I remember back in high school when it was time to start applying to colleges. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I liked math and science, but I wasn't really aware of all the potential career paths I could choose. Narrowing my trajectory down to a major was hard enough.
My parents had always thought I'd be a good engineer. They like to tell this story about when I was in preschool. I had great spacial reasoning and my dad would discuss with my teacher which kind of engineer I would be. Not if I'd be an engineer, but what kind of engineer. So when it came to choosing a major in college, I went with some sort of engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering to be exact. The coursework was challenging (especially physics, ugh), but I struggled though. However, I wasn't enjoying myself, so I switched my major to Biochemistry junior year.
This was about the time that I really started getting into craft beer. My dad taught me how to homebrew when I was 19. He would invite our neighbor over, who was a former Master Brewer and Master Maltster for some of the biggest national companies around, to come talk beer with me. But I still never really thought that I could have a career in the brewing world.
It wasn't until after graduating that I finally realized I could have a viable career in the craft beer industry. I worked for my dad doing beer-related work and learned a lot about sensory evaluation, but I never pursued it full heartily until Walter and I made the move down to Miami.
In the past 6 months I've really tried to figure out what I want to do in the next five years. I know the industry I want to be in, but how do I fit in? Why do I want to work in the industry?
Why do I want to work in the craft beer industry?
Beer is one of those beverages that seems to always be around. When my extended family gets together, beer is the beverage of choice and always some version of an American Light Lager; Busch Light, Bud Light, "The Beast", and "Bud Heavy" if you're lucky. Regardless of the style, beer brings people together. Whether it's a family reunion or grabbing a beer with a friend, beer is the beverage we can enjoy slowly and drink merrily.
I really started to like craft beer when I began learning about the process. Anyone can make beer with the right equipment. A brewer has to understand the process to truly make a good beer and a brewer has to be an artist to make great beer. It's a balance of creativity and science. A brewery needs the science to use the ingredients and understand the process to produce a quality, consistent product. But there also needs to be an element of artistry to make people want to drink the beer.
I love the idea that brewers don't make beer, yeast makes beer. In order to get the desired outcome, the brewer must manipulate an organism! to do his/her bidding. The brewer needs the yeast (or as my dad would say, the yeasty boys) to grow the proper amount, produce that right kind of flavors, and be healthy enough to do it all over again in a new beer. It's a very science-driven craft, and that's what I love about it.
There's also so many different styles of beers. I smile when someone tells me they don't like beer. I always tell them, they just haven't tried the right beer yet. Most of the time when they say they don't like beer, they mean they don't like bitter beers or the typical beers found at their local watering hole. It seems like there are endless possibilities to creating a unique blend of water, malt, hops, and yeast. There are so many different flavor profiles that can adapt to peoples' unique palates.
Brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what craft beer is. People are introducing unusual flavors and brewing practices to make new and interesting beers. Brewers are using pediococcus, lactobacillus, and brettanomyces to brew sour beers and to add unique flavors to beers that don't traditionally use these organisms. And with these new brewing practices, it become even more important to have people that can keep these organisms under control.
It's this combination of science, innovation, and community that draw me into the brewing world.
How do I fit into the craft beer industry?
Having a science background is always a plus in the brewing community. I think there are plenty of people that don't realize the precision and know-how that goes into brewing a simple beer, especially on a large scale.
I want to work in a brewery lab. Brewers deal with all the fame and glory of brewing a great beer, but the people in the lab are just as important. They make sure that the yeast are able and willing to get the job done. They test for bacterial contaminants in the fermenting product. They test for brewery infections. They test the incoming raw materials to allow for a consistent end product. Everyone in a brewery needs to work together to make the beer the best and most consistent it can possibly be.
The lab is a place to prevent problems with a beer and as well as contain problems if and when they arise. The lab makes sure that the yeast is viable and healthy, which means anything from yeast harvesting to yeast counts. The lab runs micro analysis on the beer at all different stages to ensure the beer is developing properly and that there are no contaminants.
And that's my goal for the next five years, work in a brewery lab. Oddly enough, I was very close to this goal when we were still in Miami. I got a job offer to start up a lab program at a growing brewery. It was a dream job. Not only would I be working in a lab, I would be in charge of the lab. But alas, it didn't work out.
So I'm back to the question, How do I make my goal happen?
