Monday, June 15, 2009

Day 1: Now Officially a Brewer!


See Above: When I was a home brewer, it was a much simpler time.

On the bottom, you can see me "racking" a particularly astounding oatmeal stout. Cleanup time: 10 - 15 minutes.

On the top, you can see the 50 or so "pigs" that I had the fortune of cleaning today. Cleanup time: 3 hours.


Today was my first day as a brewer at Lone Peak Brewery. Here is today's lesson: professional brewing and home brewing are VERY VERY DIFFERENT. They are worlds apart in fact. One is a job and one is a hobby. Can anyone tell me a hobby they have that entails a 9 hour day of repetitive tasks and heavy lifting? Here is my advice to you "aspiring brewers" who have tons of home brewing experience. Go spend a day at a brewery. When you are there make sure you stay from the heating of the hot liquor tank, to the cleaning of the kettle and lauter tun.

I don't want to paint a negative picture about today. I had an incredible day. It was filled with hard work, learning, the smell of beer brewing, and ended with a huge sense of self satisfaction. I am excitedly looking forward to my future in this industry. For the time being, I am going to have to work hard learning the ropes, and hopefully have a little fun in the process.


2 comments:

  1. Hi Spencer - I'm a friend of your mom's - what an excellent adventure! Congratulations on the start of a wonderful career.

    Betsy Wuebker
    http://passingthru.com/

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  2. Do you think video game developers think the same thing?

    Hope today went better for you.

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