I know I can’t speak for everyone that brews their own beer as to why they do it.  Having said that, I’m willing to bet more than half of us do it for the creative “let’s see what happens when I do this” aspect.  There are so many variables that have an affect on the final outcome of a beer, it’s almost mind boggling.  But that’s what makes it so cool right? 

As many of us have read in Jamil’s blog, starting a brewery from scratch isn’t for the faint of heart.  In the past 2 months I have begun to understand this fact more and more.  I have become quite entrenched in the process of ordering a brewing system, estimating costs, developing CIP processes, determining volumes of waste water etc.  All of which are intertwined in one way or another.

Last month we were very close to ordering the brewing system from a well respected manufacturer here in California.  That is, until we found out that there was a “zoning issue” and that selling pints out of the current location was out of the question.  The previous owner of the brewery had indeed been selling pints out of the tap room without the permission of the county and was going to be shut down. He ended up going out of business prior to any enforcement.  We had no idea about this restriction and direct to consumer sales were assumed in the initial business model which now had to be reevaluated.  Considerations were then taken to focus on keg distribution and/or look for a separate location for a taproom with the proper zoning in a more traffic heavy location in town.

After much discussion, the partners decided to move forward with the purchase of the brewing system..... until some information on the limitations of the septic system that the property was on came to light just a few days before pulling the trigger.  After meeting with a consultant familiar with the septic system and a few county officials, it was determined that the amount of water used during the various cleaning processes and brewing of 5 bbl batches would likely exceed what the system was designed for and could result in failure.  I cringed at the thought of what a septic failure entails, but we were told it would shut the brewery down for a long time if that ever occurred.  That’s wasn’t an option.  After looking at a couple alternative solutions it was determined that we would likely have to look for another location and that means more start up costs.  But hey, if it was easy then everyone would be doing it right?

I’m not sure how many of you have been to Las Vegas or any other city that has a casino with a craps table.  I personally try to stay away from table games these days. But in my younger years I’ve put some money down on the pass line a time or two.  When someone is rolling the dice and has gotten hot, there’s nothing quite like the roar of the people standing around as everyone is winning and high fiving each other.  Then people start doubling their bets and letting it ride.  More risk equals more reward right? But at some point, there will be a 7 or 11 rolled... and that is when it gets quiet. 

Given that one can only scour the globe for the right job opportunity so much each day, it begs the question: what other tasks can you fill your plate with that will help you hone your craft and keep you sharp?  For me that has been very simple.  Write, brew, repeat.  Allow me to explain. 

Validation can be a good and a bad thing.  It reassures us that an idea, object or person is just as we thought they were in either case. In a positive sense it let’s us know we are on the right track, are thinking with a least a somewhat objective mind and that we aren’t crazy.  When homebrewers put together a recipe, brew it, baby sit our little microscopic friends as they work their magic and properly package these original concoctions, I think deep down we are all wondering the same thing.  Is this going to be as good as I hope it will be?  

I’m sure you’ve heard the term, “I’ve got a few of irons in the fire right now”.  While this suggests that someone’s got a lot going on at any particular moment, it doesn’t really tell you how hot the fire is burning now does it?  I bring this up because I’ve had some interesting discussions over the past few weeks over potential job opportunities.  First, there is a group of gentlemen that are planning on building a production brewery in a nearby city that are looking for a head brewer.  Sounds good so far.  The catch is that they’re only in the planning phase (I’m guessing at least 6 months out) and are also looking for someone to be a capital investor as well.  Could be risky, could be beneficial.  We’ll see how that progresses.  

Another opportunity I applied for was a brewer position at a small place in Montana.  The response I got was encouraging, but then I was sent a pretty long questionnaire which is supposed to narrow it down to 6-8 candidates due to the large response they got.  I didn’t realize there were that many brewers looking for work out there, much less ones looking for it in big sky country.  I then learned that one of the brewers from Stone left to become the Head Brewer at a smaller local brewery here in San Diego.  He seemed like a cool guy when I was doing my internship there, so I contacted him.  He replied and informed me that they were in the process of building a new facility and it should be finished in a month or two.  They might need a new brewer once it’s up and running, so that seems to be the most promising prospect so far.  

I also got an email from an old college buddy that he and some other people are looking to open a pub in the Sacramento area.  For whatever reason, they need to produce their own beer on site to get a liquor license in a timely manner.  This one might be a longshot, but they are going to need someone to make the suds for them if it gets past the planning phase.  (Fingers crossed)  Not to perpetuate the cliche, but it appears I’m poking a few irons around some sort of fire.  That being said, my sneakers aren’t melting at the moment, so it looks like I have some more work to do to get that sucker white hot.