Working in a brewery...

[ericd]

Hi, does anyone here work in a brewery? What is it like?

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

check these out:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f28/dont-try-home-parts-1-2-3-a-11411/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f28/dont-try-home-part-4-a-20962/

There are several folks on here at varying levels of being "pro". I'm sure they'll pop in as well.

 

[Teromous]

Wow that's a great memoir. These should be sticky!

 

[mullenite]

I have helped out before in a small production brewery. What do you want to know?

 

[ericd]

I have helped out before in a small production brewery. What do you want to know?

What its like day to day? Is it pretty laid back or are you under pressure to get the beer brewed (I imagine this would vary from brewery to brewery)?

What did you love about the job and what did you hate?

 

[mullenite]

It's hot and sweaty work but is pretty relaxed. The beer takes as long as its going to take so there is no rushing.

What I loved about it: all the learning, I seriously learned more every day working there than I did reading anything about brewing. Working on that scale is great as well even though carrying the grain bags up that little flight of stairs and cleaning the mash tun both suck.

What I hated: soaked shoes. My shoes would be dripping with beer, water and paracetic acid.

All in all I wish I could do it everyday.

 

[mullenite]

...

 

[mrtrav]

I'm the assistant brewer at a brewpub here in our town.

Just like homebrewing, the brew day can be crammed as tight as possible or spread out all day and then some. Even when you cram the steps in as close as possible its is still pretty laid back. You can only do so much while mashing and boiling. It is a lot more work then homebrewing though, especially when you are raking the grains out of the mash tun.

Honestly the best thing about it is seeing people in there drinking the beer you've made. That and the perks of knowing people in the industry. The worst part is that it is not as glamorous as it may seem from the outside. It's long hours, weekends, and a lot of labor. It's no joke when they say you need to be able to lift 55lbs above your head on a routine basis.

 

[JJL]

I have to imagine if you are the brew master or assistant, or anyone else actually brewing the beer, your experience would be drastically different than the guy running the bottling line, or shipping/receiving, etc. I have to imagine these jobs are about like any other warehouse or factory work. It's hot, uncomfortable. You punch in. You work. You punch out.

 

[chumprock]

Do you like to shovel?

 

[Myke_J]

When you are scrubbing out the floor drains make sure that you're knee is not resting in a puddle of caustic. You won't notice it until you're done and the skin on your knee will hurt for the rest of the day while you're scrubbing out the brew kettle and washing kegs. You'll forget about it after having a few beers when you finish up everything you needed to get done that day. Then you'll wake the next morning and your whole knee will be a giant scab that lasts for weeks. Just a little friendly warning

 

[mullenite]

When you are scrubbing out the floor drains make sure that you're knee is not resting in a puddle of caustic. You won't notice it until you're done and the skin on your knee will hurt for the rest of the day while you're scrubbing out the brew kettle and washing kegs. You'll forget about it after having a few beers when you finish up everything you needed to get done that day. Then you'll wake the next morning and your whole knee will be a giant scab that lasts for weeks. Just a little friendly warning

This is why you always have a hose around, wash the caustic away from you while you are on the floor.

 

[curlyfat]

Sort of off topic, how do you approach a small brewer about helping out (unpaid apprentice)? I would think they're constantly being approached by aspiring brewers, so what would help one stand out?

 

[sudsmcgee]

I have a local brewery that I'd love to help out at, so I'd also appreciate some information on larger scale brewing.

 

[jppostKW]

Sort of off topic, how do you approach a small brewer about helping out (unpaid apprentice)? I would think they're constantly being approached by aspiring brewers, so what would help one stand out?

I help out at both a local brewery and a small distillery to get in with the brewery i just hung around a while met all the brewers/ owners (4 of them) brought them homebrew than offered to help with menial tasks like moving spent grain into trucks unloading new grain and glasses mopping floors than asked to help with a brewday its a really relaxed scene they are there to make good beer 7bbl setup

the distillery i basically called curious about their product took a tour offered to help and they called me the next day i help every 2 weeks or so They are just starting up and use all the cheap labor they can

 

[mullenite]

I just started showing up and getting to know them, sharing beer and asking questions. Eventually I was invited to a brew day to help out and as I learned more I was given more important tasks to do. I went from squeegeeing the floor to adding grains to the mash tun to taking samples during run off etc.

 

[curlyfat]

I kinda figured showing up and talking would work. My situation is that the closest -respectable- brewery is almost 2 hours away. I'd love to spend my days off there, but I can't just show up several times a week to develop a rapport. Should I just call them and ask? ...Out of the blue?

Edit: Sorry to hijack this thread, not my intention.

 

[mullenite]

I kinda figured showing up and talking would work. My situation is that the closest -respectable- brewery is almost 2 hours away. I'd love to spend my days off there, but I can't just show up several times a week to develop a rapport. Should I just call them and ask? ...Out of the blue?

Edit: Sorry to hijack this thread, not my intention.

Can't hurt to try. The worst that can happen is they say no and you are right where you are right now, no worse for the wear.

 

[mrtrav]

When I got into my job at the brewery, I saw that the brewpub was opening up a second location and was looking for bartenders/cooks/waitresses for the new place. I went into the owner and asked if they needed any help on the brewing side since they are going to be serving at two locations now. A week later I was in the back cleaning kegs.

 

[unfnole23]

I'm a college student homebrewer and wondering what the best way is to go about getting a job at one of the local breweries where I live. I want the hands on experience of brewing on a larger scale. For the brewpub owners, do you get homebrewers who want to help out?

 

[mullenite]

I'm a college student homebrewer and wondering what the best way is to go about getting a job at one of the local breweries where I live. I want the hands on experience of brewing on a larger scale. For the brewpub owners, do you get homebrewers who want to help out?

Go to Bold City and ask them if they ever use volunteers and if you can help out from time to time. Don't press it too hard and don't be surprised if you just do grunt work.