how far do you want to take your brewing career? What goals do you have as a brewer? i personally want to open a brew pub in my hometown it would kill
I would love to go pro but the student loans for my current career (veterinarian) cost way to much for me to afford on a brewer’s salary right now :-[
I plan to retire or at least work part time withing the next 5 years. I’d like to pick up a job at one of the 3 local brew pubs in my area.
I’ve already ruined 2 hobbies I loved (music and computers) by turning them into careers. All I want out of homebrewing is to make great beer and enjoy it with great friends.
I totally agree. Once it becomes work the fun is no longer there.
I think that I got into it too late or I would have likely done something in brewing. At this point I have the wife, 2 kids, 2 dogs, a house, etc, etc. Not sure I can rewrite my career path at this point. :-\
I would love to start a microbrewery, but I understand the start-up costs to be pretty high. I have heard figures in the 2-3 million range for a decent start. I would need to find investors. Then it becomes location, location and location. Not to mention the fact that one has to brew fantastic beer and that’s the fun part.
There is something to be said about it being just a hobby. You don’t have to do it and you can set your own pace. The only way I can see myself brewing for living is if a lot of things are paid and I don’t need to make much money. I’m not much of a risk taker. So going out on a limb and opening a brewing business is out of the question for me.
Kai
Ditto! ;D
to what denney said i agree with you but for me cooking was my biggest hobby and i made it my career and love it some people can make work pleasure for them i suppose
This sounds like a pretty sweet plan! Opening a brewpub is a retirement dream, but just a dream while I have a young family, mortgage and 15 to 20 years left in my current career. Plus, the small town I live in would probably not support it - the University town 15 minutes away - maybe. Working at someone else’s brewpub part-time (30 minutes away) - Brilliant!
Really, what I’d prefer to do would be to buy about ~20 acres outside of town and have a little hobby farm and hop ranch. I’d keep the brewing as a hobby. ;D
I loved the studio 28 years ago when I started it. I still really enjoy studio work, but I HATE running a business!
This is my biggest fear about making brewing my career. I’d love to own a brewpub, but I know nothing about running a restaurant, but realize the restaurant has to be strong enough to support the brewery until (and if) the customers start coming for the beer first and food second.
One day when I no longer have mortgage payments or have nightmares about kids tuition fees, I might feel differntly. The hop ranch still sounds more fun - and maybe a cottage meadery.
My goal is to open a brewpub in my wife’s area in France. She has a brother who is a chef and caterer, he just retired from his “day” job and is looking for something to do. Since he has the business already set up it would be a lot easier for me to just have to deal with the brewing part. My BIL the farmer could plant 20 acres of hops for me, he already grows 2-row barley and wheat. But how realistic is this, I have no idea.
This is what I want.
my dream would be to have a brewshed/detached workshop sorta like mrbowenz has…
pro brewer on a vary small scale and then a brewpub.
I wouldn’t mind open a small brewpub someday. But I’m with Denny. I’m a musician and playing drums/music for a living would be sweet at first, but I bet after a while it would surely lose it’s fun. There’s something to be said about hobbies just staying hobbies.
Yeah me too!
I would not want to do the brewery thing full time, but I love beer and all the other stuff, what I am doing is everything else related and having a blast. I have a brewing exhibit in a going on for a year, I give historical brewing demonstrations in period garb on period equipment, I have a mug club for 24 friends, the brewery ,and I am filming a wacky documentary on the holy grail of ales … other than that, I am just a wanker businessman and general underachiever
Same here.