...and quality.
Experienced head brewer quickly looking for a great brewery that’s passionate about beer and is truly quality first.
Counting breweries/distilleries that I've worked for beer/spirits, I've worked at eight breweries and a distillery. I've had far too much experience on the packaging side of things (canning and bottling) at most of these places, and officially brewed on the deck at three. Like many, I started out as an obsessive homebrewer, in my case, as a geology major after getting back from being stationed in Germany. I've had my ear to the rail and finger on the pulse of the beer industry for over a decade, and got my first job on a bottling line early 2011 (it would have been 2010, but military training took me away for several months).
Recently, I was engaged to help get off the ground from a very loose concept to a functional brewery, but due to immigration hurdles and a shift in direction I was staunchly against, that ended last month. Just moved down on a gamble that a established large-ish brewery with lots of red flags could be a potentially good opportunity to turn things around, but wow, have I never seen a brewery with such low morale and zero confidence in the future of the brewery by all its production crew. So that’s a no-go and I don’t think I’ll even bothering putting it on my resume at this point—I now do have some experience with Brumat automated systems, working with 500 bbl tanks (looking at unused 1,000 bbl tanks) and the basic operation of a 125 bbl Rolec system. 7-30 bbl systems is what I’ve worked most on.
Currently residing in Eureka, CA, but that may change very soon—even though I just blew $550 registering my truck here and getting a CA license. I’ve worked at breweries in Montana, Alaska, BC, and Northern California.
I only prefer to live in progressive places beyond Montana and Alaska, and have zero interest in living east of the Rockies anymore (I'm from Tennessee). I've lived in about a dozen states (I'm probably forgetting some), been to every state but Hawai'i, and been a dozen plus countries. The cost of living in a lot of place that I'd like to work is just too insane to justify, sadly. It's just me and my dog (which complicates renting even more). If you’re located in an expensive place to live, and cannot (or won’t) compensate accordingly, no use wasting either of our time.
The gist is, I’m super passionate and nerdy about beer, but sadly though, I've worked for too many breweries that don't feel the same way about beer, either because they've lost their way or were started because it was a 'cool investment opportunity' or a 'cool business to own' or not willing to spend money on quality. I've lived and breathed brewing for so many years now, but getting sick of moving from one brewery to the next just to find out they are poorly run and/or thinking that are making great beer and it's mediocre at best. If I had the capital, I'd open my own place, but I don't, nor do I have wealthy friends or family. Right now I’m about to the point of about walk away from brewing, and just rot doing something I have no passion for to make ends meet for now or work full-time for the military (I'm in the Air National Guard too).
Might as well be honest about things instead of putting up some sort of fake front so many people do when trying to find a job. If you think you can convince me to come work for you, let's hear it before a deployment somewhere opens up.
Experienced head brewer quickly looking for a great brewery that’s passionate about beer and is truly quality first.
Counting breweries/distilleries that I've worked for beer/spirits, I've worked at eight breweries and a distillery. I've had far too much experience on the packaging side of things (canning and bottling) at most of these places, and officially brewed on the deck at three. Like many, I started out as an obsessive homebrewer, in my case, as a geology major after getting back from being stationed in Germany. I've had my ear to the rail and finger on the pulse of the beer industry for over a decade, and got my first job on a bottling line early 2011 (it would have been 2010, but military training took me away for several months).
Recently, I was engaged to help get off the ground from a very loose concept to a functional brewery, but due to immigration hurdles and a shift in direction I was staunchly against, that ended last month. Just moved down on a gamble that a established large-ish brewery with lots of red flags could be a potentially good opportunity to turn things around, but wow, have I never seen a brewery with such low morale and zero confidence in the future of the brewery by all its production crew. So that’s a no-go and I don’t think I’ll even bothering putting it on my resume at this point—I now do have some experience with Brumat automated systems, working with 500 bbl tanks (looking at unused 1,000 bbl tanks) and the basic operation of a 125 bbl Rolec system. 7-30 bbl systems is what I’ve worked most on.
Currently residing in Eureka, CA, but that may change very soon—even though I just blew $550 registering my truck here and getting a CA license. I’ve worked at breweries in Montana, Alaska, BC, and Northern California.
I only prefer to live in progressive places beyond Montana and Alaska, and have zero interest in living east of the Rockies anymore (I'm from Tennessee). I've lived in about a dozen states (I'm probably forgetting some), been to every state but Hawai'i, and been a dozen plus countries. The cost of living in a lot of place that I'd like to work is just too insane to justify, sadly. It's just me and my dog (which complicates renting even more). If you’re located in an expensive place to live, and cannot (or won’t) compensate accordingly, no use wasting either of our time.
The gist is, I’m super passionate and nerdy about beer, but sadly though, I've worked for too many breweries that don't feel the same way about beer, either because they've lost their way or were started because it was a 'cool investment opportunity' or a 'cool business to own' or not willing to spend money on quality. I've lived and breathed brewing for so many years now, but getting sick of moving from one brewery to the next just to find out they are poorly run and/or thinking that are making great beer and it's mediocre at best. If I had the capital, I'd open my own place, but I don't, nor do I have wealthy friends or family. Right now I’m about to the point of about walk away from brewing, and just rot doing something I have no passion for to make ends meet for now or work full-time for the military (I'm in the Air National Guard too).
Might as well be honest about things instead of putting up some sort of fake front so many people do when trying to find a job. If you think you can convince me to come work for you, let's hear it before a deployment somewhere opens up.
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