Making the jump from home brewing to brewing for a living

[bigmacca]

Hey Everybody,

Like alot of you on here I'm a big dreamer but I'm an absolute noob. I could definitely see myself quitting the day job and running a brewery, if only it was that easy. Im interested in knowing if many people have made the jump and turned there passion for brewing beer into profit?
What about everybody else, considering making the the jump? Whats holding you back?

Cheers
Macca

 

[manticle]

I can't think of a better way of ruining a good hobby to be honest but there's many pro brewers on here - some of whom do not post much at all any more.

///, thirsty boy, hargie, stephenkentucky, Doc, and Ross are a few who immediately spring to mind. There's others also who don't brew but work in brew related jobs - yumyumyum, Dr Smurto (works with wine yeast I think but still in fermentation and the science of fermentation) and some of the HB store owners such as Ross (again) and MHB.

Brewdog guys were homebrewers if their story is to be believed, Ron from temple was an avid and passionate homebrewer, homebrewing mate and fellow Melbourne Brewers club member Hoser is currently working for Mornington after some voluntary work, dan Dainton from grain and grape works for James Squire (and might have his own thing going on), Kai used to be with white rabbit (or still is?), Fents and trav were both with kooinda, proudscum is brewing for southern bay brewing company.

****, just realised how many of these member are MIA.

More besides. Can be done - pretty much all the above know their stuff and have done their groundwork.

 

[barls]

You will get paid better selling beer.
Been there and I'm better off selling it for one of the major chains

 

[recharge]

Thought about it, wild bull brewery in dardanup was/is for sale but the 1.7 mil was/is holding me back.

Rich

 

[JDW81]

Nope, would never want to own a brewery. I enjoy it on a home scale and that is it. Same with cooking and sourdough. Love experimenting with different flavours and textures, but wouldn't want to have my enjoyment killed off by it being a job. I suspect there is more time taken up by running the business side of things, than actually brewing.

Good luck to those who do. If your beer is good, I will buy it.

JD

 

[bigmacca]

I guess it could kill the hobby, take the fun out of it.
I actually really enjoy business and also enjoy brewing so its sounds like a good idea to me!
Im an MBA (yes another one) so i have a slight understanding of finance and business operation, just dont know much about brewing haha.

The wild bull was actually one of my local brewerys. Sad that it has closed, 1.7mil is very pricey. The venue is back on the market for a lot less!

 

[O'Henry]

If you are not so concerned about money and you are good for some hard slog then it is definitely doable. I started out with AG and /// just volunteering at five islands 5 years ago. First paid job was scrubbing the floor and cleaning graffiti and cigarette butts. Can't say it was the best job, but it led to the next and the people were pretty great.

The biggest problem I have seen with people wanting to get into brewing, when given a chance in a brewery, is how unrealistic their expectations are. In small places, it is hard physical work, kegging, bottling, 8-10 hours a day. I've seen a shift in a manual brew house lay a guy out for 2 days never to return, he had done the Masters at Heriot Watt. Most places are running tight on staff too which is the biggest problem for me. That, and sacrificing beer quality. So frustrating.

I recommend asking around at all the breweries near to you if they need help or if you can come along for a day and check it out. Persistence is the key.

 

[bigmacca]

If you are not so concerned about money and you are good for some hard slog then it is definitely doable. I started out with AG and /// just volunteering at five islands 5 years ago. First paid job was scrubbing the floor and cleaning graffiti and cigarette butts. Can't say it was the best job, but it led to the next and the people were pretty great.

The biggest problem I have seen with people wanting to get into brewing, when given a chance in a brewery, is how unrealistic their expectations are. In small places, it is hard physical work, kegging, bottling, 8-10 hours a day. I've seen a shift in a manual brew house lay a guy out for 2 days never to return, he had done the Masters at Heriot Watt. Most places are running tight on staff too which is the biggest problem for me. That, and sacrificing beer quality. So frustrating.

I recommend asking around at all the breweries near to you if they need help or if you can come along for a day and check it out. Persistence is the key.

Great advice O'Henry!

 

[BreadMurderer]

I HAVE quit my job partly inspired to do something like this.

I love beer and love to learn about it too. I've only done homebrewing (AG) for 6+ months and have taken a 6 month hiatus because of said quiting job (I'm in Beijing right now) but I'm completely open to the prospect of at least working in a brewery (scrubbing floors, anything). As for turning a hobby into a job, completely fine by me, my work is IT related which I'm just not enjoying any more. I'm 28 this month by-the-by and completely appreciate my situtation is not like a lot of folks on here, or anywhere I suppose.

Anyway nothing solid for me yet but I'm riding the wave of hope, luck and determination to see what happens. Bar work would be fine as long as I was pulling pints of craft and not raft.

 

[pk.sax]

I'm actually finishing up very soon, could call it close to burnt out by my work. Have been thinking, not too hard yet, about asking around to see if some brewery around Melbourne would let me pitch up and do what they need done on a no contract basis (can't survive on low pay for too long, liabilities). Beer, food and petrol money would be appreciated but my expectations aren't high.

 

[Phoney]

If you want to make money selling beer, buy SABMiller or Kirin shares. Because Aussies love shit beer.

 

[Dan Pratt]

If your really beleiving this is your path, take a step back....get a full time role in a craft brewery and after 12 months on the floor then decide if you could do it yourself. That's my 2bucks worth!

Also, go to gabs and taste the beers and then convince yourself that your beers are better vs the Australian made beers. If you can do that then why not.

 

[mxd]

couple of breweries for sale in WA (Bush Shack and Ironbark)

 

[TimT]

If you think you can do it, and you want to, good for you. There'd be a lot of hard work and sacrifices you'd have to make I reckon.

I don't want to do it myself. My aims - to be able to make great brews at home so it's part of my cooking repertoire, and to spread the wisdom and the love of the craft with a book or two. If I can help do so by doing classes, even better.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

I have always wanted to buy a small winery in the hunter/Lockyer valley and open a micro on premises (along with b&b, etc....) But not for quite a few years yet.

 

[Greg.L]

If you live in a rural area it is much easier to do, but not so easy to sell the product. If you buy an acreage it is even easier. Whatever, you only get out what you put in, and be prepared for a very steep learning curve. If you think you already know what you need to know, then you will probably fail.

 

[zeggie]

If it's your dream, go for it *BUT* work for someone else for a year or 3 and learn the business before going out on your own.
I see too many people with buy pubs, cafes, with NO experience and flush their money down the toilet.

 

[bigmacca]

Great advice guys. I'm currently making a few phone calls to some brewery's in WA hoping to do some volunteer work. If you know of anybody who runs a brewery in WA and might be looking for some free labour I would love to spend a few days with them.
I'm pretty fortunate I love fairly close to a WA city but live on some acreage with plent of shed space to fit some fairly large equipment. Wouldn't be an ideal place for a brew pub tho. Ever heard of anybody selling beer made from the own house? All brewery I know of a set up as a resturant/pub which is how they make a majority of the money.

My ideal plan is to start a brew pub selling craft beer on tap from a number of craft brewery's across Australia. And also maybe put my own beer on tap aswell, whilst trying to get my beer in a few bottle shops and other pubs. In addition to this maybe run a little craft brew bottlo on the side and online. Big plans big dreams we will see what happens over the next few years

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The biggest prob is all the hoops you have to jump thru just to be able to start brewing. You have to deal with local,state & federal gov levels and has to be done in a certain order.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Another bit of advice....research liquor licence's. It will cost you 2-3k just to get a solicitor to complete an impact statement and if that red tape doesn't stop you its only the tip of the iceberg.