I've gone pro!

[the_bird]

Let me just be the latest to add my "congrats!" to the list.

 

[humann_brewing]

Congratulations man, that is awesome! I hope you enjoy it as much as we think you will.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I'll add my congrats, too. That sounds like a great move. I'm sure you'll enjoy challenge!

 

[Lukus]

Thats awesome, I will be at Ice Harbor next weekend grabbing supplies maybe I'll run into you. Congrats

 

[farmbrewernw]

Well i guess the cat is out of the bag now . Anyway thanks for all of the well wishes, with any luck if i like this i will open a brewery back in Oregon when we move back down there, or at least work for one of the fine breweries down there.

 

[Smogre]

I was a civil engineering tech for the last 4 years and I know exactly what you all mean, I really started to hate it towards the end of my career in civil. The pay was indeed good but it was effecting me and my relationships, there is nothing worse than being severely dissatisfied with your career. While I don't feel like I'm using my degree anymore many pro brewers I know in fact have quite advanced degrees in things like chemistry and physics but after working in their fields for some time they realized it wasn't all about the money, if you can afford to I highly recommend trying to pursue your dream job whatever that may be. I don't think pro brewing is for everyone, it's hard physical work and it is very demanding but if you don't mind that it's a great profession.

Your decision is full of win!

 

[beeraroundtown]

Congrats! I was just up at Ice Harbor last weekend. Some decent stuff but a bit run of the mill on styles. Hope they let you build up some recipes. Are they bringing their fresh hop beer to the Hood River hops fest?

 

[mrtrav]

Congrats man! I just started working at a brewery a few months back part time. I am lovin it!

 

[kappclark]

That is great news .. just think of how much brewing you won't do bec you will be sick of the process (just kidding !)

 

[farmbrewernw]

Congrats! I was just up at Ice Harbor last weekend. Some decent stuff but a bit run of the mill on styles. Hope they let you build up some recipes. Are they bringing their fresh hop beer to the Hood River hops fest?

Yeah our IPA is good but yeah nothing else is all that exciting, that being said we do well up here and have the goal to expand so there may be some room to improve on our products. I think the problem really is that we have been in business since 96 and no fresh ideas have been implemented for some time, really we need to modernize our brand but that's up to the owners I can only offer ideas. Our fresh hop wont be at the hop fest it will be up at the fresh hop fest in Yakima tomorrow. I'm trying to get the brewery to look at Oregon as a market but we're not there yet, i think we would have a hard time competing at this point.

 

[kappclark]

How does the IPA compare with EdWort's pale ale ?

I wonder if anyone has done a large-scale batch of this simple, excellent beer..

Tough if you make a mistake with 8bbl of beer !

 

[user 22118]

There are no mistakes when you can sell the beer and call it whatever you like

 

[Schlenkerla]

Congrats! - Enjoy the new job. Its really something to be excited to get up in the morning and go to work. Having passion for the job is great!

I once interviewed at a brewery for a job, I found out that it wouldn't cover my existing bills. I am an engineer. At the time I was looking for something close to my old salary. It was about half so it was a no go for me. The drive home was quite depressing. I learned that in my case brewing was best left as a hobby. I love technical challenges w/o that I would be bored at work.

The place I was interviewing at was Granite City. This place only makes wort to ship to the restaurants/fermenting houses. So, no beer tasting to speak of at that brew house. Without beer to sample it would have been lame thankless work.

Best luck to you!!

 

[farmbrewernw]

Well our IPA is not even close to Edwort's Pale ale as they are different styles for one and because honestly Ed's Pale is awesome to say the least. The thing that I'm not a huge fan of with our brewery is that our head brewer likes to make everything big, I think big beers are over rated to a certain extent, I'd really like to get some really great flavorful session beers into the line up. If I ever own my own brewery with Ed's permission i may make a variant of his pale as my house beer.

Yeah the pay is a little less than half of what I made in engineering and there are no benefits (luckily my wife is filling that void at this point), so if your dependent on your current income you probably don't want to jump ship and be a brewer. I'll be honest I'm not sure if this career is for me or not yet, some may think it's going to be the best job ever, but it is still a job and there are days where I'm wondering why I'm working so hard for so little on the pay side. I know that there would be more satisfaction in owning my own brewery as I could really do what I wanted as far as beers and marketing but I also know that that would introduce a whole lot more work.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Consider this as doing your time learn the ropes. The experience will be well worth it if you decide to go it on your own.

 

[Token]

Ya, what Schlenkerla said. Learn the ropes, come up with some of your own great ideas, find some cash (there's always a catch!), open a great brewery.

Congrats. I hope this is the first step on your way to your own place.

