I just got a job in a brewery!

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Dane

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I have worked in a kitchen for over 10 years now. I recently relocated and was hired on to a restaurant/brewery as a prep cook. Obviously I started hanging out with the brewers, sampling beers, and shooting the breeze. I began to start taking samples to get a professional opinion on them. After a couple weeks of bringing in samples they came into the kitchen and offered me a job!

We make roughly 1,000-1,200 barrels a year, typically 500-700 gallons a week. The first day of course was nerve racking! Tri-clamps, glycol chillers, plate frame filters, acid bath's, brite tank components, controllers, kegs, and of course moving around lots and lots of grain. It's like a homebrew setup on crack, and unfortunately it's too much work to start drinking at 11am like my usual brew days, I'll take the trade off

I just thought I would share, I'm stoked.
 
It's a strange system to brew on. We have no HLT to begin with. We have to start the day by turning on our brew kettle around 5am, set to around 180. We then dough in, mixing boil kettle water with our grain to usual mashing temps. We refill our boil kettle, heat it up to 180-200, ship it over to a fermentor tank ( already cleaned with PBW and acid) this is our HLT. We fly sparge while shipping wort over to the boil. Boil, hop, glycol chill, shipped to 'open fermentors', then shipped to secondary's, filtered, brite tanked, kegged, and oh yeah.

The system is all copper, sucks in my opinion. Every drop of water, hand print shows up and you have to spend a whole day cleaning it, stainless is the best way to go. Our grain is upstairs and is simply dumped into a grist case then sent down through a chute. Mash tun has 350 g capacity, 3 primary tanks have 300 gal capacity, 2 secondary's have 250 g capacity, we brew around 220 gal batches. Brite tank is 300 gal. We keg 14 per batch.

Here is a picture of me loading a 20 plate frame filter from way back in the day, works like a charm.
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I hate you. ;)

When I was 21, I applied to be an assistant brewer at a local brewpub on the verge of opening. I didn't get the job. I don't htink the guy took me seriously as I'd only been brewing a little while in the dorm kitchen.

A few years later, I became a mug club member at the pub. I ran into the brewer at a social function and he said, "Hey, didn't I almost hire you for a brewing position?" I replied that he did but I got into cmoputers instead and now made a lot more money. then I asked if he still had the position open because I'd drop everything to work there. haha.

I'm a pretty well-paid profesisonal now, but I still dream about working in a brewery. In fact, I just sent a cover letter and resume to a local (nationally known) brewery in hopes of a career change. I doubt they'll be able to match my salary though.

Sighs.
 
A good friend of mine runs a distillery up here. I've been trying to get him over on my brew days so he sees how easy (sic) brewing can be, in hopes that he might expand his company to brewing as well as distilling... and, of course, he'd need a brewer... just sayin... :)
 
Back in 1999 or so, I interviewed at Anheuser-Busch for a job in their IT department. They LOVED the fact that I was a homebrewer and that I was in IT. They even split up the position to be able to make me an offer.

I ended up not taking it for $ reasons, and having to move to St.Louis, as it wasn't in my plans.

So.. That was the day that I flew on A-B's dime, got a really nice steak lunch, drank a Bud during the lunch interview (only one mind you). I have to say that it's the only time in my IT career that I've had a beer during a job interview.

M_C
 
Wow, that did not take long. Pic and everything, good show!

How are you separated from the rest of the place? is there a 1/2 wall between, or do you have to be careful not to spray down customers when you're cleaning up.

Looks like a neat setup, and I bet the copper is real purdy after it's been shined. How often do they run a batch through? Every day? Whatcha brewing today?
 
We generally brew 3 times a week. Our standard beers are: Irish dry stout, raspberry wheat, red ale, porter, barley wine, and a BMC knockoff, we also brew a seasonal twice a month. This month was a black IPA using Belgium dark malt.

There is an audience that watches over us. It is a terrible idea in my opinion. I run acid bath loops with 120 degree water, if the clamps come off at the top of the fermentors.........like I said not the best idea. However, it does make you a more cautious brewer. They once had the brite tank explode, sent the lid into the roof. Imagine eating lunch 10 feet away, lol.
 
congrats! I sometimes think that'd be awesome, but I worry it'd turn into too much of a "job" - If you brew all day at work, do you just take that beer home or do you still brew your own batches at home?
 
I'm a pretty well-paid profesisonal now, but I still dream about working in a brewery. In fact, I just sent a cover letter and resume to a local (nationally known) brewery in hopes of a career change. I doubt they'll be able to match my salary though.

Sighs.

Match your salary? haha.. keep dreaming. I'm also a well paid professional, wouldn't dream of anyone matching my salary. It's going to be a trade off, how much more would you enjoy your life if you worked in a brewery than if you sit in a cubicle all day? Balance that with the reduced cashflow and make a call. I'd take a big paycut to do something I truly enjoyed for a living, just haven't found it yet. Brewing is the closest thing, but again - I wonder if that doesn't get old pretty quick when you HAVE to do it everyday.
 
Sounds like alot of us have gone through the same thing. I tried to get one here in town at one point. My current salary was higher, but I tried to make it work budget wise.

SWMBO overidded it in the end.
 
Sounds cool:mug:


So is the beer any good? Also, are you the one who has to fire the system up at 5:00 AM? If so, ouch!!
 
Match your salary? haha.. keep dreaming. I'm also a well paid professional, wouldn't dream of anyone matching my salary. It's going to be a trade off, how much more would you enjoy your life if you worked in a brewery than if you sit in a cubicle all day? Balance that with the reduced cashflow and make a call. I'd take a big paycut to do something I truly enjoyed for a living, just haven't found it yet. Brewing is the closest thing, but again - I wonder if that doesn't get old pretty quick when you HAVE to do it everyday.

I know. That's been the big hangup.

With a kid, I don't see being able to mke the jump. But it's nice to dream and do it for a hobby.
 
awesome man, congrats.
i actually had a similar thing happen to me awhile ago. there is a kick ass brewpub where i'm at and i've been hanging out with the brewers for awhile now, giving them my homebrew and picking their brains of course. i recently pitched the idea of doing a free shadowing sort of thing, since i just graduated from school and brewing has been only thing on my mind lately. turns out he was looking for extra help and i scored a job!

http://www.gellasdiner.com/
i can't wait for gabf...

enjoy it man! it still seems to good to be true.
 
Am I going to be the first to ask what restaurant/brewery this is? Where is it? Will you guys be entering beers into the GABF? I want to support HBT members if possible, so let us know...
 
No, the system is on a timer. The boiler kicks off at 5am and heats the kettle. We arrive around 9am with our dough in water. You have to pick up a couple bags of grain but you pretty much just watch and sip coffee. I do not think we will enter the GABF. The brewers have won awards across Florida and even at the World Beer Cup, I will bring this up.

http://www.mcguiresirishpub.com/brewery.html
 
Cool deal. If I'm ever traveling out in that area, I'll stop by for a pint. Congrats on getting a job in a brewery!
 
Congratulations!!! You sound like you are enjoying your new adventure a lot.

"Stay thirsty my friend"

:)

TripHops
:tank:
 
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