KingBrianI
Well-Known Member
So I'm having a third-life crisis or something. I'll be 30 this year and have come to the realization that I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing what I do now (Analytical Chemistry). Brewing is about the only hobby I've ever had that hasn't grown stale or old. I still love to brew just as much as when I first started, and now I'm actually good at it. And even though I've never been to brew school, and even though I've never worked in a commercial brewery, I probably know more about beer and brewing than most commercial brewers (if my interactions with brewers on brewery tours and tastings is any indication). So I figured, forget about money, I'll work as a low-level guy in a brewery for $10/hr and actually enjoy my work. Eventually, I'll get the experience I need to open my own place and become really successful, but for now I just want to get a foot in the industry. So a year or two ago, I halfheartedly started trying to either volunteer or get a part time job at some local breweries. No luck. A couple of breweries seemed interested in some help early on, but then quit responding to my inquiries. So within the last month or so I've gotten really serious about it and started contacting breweries all over the country trying to find something. Still no luck. It seems the lack of commercial experience is a real sticking point. The hundreds of hours researching brewing science and theory, and the tons of actual brewing I've done don't seem to make any difference. I'm getting frustrated and down about the whole thing. I mean I'm a smart guy with a BS in Biology and a minor in chemistry from a good university, with 7 years of experience in analytical labs and more knowledge about beer and brewing than most commercial brewers, and I can't even get a job scrubbing out fermenters and scooping grain out of mash tuns. What am I doing wrong?