ten nanos/pubs in 50 square miles from my house. Two of which produce consistently great beers, the rest produce mediocrity.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm starting to get a sense that I might fall out of love with brewing if I work at a brewery. That's based on a lot of your experiences at least. I kind of like the idea of volunteering or working part time to see if its the kind of job I could do and prove myself that way.

I appreciate all the comments so far. I'm in no particular rush at the moment. Getting a job would be life changing. Partially because of brewing but mostly because I'd have to move to a new city in a new area with no guarantees of success. You all helped me put a few things in perspective. I think I am going to go make a stout and ponder...

Yes. Why ruin a much loved hobby doing someone else's grunt work. As an example, my Wife owns a restaurant and has worked in that industry for well over 30 years. It's a chain and their recipes are set in granite. No variation allowed. Guess what, she HATES to cook. All of the day in, day out cooking for the restaurant has drained any and all passion and enjoyment out of cooking for her. Luckily, I do all of the cooking at home.

Now, I do love to brew. I love crafting and dialing in my own small batch recipes to perfection and sharing my beers with the LHBC, entering them into competitions, hanging out with my brew friends, learning everything I can and generally enjoying the **** out of the hobby. I have seen what happens to members of our LHBC that have delusions of grandeur and either go to work for a micro or raise the capital for their own operation. I'll pass. I love my hobby too much for all of that. The most i've done, and will do, are upscaling my recipes on a micro's equipment just because the head brewer likes my beer and wants to do a guest session.

One thing you'll find at most breweries with a taproom is that the brew staff will sit and have a few beers after their shift. Show up at the bar regularly, if they have one, and wait for the right opportunity to strike up a conversation and give them a 6-pack of some impressive homebrew. Stop by every few days and just talk to them without being too annoying. Then once they have some confidence in your knowledge, find out when they're brewing next and just show up with beer. Ask if you can just hang out and watch. Ask lots of (good) questions without being annoying and if they're comfortable with you being there, pick up a squeegee and start on the floors.

Sending in a resume will do nothing if you don't have credentials and they don't know you. So make sure they can put a face to the resume.

See? This will be your best in-roads to a local brewery. Live at the taproom, join a LHBC, brew quality homebrew and share it with them. Befriend them. Then, when a position opens up, your name will be the first that comes up.
 
Maybe you can look at it like any other trade: are you looking for a job or a career.
I suspect in the case of brewing there's a significant distinction, a job probably isn't what your looking for whereas a career requires time, money and commitment to pursue it wherever the opportunities are. Careers usually take fare more investment and risk, generally speaking.
 
lol as in everybody and their brother on here wants to do this, until they realize how hard it is to get the job and how hard the work is.
Homebrewing does not equal commercial brewing.
Search the threads and you'll see dozens of similar ones to this one. A variation on the theme, too, is the "I want to open my own brewery" thread.
Good luck.

Actually Id say half the people are in my camp and have no interest in turning their hobby into a job.


@ the op. Dont overthink it.

Keep is as simple as:

I am interested in beer and brewing
Understand the basics as I have been homebrewing for x years
Currently have a physically demanding job
Know what a hard days work is and show up on time/sober.

My dad always said their is an abscence of excellence in every field.

Not as a pessimistic statement about the world, but a positive one, as in you can fill the void.

I am sure they get all sorts of people that say they "love beer" ect...but that doesnt mean they are good workers.
 
So I have a lot to think about. I'm at a weird point in my life and I'm glad I asked here. I may have done something rash like quit my current job and move to a bigger city with a brewery in it. From looking online, brew master apprentices make about the same I do now, brew masters only a bit more. Having a mortgage and some student loan debt, may not be a career path for me...

Having said that. School probably won't help me. I noticed a school (relatively) near me has a partnership with Niagara College starting in Sept 2013.

http://www.oldscollege.ca/programs/Horticulture/Brewmasters 2013.pdf

Don't know if anyone has attended Niagara but sounds like a brewing career is more in who you know than what piece of paper you have on your wall. Thoughts?
 
I agree. You're more likely to get hired by knowing a head brewer who you've made a great impression on than having a degree. Once you talk to enough people in the industry, you'll find that sometimes people who just graduated from prominent programs like UCDavis have never even made a single batch of beer and couldn't really tell you much about brewing. It's pretty shocking actually.

But having said that, the final decisions are generally up to the owners, not the brewers.
 
Having said that. School probably won't help me. I noticed a school (relatively) near me has a partnership with Niagara College starting in Sept 2013.

http://www.oldscollege.ca/programs/Horticulture/Brewmasters 2013.pdf

Don't know if anyone has attended Niagara but sounds like a brewing career is more in who you know than what piece of paper you have on your wall. Thoughts?

I have heard that the Niagara brewing program has a good reputation. When I toured the Adnams brewery, one of there brew guys told me that a few of their employees came from the Niagara Program.

*Edit* However, I should say that most brewmaster's from breweries that I know of have at least a master's in microbiology.
 
Don't know if anyone has attended Niagara but sounds like a brewing career is more in who you know than what piece of paper you have on your wall. Thoughts?

That's the way it is in every field. Except perhaps high turn over common labor jobs (and even those are becoming slim pickings now-a-days).

Two questions I ask when I hire someone:
1.) Do they have the knowledge and ambition to do the work?
2.) Are they going to do what I ask of them without questioning/complaining?

Both of the above attributes usually end up fading over time and the person moves on. Sometimes they leave in a professional fashion and sometime not...

Hiring is mostly arbitrary. Even if you know someone, it's still arbitrary.

Be careful about volunteering to be a slave. That's not a good position to put yourself in.

If you're going to work for someone, make sure they pay you a fair days wage. A living wage. (Not very common in today's work environment.)

Finally, be careful of what you ask for, you just might get it.
 
Keep is as simple as:

I am interested in beer and brewing
Understand the basics as I have been homebrewing for x years
Currently have a physically demanding job
Know what a hard days work is and show up on time/sober.

For any potential job (not just in brewing) I would not mention I would show up on time and sober. That's an expectation for any job. Bringing it up would make the employer wonder, "Is there a reason this guy needs to point out his ability to read a clock and not get drunk before work?"

:)
 
Don't forget to tell them how much you love to drink beer when your olfactory senses and taste buds are most alert--the morning! Potential employers love to hear that almost as much as hiring people who are currently unemployed.
 
To piggy back on markm's and aip's comments... I don't work for a brewery, but I visited one in Ft. Worth in December for their Saturday "tour". I spoke with about 10 people who had "Brew Crew" shirts on and none of them were paid employees. To a person they told me they just hung out for the tours, got to know the folks there, and were asked to be part of their tour team. I did speak to an assistant brewer and he said they hire one or two of those folks a year.

Worth a shot!
 
Nightshade said:
You know that may have been meant as a joke (my sarcasm meter is off in this place a bit) but I like this idea, I might put it to use in my own search down the road.

Not a joke. I answered an ad for a machinist position by creating a resume that resembled a blueprint. It caught their eye enough to get me an interview. Standout and someone will notice you.
 
So, I am getting a lot of mixed messages here. Is it possible to make a career out of brewing? I would like to. I feel a bit deterred by the few negative comments. I like a hard days work. Nothing makes a beer taste better. But I have bills to pay. Is it possible?
 
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