Got a job interview at a brewery tomorrow.

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

I just wanted to talk about myself and thank you guys and this forum for a few minutes. I started brewing at 18 and am now a mere 21. It all started with me buying a corny keg thinking I could get it filled with swill. After discovering I couldn’t, I decided to make my own beer instead of returning it. I instantly fell in love with the craft and have been pursuing it ever since.
I feel I must mention I am a broke college student and beyond writing this I can’t show my thanks by upgrading my membership due to lack of funds. I regularly sacrifice 25-50% of my food budget for the ingredients I need to keep my pipeline going. My gear has gotten pretty nice of the past few years because of me cutting into my food money and getting some sweet deals.
I was lucky enough to get a very short internship at RedHare Brewing in Marietta, GA, but they booted me as soon as they caught wind I wasn’t 21 at the time (was 20). I wasn’t drinking beer, just mopping floors and helping clean the brew system and helped with some brite tank/carbonation stuff. But being under-aged at the time I’m obviously not offended by the choice.
I have been relentlessly perfecting my beers since day one. I come from a science background (biologist mom) so scientific method comes easily for me. I have entered several competitions and placed in all of them. I think I produce world class American and German beers. My English and Belgian styles are a work in progress, that damn Belgian soul is just so hard to nail.
I have dreams of one day opening a brewpub (I love food just as much as beer), but understand the capital needed is massive. I have been trudging through the various technical/marketing data of probrewer.com for several months now and working up a viable business model. I feel like every homebrewer does this at one point or another. But I am confident that if this is what I want to do I CAN do it. I may never be filthy rich, but it is very possible to produce world class brews for a living.
In the mean time, I just got a call about a brewpub opening up locally, I get to go in and bring samples for the owners/investors to try. If everything goes well there is a chance I’ll be getting a job as an apprentice brewmaster with plenty of room for promotions. (not too shabby for a 21year old) Unfortunately my system has been out of order for about a month now so I don’t have much that is fresh enough to meet my strict standard (will be brewing again once a jaybird bottom comes in the mail). But I am going in with a strawberry raspberry sour (with lacto I cultured myself), a 22% abv dogfish 120 clone, my first best in show munich dunkel, a nice little bohemian pils, and an English mild.
I just wanted to thank HBT and the community at large for sharing and helping. Without you guys I wouldn’t be nearly as capable as I am. I have gone from using WAY too much gypsum in my first beer (unbearably bitter for the style) to producing 22% abv quadruple IPA’s with confidence. I have learned so much, and it’s the cutting edge info available on these forums that has provided the groundwork for what I would love to make my career. Thanks guys/gals. I’ll be sure to post how things go tomorrow after the meeting.

 

[TyTanium]

Congrats on the interview, sounds like a great opportunity!

PS: 24-21=3 18+3=21 ...I see what you did there.

 

[codycodycody]

Good luck!

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Yea, age has been the main issue. It's been rough trying to get respect from older brewers. I am confident in my technical knowledge of beer and the industry itself, but that doesn't mean much in the eyes of the law.

I heard on a BN broadcast once, several pro's talking, and the only thing they wished they had done differently was start younger. So the way I see it is the only thing better than starting younger is starting too* young right? =P

 

[helibrewer]

Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[wubears71]

Good Luck with the interview.

 

[kpr121]

Good luck! I am a mere 5 years older than you but it feels like the possibility of 'brewing the dream' has far passed me, especially now with a little one on the way. A good friend of ours has an established family restaurant/bar and has talked about maybe going brewpub but I honestly dont know if I could dedicate the amount of time necessary to make it successful, while keeping my day job and also trying to raise a kid. Plus despite my family and friends loving my beer I still dont think I am good enough of a brewer to produce a good consistent product. If I would have been sucked into the obsession back in college I would have surely jumped headfirst into a 7 BBL mashtun given the opportunity!

Excited to hear how it went for you!

 

[stillbrewin]

Hell I am 2x your age, and I wish my knowlege was 1/2 of yours. Good luck with your interview. Be calm, but forceful. Demonstrate your knowlege and be enthusiastic, but not too over the top. FOLLOW UP!!!! Send a thank you note for the interview. Highlight what you thought went well, and what you wish you did better. You never know, you may not get hired, but if the guy they do hire does not work out who are they going to look too? If you do not get hired keep in touch with them every 2-3 months letting them know you are still interested. It is unlikely that employers will go through a whole second posting, and interviews if they have a strong second canadate in the wings. It is a way to stand out. If this is the job you want be persistant.

