Brewery Job

[cayergeau]

I'm looking to break into the world of brewing full time. This is the only thing that I've truly been passionate about, but I'm really stuck on the **** end of the stick, where it sounds like I need all sorts of expensive certifications and such to even have a chance of getting a job. Even if I were to get those, no programs that I've found have any openings until 2014 or so, and I can't last until then at my current job or income. Now I know that brewing isn't going to make me the next Bill Gates, but I just want to do something that's going to make me happy in life.

Does anyone have any suggestions at all as to how I can go about getting a job doing anything at a brewery for money?

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

Check out Probrewer.com classifieds and talk to every brewery you'd be willing to work for/drive to, good luck as many people are thinking the same thing. Some places want a degree of some sort, but many are happy with homebrewers or beer enthusiasts.

 

[cayergeau]

Thanks, I'll check that out now. Any advice from anyone that's perhaps working at a brewery or has a friend that does?

I realize that a lot of people are probably looking to get jobs in the industry, but I'm not just someone looking for a "cool" job. I'm actually interested and the fact that it's a cool job is just a major plus.

 

[gmcapone]

The head brewer at NOLA brewery offered to work for free for a while when she first started in the industry. With in I think a few weeks she got a paying job. Seems like the way to go in a lot of industries these days.

 

[Schemy]

If you have any local breweries, get to know the brewers there. I have two friends that were just hired by breweries with only homebrew experience. It was all because of the relationships they had built with the local breweries. Good luck.

 

[TyTanium]

Think hard about what you can offer the brewery. Working hard doesn't count. Everyone "is a hard worker" willing "to do whatever it takes to get their foot in the door."

Why should they hire you? Have an answer. Doesn't have to be something fancy like a degree. Just something that you offer that others don't.

 

[cayergeau]

gmcapone: do you happen to know if NOLA was looking to hire more people? I've talked to most breweries in NH and they all said the same thing: "We're not actively looking to add more people right now, but we'll keep your info on file."

Schemy: Would you recommend just volunteering my time there like gmcapone suggested?

Also, how would I go about asking to volunteer and such? When the people I've talked to in the past couple weeks in HR at the breweries give me that answer, I finish by asking them to let me know if there are any volunteer opportunities that I would be able to help with. Is this the right route? Or should I be trying to email the brewers directly if their emails are provided?

 

[gmcapone]

I have no clue, sorry. I just met and talked with her at bars a few times and some beer events. I know she started at Abita, I think that was where she volunteered her time initially.

 

[Schemy]

Schemy: Would you recommend just volunteering my time there like gmcapone suggested?

Also, how would I go about asking to volunteer and such? When the people I've talked to in the past couple weeks in HR at the breweries give me that answer, I finish by asking them to let me know if there are any volunteer opportunities that I would be able to help with. Is this the right route? Or should I be trying to email the brewers directly if their emails are provided?

I don't think it could hurt. Establish a relationship first. I would do that by asking the brewer questions. Bring in some homebrew for some feedback. Let them know what kind of brewer you are. Are you the rigid minded brewer that sticks to guidelines? Are you the free spirited Belgian minded brewing to taste? Let them know you and your beer. Email, in person, at a tasting, whatever. Don't be annoying about it, but establish yourself as a homebrewer with pointed questions. Once you have established that relationship, inquire about volunteering for a day. Inquire about a colaboration. Just get to know people in the industry, show you have a mind for brewing, and something will fit. I doubt it will be over night, so be patient and keep homebrewing to hone your skills. If you can even maybe get some ribbons (not what I would do) to establish your skills and legtimize your brewing, that may help.

Edit: Emailing out of the blue to volunteer may not be the best. They don't know you, don't know your beer, don't know your style. You're just some dude off the street, just like the other 20 emails I got the day before, and the 20 emails I'll get the day after. Establish a relationship, even with one brewery, all these guys/gals know each other and they talk. If you have a good relationship and your guy knows someone is looking to fill a spot, you may find yourself in that spot. That is how one of my friends got in.

