San Francisco Brewing Company

[The Gooch]

I was wondering why San Francisco Brewing Company is seemingly always looking for brewers?

Apparently they have no problem announcing to everyone that their last hire didn't quite work out, including his name. Does any of their past employees have anything to say about working conditions. I think many of us may want to know as the job will most likely be available again soon.

[Mr.hops]

I'm curious about this as well......

Ken seems like a nice enough guy...the pub is very cool.
Perhaps the system is especially difficult to deal with or maybe it's impossable to live in the city on brewer's bread-crumb wages.

[tarmadilo]

FWIW (and it ain't worth much), I do hear from a friend who lives in SF that it's insanely expensive to live there...

Cheers, Tim

[kokahuna]

I left my digits in San Francisco (Brewing Company)

If anyone is still interested, I can shed some light on the whole SFBC issue. SFBC is basically one of those places that you would only want to work at if you were someone like a homebrewer or anyone else interested in breaking into the professional brewing field without a certificate or degree from one of the beers schools. The sytem is downright scary dangerous the way it is set up (remember, SFBC is San Francisco's FIRST brewpub, that was before turnkey sytems like we have today). I don't want to be negative on this site that I love so much, so I will leave out most of my opinions about why so many brewers come and go. However, I will say that if you are looking for a place to break into the industry, and nobody else is hiring, start there. If after about 3-6 months, you are still alive and still love brewing, then you would have the experience necessary to maybe get a second look from one of the other guys. I know that I have much respect for the guys that come out of there and still want to brew. I am just so grateful that I happened to find an asst. spot at one of the other breweries when I was ready to make the big leap. Hope that helps.

[sfbrewing]

SF Brewing responds

I am the founder, brewmaster, and manager of the San Francisco Brewing Company. San Francisco Brewing Co. is the oldest brewpub is the USA operating under continuous ownership. Over the past 20 years I have seen many brewers come and go. I have been pleased to work with some of the best brewers around, some who now own their own breweries or are brewmasters or brewery managers at larger breweries.
San Francisco Brewing Company is one of the smallest brewpubs around with about 70 seats inside. I have had two brewers on staff for many years while most breweries our size will have one. As a result of our small size and extra staffing needs I am not able to pay brewers what I would like to pay. Our Head Brewer’s typical pay range has started at $30-32k. In San Francisco many people find that range to be below their financial needs, so they move on to other jobs. The last Head Brewer here returned to his previous occupation as an attorney.
I do not know who kokahuna is. He says that he worked for SF Brewing. His advice to work 3 to 6 months and then quit suggests that he has poor ethics. Perhaps he is an attorney.
I deny kokahuna’s statement that our brewery is “scary dangerous”. It is primitive. It is a lot of hard work. The only bad accident we have had in 20 years was when a brewer received a bad burn because she was not wearing her boots.
Why is the turnover high? The work is physically demanding. The pay is low for the high cost of living in San Francisco. Other breweries have stolen my staff- one brewery poached 150% of my brewery staff within 12 months. I also have an assistant brewer position that may be viewed as a training position and can be expected to have turnover. I have hired frequently from probrewer.com, including that guy who never showed up after accepting the job and asking us to wait 6 weeks for him. I would not like to remove my advertisements for the assistant position in the probrewer so that people will not ask about turnover.
I am dedicated to making great beer. I, most of all, would like to have a good, long-term brewer. I think SF Brewing is a great place to work for anyone who wants to truly handcraft great beer. I will consider raising the pay scale. I wonder if we might try re-combining the job into one position instead of sharing the work and the pay?
Cheers

[faivre]

Cheers to SF Brewing

I started my professional career at SF Brewing. I was a home brewer who applied and luckily was hired. The work was very physically demanding. The pay wasn’t great. Living in SF is tough on a typical brewer’s wage. Yet I loved what I did so much that I left to further my education and now have a very successful career in the industry at a large regional brewery. My career has taken off and I love what I do. I don’t believe I would be where I am today professionally without the professional experience I was able to put on my resume. I was given a great reference. I am very thankful for the opportunity I was given and I’m sad to hear SF Brewing has closed their doors. Cheers Allan.

[Moonlight]

The alumni list from this brewery is extensive. I even filled in for a couple brews. I hear the equipment went to a new brewery in Monterey, CA.

[Graydon]

sfbrewing

Please don't remove your thread!

I have many thoughts on this subject both good and bad, but this web site provides a unbelievable resource for both owners and brewers. With out Probrewer we would all be much worse off.

This is an excellent forum and we should do all we can to preserve it.

Graydon

[admin]

wow... thanks for the kind words!!