Good luck

 

[NA_Wreckdiver]

Hell I am 2x your age, and I wish my knowlege was 1/2 of yours. Good luck with your interview. Be calm, but forceful. Demonstrate your knowlege and be enthusiastic, but not too over the top. FOLLOW UP!!!! Send a thank you note for the interview. Highlight what you thought went well, and what you wish you did better. You never know, you may not get hired, but if the guy they do hire does not work out who are they going to look too? If you do not get hired keep in touch with them every 2-3 months letting them know you are still interested. It is unlikely that employers will go through a whole second posting, and interviews if they have a strong second canadate in the wings. It is a way to stand out. If this is the job you want be persistant.

Good luck

Excellent advise.
couldn't say it better myself...
except "forceful"... "confident" would be better in my opinion.
There is a fine line between "confident" & "cocky". Don't cross it.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Great advice, I'll definitely follow up. Its going to be an odd interview and I'm unsure how things will go down, but the plan is to go in both confident and humble with my beer and explain both my goals and how I would be an asset to the company.
Not having a family or any real commitments (besides graduating next year) definitely gives me an edge when it comes to getting into the industry. I can literally start at minimum wage and be happy.

 

[rexbanner]

Great advice, I'll definitely follow up. Its going to be an odd interview and I'm unsure how things will go down, but the plan is to go in both confident and humble with my beer and explain both my goals and how I would be an asset to the company.
Not having a family or any real commitments (besides graduating next year) definitely gives me an edge when it comes to getting into the industry. I can literally start at minimum wage and be happy.

Big ups man. I'm very much like yourself. I started brewing at 21 and am 24 now. I'm opening a nano in six months, in a similar situation as you.

Good call on racking up the medals. Your brewing talent cannot be denied now. I think you will actually find that your age works very well for you. People will be very impressed and will be stunned when they taste how good your beer is. Keep on keepin on.

 

[Lennie]

First of all, good luck on the interview. While you might be better off getting a degree in biology/microbiolgy first, if you really love brewing (and who doesn't) then wokring in a brewpub would be a somewhat fulfilling job.

Now for some unsolilcited advice. I'd encourage you not to try and come across as too much of an expert. As I understand it you have three years of experience. I don't care how much you think about brewing, you have three years of experience. So go into the interview with an attitude that you know the basics and want to learn more by working at this brewery. I don't think you stand a good chance of passing yourself off as an expert. Its good that you've studied some pro brewing stuff, because its a whole different ballgame as I understand it.

Personally I'd be wary of making a wonderful hobby into a job. You already know about the less fun parts of commercial brewing though, so I assume you're going into this with your eyes open. Fairly low pay, long hours and lots of manual labor. But you'll be making good beer and thats a wonderful endeavor.

Be sure and post back how it goes.

 

[passedpawn]

Good luck.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Of course I am aware of the differences between homebrewing and pro level. I'm no 'Brewmaster' as I have little commercial experience, I call myself 'advanced homebrewer'. Of course there is always more to know, and I like to think I have a very democratic mindset in regards to learning. I mopped enough brewery floors, and shoveled enough grain to know its a lot of painful work.
I'd like to eventually get some Siebel/brew school experience, but by no means do I think a degree in fermentation science is a must, it would of course be a big advantage. I actually have a PhD Microbiologist in my brewclub, so while I am no expert I actually get exposed to a lot of fun technical stuff.
I have actually always approached my 'hobby' in a very professional way. Every day I improve my consistency and always try to have a production deadline so as to prepare myself for it being 'work' rather than a 'hobby'. I've never had a laid-back mindset, always trying to produce the most consistent quality product in ever increasing volumes,tight timeframes, and more intense competitions/judging.
I love the feeling I get when I think of calling myself a brewer. Its just such a rustic art form and begets so much comradery that its just something I feel I need to be a part of. Money isn't what I want, I want to make beautiful things.(and be able to support myself doing it)

 

[Lennie]

From what I've heard, Siebel training doesn't give a person much of a leg up on getting a brewery job. If you can get on at this place and get them to send you, that would be cool.