 

[gmcapone]

I would say go to the brewery in person to offer if you are able to. I hate how so many businesses only accept resumes online nowadays. It's such a faceless medium. All employers see you as is a resume, it makes it very easy for them to disregard you. If you go in person though they can get to know you as a person and will be more inclined to consider hiring you.

 

[KYB]

It may sound great, but a lot of people don't realize it's not that glamorous. If a cool job to you is carrying around sacks of grain, cleaning crap, and maybe some other oddball jobs - for typically under $10/hour - then go for it. If not, you may want to reconsider.

 

[cayergeau]

Schemy: I think that I can do that. I'm planning on going to several beer fests in the next month, so I will try to talk to the people there; hopefully they will send an actual brewer to the event for questions and it won't be a madhouse for the lines so I can actually get a word in edgewise to the people.

Gmcapone: I am going to try to start touring more breweries in my general area as well. Would you happen to know if I have a better chance of meeting important people if I go during weekdays when they would presumably be busy brewing?

Thanks to all for the advice, please keep it coming! The retail jobs I work now to support myself do nothing for me aside from bring in a bit of money.

 

[cayergeau]

It may sound great, but a lot of people don't realize it's not that glamorous. If a cool job to you is carrying around sacks of grain, cleaning crap, and maybe some other oddball jobs - for typically under $10/hour - then go for it. If not, you may want to reconsider.

Sorry, didn't notice this one on here. It may not sound too glamorous, but I already do that for my current jobs. If I'm in the field I want to be in, then it'll be all the glamor I need, even if it doesn't pay well. And heck, maybe I'll win the lottery while I'm working there. That will round things out nicely.

 

[Pogopunx82]

I'm in the same boat as you. I enjoy working around beer no matter what I do. I've been building relationships with people in the pro scene and it's not easy. I've done a couple of all-grain workshops at the LHBS which is owned by a pro-brewer. This stuff isn't easy. They hire people they know(friends & family). Even here in Asheville NC it's harder than I thought. Volunteering is hard with the other stuff I have to do everyday. All I can say is that it takes TIME. Keep trying and good luck.

 

[Paul_Aris]

What is your education level? What do you do for work now? Are you single or married with kids? If your single I would consider moving. There are a lot of micros growing in leaps and bounds right now that are hiring. Maybe not in NH. Do what ever it takes. I would be looking at the schooling no mattter how long the wait is. If you don't get on the waiting list you may never get in. Not to mention if you really like working around beer you will love the brewing schools. If you don't show initiative to get educated you may not show the desire to really do this. Just a thought.

 

[Backporchbrewery]

Brewery jobs don't pay ****. Sweetwater, who just upgraded to 1000bbl fermenters, pays their brewers around $13/hr (and that's with a few years exp). Its an industry that's cool, but you have to live poor. My brother left brewing after 3 yrs because the money was so bad, and he was head brewer at his little microbrewery. Marketing/sales for the bigger microbreweries is the way to go IMHO (especially if you're talking about people wanting Seibel grads and 4yr degrees, then it's not really worth the money put into the education.) I'd thought I'd love to do it myself when I had a family member in the industry, but I didn't want to brew the exact same beer every single time... felt like it would take all the fun out of it. On the plus side, brewery people are probably the coolest people to work around.

Just my $.02

 

[ArcaneXor]

It's a tough industry to break into for very little reward. Networking is hugely important, as well as being in the right place at the right time. Still, without a brewing education, expect to start in the bottling line if you plan to work for an established micro.

 

[HollisBrewCo]

I dont know how many breweries are in NH but I got into the industry by attending siebel (taking classes online currently) and applying to every brewery remotely close to me. I sent actual letters through snail mail with my resume and cover letter, only managed to get one call back but I did get a good position in that brewery.
My boss told me he gets emails every day and about 3 letters per week so you have to do something to stand out.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

It definitely has to be challenging to find one of these positions because so many homebrewers, would be pro brewers and beer enthusiasts want these positions and they are competing against regular people just looking for a job. Especially since a good portion of those beer geeks, once they find out how grueling the work is, probably disappear after a week or two.

