Homebrewer wants hands-on craft brewery experience

AmitK

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I have been howebrewing.... I want to have a hands-on craft brewery experience in San Francisco bay area.
I work in IT job but I want to try this also. I wish I could pay and I could get intern kind of experience where I can
learn all the start to end of commercial craft brewery experience. Please let me know if this is possible and how ?
 
If you're willing to do a lot of janitorial work for free, you might just get to work at a brewery. That's where many people start. Put in some applications.
 
. Put in some applications.

And don't quit your day job...Unless you're an IT guy living with mom and dad, you're still gonna need a roof over your head...... in the highest cost of living city west of the Misssissippi.
 
A. Dream on. :p
B. Join a homebrew club with some connections. Many breweries will host or sponsor contests where the winner gets a chance to brew their recipe on a pilot or bigger system. It's usually the smaller, starting-out breweries, but it's an awesome experience!
C. Get to know people who actually work at breweries. it's a pretty casual culture, for the most part. Very often you can get a chance to come in and observe a brew day and help muck out the mash tun or help with clean up to justify your presence.
D. If you brew pretty good beer, pester the local small brewers to try it. They'll give you honest feedback and it's a good way to get a conversation started.
Best of luck! There are so many good brewers on the west coast, you'll find somebody that's receptive to your enthusiasm! ;)
 
Go in and ask. Sometimes you can find a brewery that will let you come in for a brew day. A number of breweries will look for people to help out on canning or bottling day, packing up the 6 packs on to a pallet or folding case boxes. That at least gets a foot in the door, plus you usually get to take home some that get dented or low filled.
 
Be careful what you ask for too, a brew day is a FULL day, it is a significant investment of time. Plus remember that there is a lot going on, and they may prefer not to have the distraction of an observer/helper. I use to have friends stop by when I am brewing, but I found that I get distracted from the task of making beer. I now make a point of telling people about my brew days after the fact.
 
They’re a little apprehensive about introducing a new face to the brewery, it is distracting, plus insurance and labor laws complicate that. But you can start by bringing in some good homebrew for them and introduce yourself, generally they love some good homebrew. Personally, I think homebrew can be more interesting than commercial.

Don’t have any illusions about it, it is not glamorous. Mostly cleaning and overall shit work. I work at a brewery now and then as a volunteer brewer, it’s not a party for sure, but it is interesting even when the fun wears off; especially when you see people drinking a beer you had a hand in. Good luck, I hope you find a spot.
 
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I thought about doing it but I know enough brewers now that I am happy to just BS with them. I make to much money in IT to go into brewing.
 
If you're willing to do a lot of janitorial work for free, you might just get to work at a brewery. That's where many people start. Put in some applications.
I wont leave my IT good paying job. I am fine for janitorial work. Let me put some applications.
 
And don't quit your day job...Unless you're an IT guy living with mom and dad, you're still gonna need a roof over your head...... in the highest cost of living city west of the Misssissippi.
Why to quit a cash cow good paying job :) My parents live in India and I am thinking to learn all this and open a brewery in India by the help of my brothers. Craft brew culture in India is at infant stage and lot of scope for future.
 
I wish you the best of luck with your goal.
 

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