What Would You Look For

[millerag]

If you were looking to hire a brewer and a person that did not have any professional brewing experience or a formal education in brewing applied for the job; what would you look for?

[Brewer636]

That's an easy one. Look for someone who grew up on a dairy farm and rides British motorcycles. That's a sure ticket.

[tariq khan]

Home brewing experience is a big plus.....If they can brew all-grain and know the fundamentals (mash temps etc), that would be a good start. I'd also look for somebody that's not afraid of a bit of labour. You can tell a lot by having a conversation with someone whether or not they understand brewery work and what's involved.

Tariq (Big Ridge Brewery, Surrey, B.C.)

[scott isham]

I would look for a new brewer to replace him in a few months.

[beermkr]

Having been in this situation (the hiree) I would say that the person needs to have some extensive homebrewing experience in the least. If you are a brewer I would test the person on theory and practical issues first and try some of the beers that he has made.

Just because someone does not have training or Professional experience does not mean that they are not a great brewer. they may just never have had the oppourtunity.

If they have no advanced homebrewing experience then I would move on to the next applicant or put them in a support job if you have one.

Mike

[GlacierBrewing]

Just because someone does not have training or Professional experience does not mean that they are not a great brewer. they may just never have had the oppourtunity.

If they have no advanced homebrewing experience then I would move on to the next applicant or put them in a support job if you have one.

Mike

I agree with Mike on these points. As he well knows, understanding the theory and practice of advanced homebrewing is one thing. Applying this to a production or brewpub situation with all the other factors that arise in these environments (maintaining inventory levels, managing product consistency and quality, scheduling production/packaging, governmental paperwork/reporting, learning how to brew on a professional system, etc, etc, etc) may be asking a bit much. I had a very rapid and dizzying experience when I made the jump from homebrewer to professional brewer, and that was with a head brewer above me.
Luck to ya'.

Prost!
Dave

[kayemkerner]

Into the Fire...

I am an example of someone who had never brewed a batch of beer in his life before he was "given" a brewpub to run on his own. I literally walked in a week after the previous brewer had left (long story) and had to figure it out. I "apprenticed" for about four months (in his words, "You can teach a monkey how to make ales." - although I'm greatly appreciative of his service to me, it must have been rediculous trying to teach a 21 year old kid with an English degree Chemistry and such), learning which levers to turn and when.

My advice is to hire someone with Advanced Homebrewing knowledge at the very least. I'm still at the same place but it took me (and my customers) a while before I evolved into a human.

Oh, and whomever you hire, make sure they have no social life and an addictive personality. It comes in handy when you're working 80 hour weeks trying to figure out why, in the books, they have machines that do that for you....

peace...

[beertje46]

Read this...

If you were looking to hire a brewer and a person that did not have any professional brewing experience or a formal education in brewing applied for the job; what would you look for?

if you haven't already
Hiring the best brewers by Teri Fahrendorf.

[NYSBrewer]

Allright, I'll jump in. Saying you can teach a "monkey to make ales" tells me why that previuos brewer is no longer brewing. Its way more than to know what levers to turn, and when. Its creative, recipe formulation, PR, sales, inventory managment, production scheduling and more. Since I have been operating Empire, I am on my 3rd assistant. This one is working out the best, and you know what? He never brewed a batch of beer, ever. He was totally green. Being a homebrewer before turning pro myself, my next statement may be completely hypocritical, no expierence can be a plus. You can train them your way. No bad habits to break. No,"at home I always..." homebrewers sometimes dont understand that your not brewing in a kitchen on a stovetop anymore. Production brewing is totaly dofferent. Yes, the basics are the same, but those can be taught. AndI know when I go on vacation, or have to leave for a day, things will be done my way. So, if this guy will be trained by someone who has been a probrewer for a while, than he should be fine. If you are thinking he is going to just walk in and be able to brew beer, think again. If you do hyave someone to train him some good traits would be: self starter, attention to detail, fun likeable personality, physically strong, a liking for craft beer, and organization.

[Scott M]

If you were looking to hire a brewer and a person that did not have any professional brewing experience or a formal education in brewing applied for the job; what would you look for?

First, many potentially great brewers have not had formal training or the benefit of a formal brewing education. Self taught brewers are of several different cuts from seat of the pants to consummate brewer.