Sounds like you have the right attitude going into this. I too love brewing and view it as an art form. In fact I have friends who are musicians and they agree that brewing is as much an art form as their music. We barter, they play and I provide beer.

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

You sound like a smart guy, and I wish you the best of luck! I wish I had started brewing when I was 18. I can only imagine how much further along I'd be now.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

From what I've heard, Siebel training doesn't give a person much of a leg up on getting a brewery job. If you can get on at this place and get them to send you, that would be cool.

Sounds like you have the right attitude going into this. I too love brewing and view it as an art form. In fact I have friends who are musicians and they agree that brewing is as much an art form as their music. We barter, they play and I provide beer.

I actually got more info, though my interview isn't until later today. From what I understand they had some brewmaster issues and only temporarily have one. They are looking to train peeps to use their system over the next year. It seems like an ideal opportunity to learn the ropes on someone elses dime (not to mention the promise of it being worth staying)

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Went ok, owner drank all of my beer, a customer there who was tasting said he would pay money to have this beer all the time right infront of the owner. Apparently they are highering apprentice brewmasters and I currently have the first resume as well as significant credentials. Things look good so far, but I won't know much for a few more weeks until the building is done.

 

[Dan]

Hey sounds like odds are in your favor. Your mood sounds a bit down though. You will do well in the beer brewing business! I am quite certain after reading your thread and the expertise and drive you have these guys will be seriously considering you as their brewer in the gates.

 

[sfrisby]

Where did you interview?

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Yea, just wasn't quite the formal interview I was promised, but things went well regardless.
I ended up bringing a really nice Munich Dunkel I made (won best in show at a local bbq pairing competition) and a delicate little Bohemian Pils and got pretty good recognition. it was sad to hear the owner wasn't a beer drinker though (businessman opening a brewpub, go figure). But I'm hoping my professionalism left an impression regardless of the amount of technical beer data exchanged.

 

[dford]

Opening a brewpub and don't drink beer ! WTH is that ? That should be against the law.

 

[nerdyjackal]

Good luck on getting the job

 

[thatjonguy]

Opening a brewpub and don't drink beer ! WTH is that ? That should be against the law.

+Eleventybillion.

 

[res291que]

Opening a brewpub and don't drink beer ! WTH is that ? That should be against the law.

That's like a chef without taste buds and a sense of smell .... Just doesn't work!!!

 

[opus345]

Good luck.

Follow up with the suggested thank you.

In the past I had a position that involved interviewing and hiring entry level tech positions. While I did want a basic skill set, I was always more interested in the character, the energy, and the passion of the applicant. With entry level positions, the management team already understands that they will be training, etc.

 

[sr20steve]

Yea, age has been the main issue. It's been rough trying to get respect from older brewers. I am confident in my technical knowledge of beer and the industry itself, but that doesn't mean much in the eyes of the law.

I heard on a BN broadcast once, several pro's talking, and the only thing they wished they had done differently was start younger. So the way I see it is the only thing better than starting younger is starting too* young right? =P

Your just going to have to get used to that in any industry, youth usually means inexperience even if you are a master of your craft. There are some exceptions to the rule, but good old seat time is hard to argue. Im a welder by trade and fairly young for the craft and its very hard to get the respect of the old welders because they are true masters of their craft, even though I am a very good welder.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Opening a brewpub and don't drink beer ! WTH is that ? That should be against the law.

I agree. I was really pretty offended when the owner said he didn't really like beer. But the opportunity still remains a golden one

 

[Jukas]

I agree. I was really pretty offended when the owner said he didn't really like beer. But the opportunity still remains a golden one

I'd be worried about the long term viability of that brewpub. That's like a vintner who doesn't like wine or a chef who doesn't care about good food.

 

[bob1852]

I'd be worried about the long term viability of that brewpub. That's like a vintner who doesn't like wine or a chef who doesn't care about good food.

I disagree. An owner wants to make money. You do that by hiring people to make a product that will make you money. Chefs aren't restaurant owners and vinters aren't winery owners.