Breweries should not be taking in volunteers to work for free. It's illegal -- but yes, I know many, many breweries do it.

 

[cayergeau]

Despite how the pay sounds and how hard the work is, I still would like to get into the industry. I'd rather be making small amounts of money if it's a job that I love instead of making more money at a job that I can't stand. I interviewed several times for a job selling DirecTV subscriptions inside of big box stores, and that seemed like a miserable way to make a buck. If they can offer me full time work or damn near it at a salary that I can live off of and still pay the bills and have a little set aside, then that's perfectly alright.

Also, in response to BackPorch saying that brewery people are the coolest to work around, this is yet another reason I want to break into this. If I'm working at a good job with a bunch of morons, then that's going to suck the fun out of the job real quick as well. If I'm working a fun job with fun people, that's just peachy to me.

 

[Phunhog]

You need to think outside of the box. You, just like everyone else, wants a brewery job. I would try to find a job at a craft beer bar first. It will let you experience all styles of beer (for free) and it you will be able to network with brewers, distributors, and most importantly brewery owners. Beer is a business and you need to know ALL sides of it.....not just brewing. On your own I would seriously be looking into becoming a BJCP judge and/or Cicerone....and of course keep refining your homebrewing skills.

 

[cayergeau]

Phunhog, I'm definitely going to have to check those out; that definitely sounds like something that would set me apart from people who are just looking for any old job or people who simply think beer is pretty cool rather than something to make a career out of.

For anyone else interested, in the meantime I've applied to a small nanobrewery a couple of towns over from me, White Birch Brewery, for the possibility of an apprenticeship. That doesn't start until September, so in the meantime I plan on going to as many beer festivals and tastings as I can wangle.

 

[Phunhog]

I was at a Firestone Walkers tasting room a few months ago. The bathroom is located pretty much right on the brewery floor. It was very interesting to stop and watch how a large brewery works. It was interesting but also kind of depressing. It's pretty much just a large, noisy factory. They make beer instead of orange juice. They were bottling that day. It was someone's job to close up the boxes and tape them. Talk about tedious, mind numbing work for hours and hours.

 

[rico567]

I was at a Firestone Walkers tasting room a few months ago. The bathroom is located pretty much right on the brewery floor. It was very interesting to stop and watch how a large brewery works. It was interesting but also kind of depressing. It's pretty much just a large, noisy factory. They make beer instead of orange juice. They were bottling that day. It was someone's job to close up the boxes and tape them. Talk about tedious, mind numbing work for hours and hours.

This has been my impression of all the sizeable craft breweries we've toured (O'Dell's, Fort Collins Brewing, New Belgium, Boulder, etc.). They are, when we push the product aside and change some of the processes, no different than a cannery putting up tomatoes.

Some are definitely nicer than others (New Glarus comes to mind), but the nicer the tour, with plenty of beer and gemütlichkeit, the more the distraction from what it is: a factory.

If one can go to work with the same enthusiasm on the first anniversary following employment, then it may, indeed, be something to stick with. I applied that test to my chosen line of work (high school teaching) and found that I could stick with it for 32 years, and enjoy the teaching from first to last.

 

[Rundownhouse]

Brew schools are booked for years into the future? What a scam. Ask your average 2012 law graduate what happens when trade schools churn out thousands more graduates than there are jobs.

What's that? There are tons of new jobs coming on-line? Yeah, either the nano that'll be closed by the time you get in and graduate, the startup that'll hire you and your degree for $10/hr, or the established brewery that will weigh your degree against the guy with a degree from 2009 and five years of experience.

I highly advise anyone considering putting down a deposit for 2015 brew school to spend their time either working in a brewery, through whatever means, or saving money at their current job while writing up a business plan to open their own shop.

