If you could work in the beer industry

9 to 19 years left in the Navy and I will be between 37 and 47 getting a check forever. I plan on mooching off of the wife (Japanese lawyer) for a few years and then starting a brewery/tiki bar on some small island in the pacific where I don't have to bother with a seasonal winter brews! Haven't informed the significant other of this plan yet but I am sure she will see it my way.....hopefully.

So I had my interview last night, it went very well, the first thing he asked me was is if I wanted a beer! You gotta respect that. Anyway I got the job I start part time tomorrow and then will phase into full time within the next month or so. I'm really looking forward to what sounds like a great future in the beverage/homebrew industry.

Man I got to say working in a homebrew supply store is intense! I think it's going to take quite a long time before I feel comfortable there, on the bright side a bought $85 worth the beer for $60 last night. I have a lot of drinking, I mean homework to do

When I took a course at Brewlab in the UK a few years ago I got to work at their micro brewery (Darwin Brewery) for a couple of days.. I basically did everything the head brewer did over the course of a brewday. I recall that about 90% of that involved cleaning things (tuns, fermentors, casks, etc.) Basically what we do as homebrewers but on a much larger and more back-braking scale (it was tough!) Really a manual labour/ factory type of job, at least at that level. Having said that, spending the workday with the aromas of boiling hops and mashing grains is pretty tough to beat..

farmbrewernw said:

-on the bright side a bought $85 worth the beer for $60 last night. I have a lot of drinking, I mean homework to do

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At least your enjoying your homework.

I have a long way to go before I can afford to do anything like this, when people ask me about my retire plans I usually answer "Being a dirty old man".
And let me tell you the study program for that is really tough.
Best of luck to you but please do not loose sight of long term issues such as savings, staying debt free, etc. I sure can't predict the future but I think we are going to see continued inflation and a pretty poor overall economy for a while and you don't want to be caught short.

Kauai_Kahuna said:

At least your enjoying your homework.

I have a long way to go before I can afford to do anything like this, when people ask me about my retire plans I usually answer "Being a dirty old man".
And let me tell you the study program for that is really tough.
Best of luck to you but please do not loose sight of long term issues such as savings, staying debt free, etc. I sure can't predict the future but I think we are going to see continued inflation and a pretty poor overall economy for a while and you don't want to be caught short.

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True I am really worried about the savings part, that is maybe the only thing that still doesn't have me sold that I should take this as a full time job. I think I would be just as miserable if I was in trouble with my finances as I am with my current job.

Hey,
Just thought I'd share my 2 cents on this. I'm 23, and have been working in a local homebrew supply shop here in Newfoundland for 4 years now, and making all-grain beer throughout. I did it part-time while going to school. Thankfully my parents had enough money to pay for my B.A. so I am now debt-free and hopefully attending the Siebel Institute to do the diploma program in February of '09. I am also getting an apprenticeship type thing at a local microbrewery in September and am very excited to pursue a career in the brewing industry. It truly seems like a bit of a glamorous, although hard work is required, job. In any case, good luck at the homebrew shop, it's a great gig. All you gotta do is talk about your hobby all day!

I am a brewer, been only part time since January but just started a full time assistant job today, and I have to say, especially for assistants, there is very little glamor to it at all. It is fun, I love brewing, but it never really feels glamorous.

Congrats on your apprenticeship. If you have realistic views about brewing, a hard worker, a good cleaner, you will do great. The job isn't for everybody, but those people who it IS for, it is a damn good job to have. Drinking a pint or two of the results of your hard work after a long, hot day is really really nice.

So yeah I gave it a go and well I gotta say while I enjoyed the concept of being engrossed in home-brewing all day I don't think retail is for me. So I have decided to stay with my current job in engineering and save my money up for the next year to possibly go back to school and do something I truly enjoy. I could see myself being a brewer cause I like doing grunt work but dealing with a constant flow of customers is overwhelming. The other thing is that I would say that 98% of the business I did related to home-brewing was extract brewing (nothing wrong with that at all mind you) and no one had any challenging questions, a lot of customers were in fact people that bought a beginners brewing kit that I knew would probably make one batch and then never do it again. I don't think I would have learned a great deal about brewing as much as just selling overpriced gizmos that I really wanted to tell the customers how to make themselves. You'd be surprised how many people didn't even think of using the internet as a resource, I told a few younger guys just getting into home-brewing to check this place out, I hope they give it a go cause this place is great.

26 years old is still a young age. No debt, no kids...Why not go for it. Make sure that your wife is down with this or that could cause big problems down the road. Your engineering background will probably help you down the road as well...
Good Luck !

EamusCatuli said:

Life, she is a mother fudger.

Im currently going to college in a major I dont want to be in at all. I really wanted to be a pilot my first year but couldnt afford the extra tuition. I would go back in a heartbeat and take the extra debt. Now im stuck doing BS insternships, taking BS classes, and working BS jobs. Im a senior at Illinois right now and my dad thinks im looking up Grad Schools to get my masters (again for something I dont enjoy at all). I even took the damned GRE, but what my paps doesnt know is that im really looking to go to brew college and get a degree in that and live my life being a professional brewer.

However, I dont even know where to start going about changing my life so radically....

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Wow...that is pretty much my exact situation. Except I haven't taken the GRE yet. I'm a senior at South Carolina and get all my school work out of the way so I have time to brew. Just wish brewers got paid a little more so it would look comparable to what I am majoring in(at least for my parents sake). I'm with you man...its a tough decision.

good for you for at least taking the step to try it and have the courage to consider walking away from a well paying job. sorry the retail aspect didn't work out for you.