 

[farmbrewernw]

That is how I look at it, pretty much this is schooling that i get paid for. If ultimately I don't like it I can just chalk it up as another life experience, if I do like it well the sky's the limit at this point. I have some relatives opening up a upscale burger joint back in my home town, if they are successful in a couple of years, when we move back, I may try attaching a brewery to it.

 

[ChshreCat]

Considering that there are probably a few folks here who'd pay the brewery to let them do what you're doing, it's a helluva deal!

 

[farmbrewernw]

I'm thinking that getting some formal schooling in one of the institutes is probably a good idea as well, although a good majority of the brewers I know don't have schooling in brewing science. For anyone serious about going pro, if you volunteer at a brewery and actually show that you care, put lots of time in, and work hard you will more than likely get somewhere. The thing i've seen is that a lot of people will say that they want to volunteer and then they'll do it once for a few hours and never come back. It takes dedication just like schooling takes dedication, you can't be afraid to work hard and you have to keep an open mind.

 

[kappclark]

You clearly have the dedication, so take scope of all that the job offers...

Let us know if you craft that house ale. I am not a big fan of BIG beers. I like to have more than 2 if I am watching the game or whatever. Ed's Pale Ale fills that need.


I understand the tradeoff - I work at a non-profit and sometimes consider the benefits of working in the big city for a big company (more $$ for starters)...but it is a choice I have made and am comfortable with .. alot of on the job training, as new technologies come out ..challenges are what make it worth it ..also it is great that swmbo can contribute the benefits.

But your reward will be based on the time you put in, and the enthusiasm you show for the job. Sure - a job is a job, and sometimes it just sucks, but it is sure alot easier when you land one that resonates with your interest. You may have a very positive effect on the organization, coming from your homebrewing perspective.

Your altitude is determined by your attitude (I don't know who said that - not me !)

 

[farmbrewernw]

Good point, I am trying to be positive, it's a little hard since SWMBO and I don't like where we live right now, we're having a really hard time adjusting to the Tri-Cities, there really isn't much to do here and both me and SWMBO both grew up in the Willamette Valley of Oregon so we are a little home sick. I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't think it was going to be good for me, while i don't like everything about the brewery I want to take all I can in the way of experience from there. Believe me telling other brewers that you are a brewer opens up a lot of doors, I've already had many a good conversation and good free beer my way because of it. I will keep you guys posted on how things go, if anything I hope I can help other people that are thinking about taking the plunge.

 

[HBHoss]

That would be me. I just got my Brewer's Notice from the TTB and am going small scale pro. What advice do you have for a n00b like me?
btw, congrats on the job. :rockin:

 

[farmbrewernw]

One thing I've learned in the last couple of months is that you can pretty much use just about any kind of vessel you want for a mash tun, boiling kettle, and a fermenting vessel as long at you have a means of cleaning it and keeping it sanitized well. I have some friends that just started a brewery a year ago and they ferment there ales in plastic conicals, granted they are not that big yet but they seem to be working for them. One of the owners told me he could get a 30bbl plastic conical for $1600, that's damn cheap. Biggest thing is, if your just starting out is pound the pavement and get out there and sell your product, go to brewers dinners, start a facebook page, sponsor some events in your community. There are a lot of ways to get free or practically free advertising out there. As far as your beer is concerned make sure you have some solid regulars in your line up that people really enjoy, once you got that down do the more interesting stuff, oh and make sure you scale your recipes so they are easy to replicate. It looks to me like for now you'll basically be doing homebrew sized batches, you wont have to worry about all of the pumps, hoses, and fittings that the bigger guys have to worry about, when you get bigger you'll really want to go try some stuff out. I've already decided what sorts of fittings and clamps I'd rather have, if I had never used various ones I'd have never known. Oh and make sure you talk to other pro-brewers all of the ones I have talked to so far have been more than willing to dispense advice.

 

[HBHoss]

Cool, thanks for the info. The local market is all I'm after right now. Considering it's a small town with limited options I'm hoping it goes well.

 

[farmbrewernw]

honestly I think local is the only way to go, especially if your small. With the local movement the way it is right now i bet you will do well. If and when I start a brewery I'm sure I'll probably stay within a 60 mile radius, a lot of people will drink your beer if for nothing else that it's from their home town.

 

[HBHoss]

honestly I think local is the only way to go, especially if your small. With the local movement the way it is right now i bet you will do well. If and when I start a brewery I'm sure I'll probably stay within a 60 mile radius, a lot of people will drink your beer if for nothing else that it's from their home town.

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. We have one main Pizza joint that is the original that started a chain so I'm hoping they will try my brew. Then I'll need Sanke kegs. One step at a time.
Good luck to you in your new position and I hope you learn a lot. :rockin:

 

[bottleopener]

congratulations!


now, can i have a big bag of hops? i won't tell anybody! :fro:

 

[farmbrewernw]

Oh if you only knew how easy it was to get hops for free or practically free when your in the business