 

[HeavyKettleBrewing]

I would say go to the brewery in person to offer if you are able to. I hate how so many businesses only accept resumes online nowadays. It's such a faceless medium. All employers see you as is a resume, it makes it very easy for them to disregard you. If you go in person though they can get to know you as a person and will be more inclined to consider hiring you.

As an employer, I only accept resumes online and have had to use a generic email to do so. I dont allow walk-ins and keep my doors locked from solicitors and would be thieves. The response I have received from postings has net a large stack of resumes. A majority of which belong to immature jackasses whom I would never want to meet. The ones who present themselves well get an interview. It is the nature of the beast. Word to the wise, if you are looking for a job please change your voice message on your phone. Those starting with "Yo..." Or "Dude...." Will never get a chance. First impressions are just that.

 

[rico567]

Brew schools are booked for years into the future? What a scam. Ask your average 2012 law graduate what happens when trade schools churn out thousands more graduates than there are jobs.

What's that? There are tons of new jobs coming on-line? Yeah, either the nano that'll be closed by the time you get in and graduate, the startup that'll hire you and your degree for $10/hr, or the established brewery that will weigh your degree against the guy with a degree from 2009 and five years of experience.

I highly advise anyone considering putting down a deposit for 2015 brew school to spend their time either working in a brewery, through whatever means, or saving money at their current job while writing up a business plan to open their own shop.

While I don't necessarily subscribe to everything in the quoted post.....there's certainly truth in it. Craft beer, beginning in the late 1970's, has had quite a long run of growth. However, there are a number of myths operating to convince some people that their destiny lies in making beer.

1. Simple: "It's been going on this long, it'll keep going." Yep. That's what they said in the dot-com boom in the 1990s and the real estate bubble a decade later. Well, it's also what they said back in the late 1920's, and look what happened.

2. I brew beer at home, brewing commercially is just a matter of scale. No, it isn't. This has been discussed endlessly on this and other forums. There is also a qualitative difference: it lies in the word "commercially." It's no longer a fun hobby over a propane burner in the garage, it's a BUSINESS.

3. Youth and enthusiasm can make up for knowledge and experience. Don't you believe it.

4. (This is, IMHO, a myth that is not yet fully realized, but I believe it's coming, and soon enough). If I get a degree in X, I'll find a job that pays well in something I love to do. Fact: Lots of people with advanced degrees are waiting tables, or doing something completely other than what it says on that degree or certificate. Fact: Seven out of ten people don't particularly like their job, and a significant percentage of those hate it. Fact: If you find something you love to do, you may very well have to accept lower compensation. And for life. Your life. I was a public school teacher for 32 years, and that was exactly my situation. I wouldn't have traded the job for anything else you can name, but.....well, you may have heard that teachers don't exactly make a lot of money. And we have to have college degrees and everything!

 

[seanybubbles]

IMHO working for a brewery wouldn't really be that interesting once you've gotten over the scale of the batches and machinery you might be using. Most brewery's constantly brew the same 3 to 5 beers/styles which for me is the exact opposite of what I enjoy about homebrewing. I thoroughly enjoy never having to brew the same thing twice and I never have to live up to the likes or expectations of others. I think I'll go brew another double ipa...:rockin:

 

[EndlessPurple]

Good luck with your quest. While some jobs may not be glamorous or exciting just being in a place you like is important and may give you opportunity to move up to something better in the field.

I agree with those that say to get to know the people at brewerys as many times in a close knit industry someone will say they need to hire and a friend will let them know if they know of anyone looking - it may never get to resumes.

If it does, make sure yours stands out. Learn all you can about beer. Then make a great homebrew. Put together an incredible resume. Then do something different like send it out with a coupon for an incredible homebrew which you will personally deliver. (Just don't send it to ones too far away)

 

[chip82]

As someone who is working in the industry, it will be next to impossible to start in brewing. Your best bet would be to start as a packaging person and work your way into being a brewer. That is what I am doing and what most of the other packaging techs are doing. It is a fun, yes dirty, but fun job. It is all about timing and being willing to travel to where the job is. Don't limit yourself to your area.

Good luck