Sitting back near the keg washer today... washing kegs... I realized (again) that my journey is just beginning and that I have ALOT to learn still.
I am getting down the art of washing kegs (okay I already have that down), transferring beer, cleaning tanks, filling kegs, emptying the spent grains, cleaning the kettle, and milling in. These things are only a small portion of what needs to be done at our brewery everyday!
I still have to learn about the entire brewing process. I appreciate this more than ever now, brewing is a very delicate process. I will have to spend months more learning this before I can brew on my own and make sure that I am making the "same" beer as Steve. I still have to learn about yeast handling. I still have to learn about maintaining the equipment. I still have to learn about the glycol system. I still have to learn about our process controls. I still have to learn about recipe formulation. I still have to learn about scheduling.... this list could go on for a while, so let's just say that it does and you get my point.
What has been a great help for me so far is my little black book. If time allows, I follow Steve around and write down exactly what he does in the correct order. I make sure to ask questions and highlight the critical steps. After this, I am usually able to start the process of completing these tasks on my own, without being lost in the whirlwind of little things to do.
While the book has been instrumental for me so far, I am also beginning to realize that some things cannot be written in this book. I am going to have to commit to memory many other minute details of each task. I am going to have to develop decision making, problem solving, spatial reasoning, and exact timing.
Again it is these realizations that fortify my conclusion that I have a long journey before I can start my own!
I was going to upload some pictures of my drive down the mountain this morning, but our internet is horrible right now, so they will have to wait. Thanks for reading!
Cheers, Prosit, and Skoal!
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Au contraire! You have progressed from "not knowing that you don't know" to "knowing that you don't know." Next will be "knowing that you know." And finally the magical state of flow, where you know without thinking.
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