Ask questions about their brewing experience. Observe how they react to your questions and how directly and specifically they answer. Pay attention to their their personal appearance. Ask about their cleaning and sterilization theories. Try to determine their organizational skills. Discuss how they would plan a brewing year from acquiring hop contracts to entering into grain purchasing agreements and keep up production schedules throughout the year; do they have a plan?. There are always questions about packaging and distribution. Ask about their microbiological skills and how they would manage a yeast cultivation program. Ask about everything involved in brewing and managing a brewer operation, then have them design a specific beer recipe and brew 5 gallons for you.

It is one thing to gather the ingredients for a home brew at ~$60, quite another to brew an Oops!! with $2,200 worth (brew pub).

Finally, do they just want a job, or are they looking for a career as a brewer. Insure they are fired up to brew, even if it is the in style you mandate.

Good Hunting

[rsizemore]

I assume it's too late to help Millerag, but I wanna jump in.

I agree with most of Scott M's post. I would talk about general home brewing knowledge. Observe how directly they answer questions, their confidence, their grooming, their organizational skills. Seek their interest in starting a career. Make sure they are OK being paid small, but living honest. In other words, do they have passion.

THEN, get the guard down and get them talking about their hobbies.... If they answer with anything other than beer then keep looking for a brewer. As a 10 year home brewer fresh out of brewing school and internship, starting his own pub... I can tell you it's frustrating to have total passion for this one thing (I'm a one trick pony) and to work with people who love something else and have a beer job! I used to come to the brewery where I interned and the "guys would spend the first hour talking about Dirt bikes, Girls, Rock-n-Roll, whatever...then they'd all sigh as they HAD TO, "Go and make the beer". Even if there had been a job available at that brewery, I would have refused it.

[tariq khan]

Oh man I completely disagree.....

To be a great brewer you DON"T have to eat, sleep, and breathe beer 24/7 in my opinion. You can be a passionate, dedicated brewer and have other interests, I think it makes for a more balanced and interesting person, probably happier too.

Tariq (Big Ridge Brewery)

[beermkr]

I was waiting to see if someone else thought like me also. Single mindedness makes closed mindedness.

Balance in anyones life is a VERY important thing. Willingness to get the job done no matter what is highly important but not at the expense of all other things in a brewers life. That is like saying the only good brewers are single brewers because they don't have the "distraction" of a family.

I would never hire someone whose only interest was brewing. Just my $1.05 ($0.02 adjusted for inflation)

Mike

[Buckley]

Balance is key, just like in the product we make. Otherwise we would just have all malt products and hop teas abound. We are just as diverse as the brews we produce. A brewer that is all beer all the time I would say is more likely to burn out and who wants that. Obviously beer needs to be a passion, just not the only one.
Super passionate home brewers make great assistants and some even head brewers... in time. You can't really just plop someone right into a position and expect great results just from love of beer and making batches at home whenever.Experience not only shows ability to do the job but to also have a life and continue doing the job. I have always thought home brewing and craft brewing go hand and hand. They just aren't exactly interchangeable.

[millerag]

I have to Confess

I am not a brewer or owner.....(someday). Sorry if I have mislead anyone. I am just a scientist and am a self taught brewing nut with a desire to turn brewing into a career. I have a science background and am mechanically inclined and I know how to put in a long day of work. The only hitch is that I do not have a formal education in brewing. I spend hour upon hour searching the web (sites like probrewer) as well as many professional brewing equipment sites. I have read many books (various levels from entry level home brewing to college level reads) so I believe I have a good working knowledge of the beer industry. I know that I will take a huge pay cut but as you all know its not about the money........Ok now I am done with my pitch......I know that I have a long way to go I know I am going to turn this into a profession. I know many of you are thinking why not go back to school...... well lets just say after 6 years of college and a large loan debt at this moment in my life more education is out of the question. There are a few job openings in my area and I am going to apply. I essentially wanted to see if I have a chance. I believe that you all have valid points. I think many of your points apply across professions esp. "Just because someone does not have training or professional experience does not mean that they are not a great brewer. they may just never have had the opportunity.".... in the profession that I am currently in I have been involved with hiring people with strong educational backgrounds and people that do not. More often than not its their other life experiences that really dictate how well they work out.
Having said all that jazz and if you are still reading I really appreciate your help and I really really appreciate this site it has been extremely helpful.......!
One more question....... I know in the professional world it is customary to wear a Suit to an interview....... I have mixed emotions on what to wear if I should happen to get an interview what do you all think?