Sorry, but I really must throw a penalty flag on those who think going pro will ruin their enjoyment of brewing. I'm living proof that it's not necessarily the case. You just have to be smart about it by knowing yourself and the industry.
First, Know Thyself. How much do you love your avocation? What do you love about it? Which do you prefer more: art or science?
Second, Know Thy Industry. You will work long hours. You will endure significant physical labor.
You will not have a 9 to 5, 40-hour/week job. Recognize that you'll be brewing the same beer - at least a core of three or four beers - over and over and over.
Some examples of how the "ruin my joy" guys are right:
- If you're a brewer who never brews the same beer twice, no pro-brewing gig will satisfy you.
- If you don't like paying attention to the scientific side of brewing, you'll never do well. Yeast management becomes very important. You need to know what a hemocytometer is and how to use it.
- There is only so much room for "artesinal" and "varietal" stuff - for every Bourbon Barrel Smoked Imperial Scottish Ale you brew, you'll brew fifty batches of Lightweight Training Wheels Light Ale in your brewpub.
For me, the varietal stuff is cool and very rewarding, but the real challenge is achieving consistency without the tools and education an A/B brewmaster has at his disposal. Your Light Ale must taste the same from batch to batch, month in, month out. If you consider that an annoyance instead of a challenge to be overcome, or if you don't see the point in caring about consistency, professional brewing is not for you. Consistency in core brands is
paramount to the professional brewer.
Consistency is really, really hard to achieve unless you dedicate yourself to things most homebrewers never bother about. Like malt analysis, figuring AA loss in hops by variety, age and storage characteristics, doing yeast viability studies, water analysis, fluid dynamics, etc.
Why did I write about the Training Wheels Light Ale outselling the Scotch Ale? Because more than 75% - probably closer to 90% - of brewpub customers really don't give a tinker's damn about the beer. You offer them something different, something that's still more than a little trendy that makes them feel sophisticated or at least look sophisticated. They get dragged in by their beer-loving friend(s). Hell, I've dragged groups of a dozen to brewpubs, when I'm the only one who really gives a **** that good beer is brewed on-site! The others might
like good beer, but can't be arsed that they're in a brewpub. Do you really think they're going to start creaming themselves over your Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale? Nope. They're going to opt for something they can wrap their heads round the written description on the menu.
That's turning into a rant. I'm sorry.
All I'm trying to illustrate is that professional brewing isn't for everyone. Frankly, most homebrewers couldn't handle it. Most homebrewers call brewers who seek the skills a pro brewer needs "OCD" or "frighteningly into it". "Uber-beer-geek" is one of my favorites.
Is there room for creativity? Yes! You
do have to come up with brands set apart from other brands. At the same time, you have to realize that Honey Hazelnut American ESB is probably not going to be a very successful flagship beer (that is, if you've realized you
need a flagship beer!).
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you consider challenging and "fun". I find solving problems and rising to the challenge of consistency "fun". I find trying to nail a style "fun". I also find "fun" brewing a Smoked Imperial Scotch Ale and putting it in a bourbon barrel! You've got to do all those things to be a successful small-brewery brewer.
Cheers,
Bob
