Back to August 2013, when I reflected to a year of working at a brewpub. It’s definitely more a social interaction as a role rather the production environment. I compared the brewhouse to Mercedes Benz and while German built it had certain quirks that made it unique. The system used a step mash rest on many of the beers, it involves start the mash (think oatmeal mixture) at a lower temperature and over time raising it. In today’s era of well modified grains it doesn’t have the necessity except for wheat beers. It was a fun system mostly automated valves. To learn it I mapped each valve and location, then sat down in the brewpub and reviewed all the brewing steps and how they would proceed through the system. I took that list and map up to the brewdeck and by the third brew I had memorized it.

Time passes so quickly, I knew my one year mark as Pub Brewer was approaching but it zipped past this week. It seems then a fitting time to write a post on what I have learned.

Production and Pub brewing are different animals, while production may have tours occasionally, a Pub Brewer is a public face to the beer. Tours and talking with people with questions is a regular requirement. Who knew giving tours of the Capitol so many years ago would have prepared me for this task. At times I can delve into brewing minutiae but most folks want the basics and be entertain on the ride. This interaction is not just limited to customers, but there is a constant cycle of trying to get restaurant staff trained on the house beers, brewing process, and other basics. So if you don’t enjoy the education aspect of brewing I would suggest a production environment is better suited to ones skills.

In previous jobs there were always smart folks around. I could ask for a second opinion and get feedback, but in the brewpub it all ends with me. It’s not to say my supervisors aren’t very helpful and supportive, but they are more than an hour away so if I am in the middle of a problem it’s up to me to diagnose and solve it. This may be the best part of the job, it can be frustrating but the joy of solving a puzzle is fun, heck it may be as joob as the brewing.

As for the brewing it has been a fun and challenging year, first I taught myself how the system worked. My favorite comparison is that the brewhouse is like a Mercedes Benz, it runs like a dream, but if you try to start it in 3rd it will kick you. We made a couple repairs when I started so it won’t be another few weeks until I hit a year brewing on the system, but then my numbers will be pretty close to the project 600 barrels a year on the system. I would perhaps brew more in a production environment but I don’t know if it would be as much fun. This year if the numbers continue on the current track I’ll probably brew more.

(Summation) hard work, odd hours, but more enjoyable than other.

Never got to 600 in the year, but I was on to the next job about four months later. The company stopped brewing operations at the location and left equipment as showpiece. They never bothered to even pull the grain from it’s storage space such the waste.