How do you become a professional beer brewer?

There is a lot to love about craft beer. As Arches Brewing brewmaster Jamey Adams puts it, craft brewing is "the constant pursuit of perfection and the occasional realization that you have achieved it." What a job description. And, Adams adds, "If you're the kind of person who believes you should learn at least one thing per day, then brewing is for you."

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And according to three craft brewers, here's how you can become a craft brewer yourself.

1. Ask yourself, &#;Do I really want to do this?&#;

Working as a craft brewer isn't easy, warns Dustin Hazer, owner and brewmaster at Helio Basin Brewing Company. "The craft brewing industry is, more than anything, a lifestyle," he explains. "It is not just a job, and it is not a typical career path. It is physically demanding work with long hours and typically lower compensation." But, if you're up for the challenge, "the tradeoff for seeing past these barriers is that you are doing it because you love it and ultimately it makes you happy to be doing something you are passionate about," Hazer describes. "It is not for everyone, but if and when you find out it is your calling, you will know that it is undoubtedly worth it."

2. Volunteer at a local brewery

One way to get a foot in the brewery world's door &#; quite literally &#; is to visit local breweries and ask if they need another hand to help with some of their more menial tasks: keg cleaning, bottling, or canning. "Usually, you will find that they are in need of help," Adams says. As a volunteer, you can interact with staff members and network within the industry. "If you want to be in the craft brewing industry, you have to understand that breweries are sometimes small families, and it's hard to bring someone new into such a small circle," explains Danny Bruckert, head brewer at Circa Brewing Co. Volunteering is just one way you can break into that circle and network to your advantage.

3. Taste as much beer as you can

We know this will be a really tough step to take &#; that's sarcasm, readers &#; but Hazer says tasting as much beer as you can, in as many styles as you can, is a crucial step to expanding your brewing knowledge. "Write down sensory notes and compare them to style guidelines," which you can find in a bevy of brewing books, Hazer says. "This will help you start to understand the science behind the beverage as well as the art." Not only will this exercise teach you more about brewing, but it will give you a taste for whether you have the drive for this job. "No matter how long you've been brewing, there are constantly things you can be learning," he says, "so if you like the act of brewing but not understanding what is behind the brew, this profession probably is not for you."

4. Brew beer at home

As Bruckert explains, "getting in touch with the process on a basic level will give you more familiarity when you see it on a much larger platform." To start, Adams suggests joining a homebrewing club. "Often times brew clubs will brew a large batch of some style and then divide the beer into smaller individual carboys that can be pitched with different strains of yeast or dry hopped with different hops," Adams says. "This will provide much more knowledge about brewing than just a single batch treated one way." If you make a brew you're particularly proud of, take meticulous notes on your process and bring it to a professional brewer to critique it, suggests Bruckert. "Negative or positive, you'll at least be establishing a relationship," he points out, before adding, "think of each batch as a potential business card, and make sure that you label the bottles in some way with your name, number, and what kind of beer it is" before you hand it out.

5. Get a formal education

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A background in chemistry, microbiology, or even engineering could be your best friend if you want to become a brewer, Bruckert says. "Don't think that's your [only] ticket to ride though," he warns "I've seen many people come into the craft industry with backgrounds like that, who for some reason or another just couldn't manage to survive." If you don't have a degree in those fields, "a general knowledge of pH, acid/base titrations, temperature versus CO2 volumes, specific gravity, alcohol by volume, volume and weight conversions, concentration calculations, and yeast husbandry techniques will definitely help you get your foot in the door," says Adams. Bruckert also recommends joining a brewing program &#; the American Brewers Guild, Siebel Institute, and U.C. Davis &#; all offer them. "If those are out of your reach, then start as a keg washer," Bruckert says, a job that will help you learn the basics of brewing as you do more menial brewing work.

6. Start at the bottom

Scrubbing tanks may not sound like fun, but Bruckert says starting from the bottom isn't so bad. "These may not be glamorous jobs, but they are a foot in the door," Bruckert says. Soak up all the information you can and wait. "Breweries are just like any other business," he says. "People come and go, and you may find yourself next in line."

Beer lovers and craft brewing fans appreciate the work of a brewmaster, even if they don&#;t know what that title precisely means. However, they probably surmise that this professional does something special associated with a unique and complex process near and dear to their hearts.

Beer making continues to grow as an industry and a passion in new and exciting directions, mainly thanks to the emergence of craft breweries in nearly every nook and cranny of the U.S. that, as a collective but independent industry, rival the corporate brewing industry.

In November , 2nd Kitchen shared that &#;In , there were just over 1,500 breweries in the United States. As of late , there were 7,450+ breweries in America.&#; In a little over a decade, talented and enthusiastic brewmasters have played an instrumental part in this enormous boom.

Are you considering a career in professional craft brewing? If so, keep reading to learn more about this exciting, desirable, competitive, and highly specialized career path to see what you need to do to become a knowledgeable and creative leader in brewing science and art.

What is a Brewmaster?

A brewmaster is responsible for all aspects and phases related to making high-quality beer that both new and loyal customers know they can rely on every time they make a purchase. Common duties of brewmasters include:

• Creating new and unique beer recipes
• Selecting the best ingredients
• Preparing beer mixtures
• Overseeing the fermenting process
• Checking the temperatures and quality of beer samples
• Recording notes regarding the quality assurance process
• Sampling the brews at different phases to ensure the line, flavor, and taste is up to their standards
• Meeting with laboratory workers to find ways to refine the product
• Conducting equipment and beer process checks and adjusting when needed
• Correcting any issues identified during testing and sampling stages
• Working with vendors and suppliers to develop strong, positive, ongoing working relationships to keep them open to new products
• Managing staff and other resources to meet product and company objectives
• Using creativity to develop beer recipes and learning and ensuring each recipe appeals to a specified market

As a brewmaster, you will need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the art and science behind the brewing process. Ultimately, the responsibility lies at your feet to understand, develop, and deliver irresistible brews your customers love. Remember, there is a lot of competition in the beer-buying market, so you need to learn the craft beer business top to bottom and inside-out.

How to Become a Brewmaster

If you want to turn your passion for craft brewing into your career, you might wonder where and how to start. Many people wonder if it is possible to pursue formal education to support a brewing career. Fortunately, you are likely to find a respected school that offers a certificate program that will get you moving in the right direction.

There are additional steps you can take to become a top brewmaster, where you do what you love and rise to the top of your field. Here are a few things you can do to become a brewmaster:

1. Increase Your Beer Knowledge

You know you enjoy beer and would love to spend your days working with it, but there&#;s more to the life of a brewmaster than drinking beer. You need to start building and developing a well-rounded knowledge of various beers, both craft and corporate. Visit your local bars and buy different products over time to strengthen and refine your palate. Remember: take your time so you don&#;t go broke or take in an excess of alcohol in the process. If you&#;re visiting local bars for research, remember to designate a driver to get home safely.

2. Brew Beer at Home

People have brewed beer in their basements or garages for several decades, so there&#;s no reason you can&#;t hop right in and do it yourself. A quick search online will yield plenty of information on how anyone can start home brewing, but you&#;ll want to take it to the next level. As you progress, you will slowly incorporate chemistry, microbiology, and beverage service management into your personal brewing process.

You might have already started brewing beer at home as a hobby and decided to turn it into your career. If so, you are a few steps ahead of the process and well on your way. However, in taking your home brewery to a more professional level, there are some things you might want to learn, including:

• Ingredients. Knowing the basic ingredients of beer is the first step in becoming a home brewer and brewmaster. Basic ingredients include grain, hops, yeast, and water. As you know, craft beer brewing is about what you can add to your brew to make it one-of-a-kind for your audience. Today&#;s favorite brewing companies infuse ingredients like fruits, herbs, flowers, spices, extracts, and even vegetables, so the world is your oyster.
• Batch Sizes. Do you want to start by making brews for yourself and your friends to drink? If so, start with a small-batch, one-gallon brew, sometimes called &#;brew-in-a-bag.&#; That way if you don&#;t like it, you&#;ve lost fewer resources, like time, ingredients, and containers. If you like it, you can enjoy what you&#;ve made and study it to figure out ways to replicate, enhance, or improve it.
• Equipment. Home beer brewing requires some equipment and supplies, such as fermenters and accessories, airlocks and stoppers, transfers and siphons, sanitizers, brew pots and paddles, beer bottles and bottling equipment, chillers, gas burners, and caps and seals.
• Sanitization. As a brewmaster, you will need to ensure sanitization &#; always keep this as a priority throughout your home brewing journey. The last thing you want is to impact the health of your consumers, as well as incur fines and other penalties from the local health department. You want to earn and maintain a sterling reputation with the health department, your customers, and competitors. Unsanitary conditions will contaminate and ruin your brews, so think of it as protecting your creations, customers, and yourself.

3. Enter a Local Brewing Contest

Once you have developed a beer recipe you love and your friends can&#;t stop raving about, it is time to bring your homebrewed creation to the public. While you might not be ready for prime time at your local pub, you might enter a local brewing contest to see how your craft brew compares.

Here are a few steps you can take to enter and possibly win a local brewing contest:

• Find the right contest that features your type of homebrew and category
• Give yourself about one month to prepare, allowing your brew to ferment and carbonate for bottle-conditioning or force-carbonating
• Enjoy what is usually a quiet competition where judges sip and sample various brews
• Understand that there are specific guidelines judges follow to ensure accurate and fair judgment of each entrant

4. Find an Entry-Level Job at a Brewery

Whether you find an entry-level job, internship, apprenticeship, or volunteer at a local brewery, this kind of experience is invaluable. You&#;ll be asked to take on menial tasks like keg cleaning, bottling, canning, or even general maintenance. However, make sure to let the brewery owner or manager know that you want to learn the industry and plan to make it your career, and ask them if they might offer insights while you are there. Regardless of the agreement, with the right attitude, the information you seek will probably come naturally since brewmasters and their teams have a passion for what they do. In any case, stay humble and curious, and the chances are strong you&#;ll learn plenty.

5. Get a Formal Education

If you feel ready to turn your passion-based hobby into a profession, formal education will help you learn the art, science, and trade from all vantage points. Explore the Johnson & Wales University (JWU) professional craft brewing certificate program to get started.

Get the education you need to become a brewmaster by earning your professional certificate in craft brewing from JWU. For more information, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-, or [ protected].

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