Well. I reenter the ranks of the unemployed today. Going to start job hunting. Hopefully be able to find a decent brewing job that's local and not a crap shift.
This was kind of a mutual decision that had been coming for a while. I was unhappy. It was bad for my health. Things finally came to a head.
I enjoyed the leeway of creative influence of being a head brewer and not just a shift brewer. I'll keep looking for similar opportunities. There's no shortage of growth around here.
That’s too bad Baron.
Damn.
Come to florida. Open a brewery. We need more. Ill work. Cheap.
Sorry to hear that, but ...
"Things finally came to a head" made me laugh, coming from a brewer and all.
That's frustrating. Here's to finding something soon that's a better fit!!
FYI, we seem to have a pretty fair number of breweries in Lexington KY if you're thinking of a move.....
Sorry to hear it. We were already pretty much hoarding the beer you brought... we should probably drink some of it and toast your improved happiness.
Margie
As I said in the other thread, man, that sucks. Well kind of. I mean, if'n you weren't happy, then it will be for the best in the end but those transitions can be bumpy.
So...do you know anything about distilling Rum?
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Sorry to hear it. We were already pretty much hoarding the beer you brought... we should probably drink some of it and toast your improved happiness.
Well, they let me take pretty much as much beer as I wanted home with me as I left. So I now have two cases of that sitting in the cellar.
The baroness kind of ties me here to the Columbus area. I'm rather fond of her and it would not be worth making her move. Plus, she actually has a real job that makes decent money (brewing basically makes "enough" for one person)
Best of luck, man. Sometimes things just don't work out. Life's too short to work somewhere you hate unless you make enough money that you can retire early.
(Forgive me writing a bunch of posts in a row. These are mostly for me organizing my thoughts.)
I'm going to do some soul searching. I'm wondering if craft brewing is the best career field for me. Not for lack of skill. I'm really proud of the beer I produced over the past two years and the things I made happen. Previous jobs I got frustrated with lack of influence and work variety. This time around... I kind of cared to much. Issues got to me and built up. I couldn't let them go, but I didn't quite have the power to make them happen. Like... the responsibility, but not the actual authority. I really don't think I want to start my own company. As much as I like the idea of having that autonomy, I don't really want to go through the effort of 60 hour weeks to get a brewing company up and running. I want to managing brewing, not a whole company.
What I really need to find is some place that is starting up or expanding, run by actual entrepreneur/businessmen who know business and marketing, but aren't brewers and know they aren't brewers, and who need a head brewer/brewmaster who actually knows proper production.
Good luck. I hate looking for a job. I really suck at selling myself.
Plus side... maybe my blood pressure will drop back down to healthy levels. (Not, y'know today, but in the near future.) 
Beer Baron wrote: (Forgive me writing a bunch of posts in a row. These are mostly for me organizing my thoughts.) I'm going to do some soul searching. I'm wondering if craft brewing is the best career field for me. Not for lack of skill. I'm really proud of the beer I produced over the past two years and the things I made happen. Previous jobs I got frustrated with lack of influence and work variety. This time around... I kind of cared to much. Issues got to me and built up. I couldn't let them go, but I didn't quite have the power to make them happen. Like... the responsibility, but not the actual authority. I really don't think I want to start my own company. As much as I like the idea of having that autonomy, I don't really want to go through the effort of 60 hour weeks to get a brewing company up and running. I want to managing brewing, not a whole company. What I really need to find is some place that is starting up or expanding, run by actual entrepreneur/businessmen who know business and marketing, but aren't brewers and know they aren't brewers, and who need a head brewer/brewmaster who actually knows proper production.
Maybe you're looking at it backwards. You are a head brewer/brewmaster who needs a businessman.
In reply to Beer Baron:
Doing what you love as a job is a good way to ruin your relationship with that thing.
Can your brewing skills be applied to something else that you feel less passionate about?
HappyAndy wrote: In reply to Beer Baron: Doing what you love as a job is a good way to ruin your relationship with that thing. Can your brewing skills be applied to something else that you feel less passionate about?
That's what I'm trying to determine. Or rather... yes they can. I just need to figure out what. I'd be just as happy putting them to work with something I feel is valuable, but that pays more money and has less pressure.
The job being a job and not a hobby didn't really kill it for me. It was that I was in charge of putting out the best quality product I could, and my pride wouldn't let me do less than my best. But I was putting in burn-out level of effort without a matching level of support, recognition, or compensation.
Technical skills and knowledge... I have seriously considered looking into jobs in wastewater processing. I know that seem strange, but it is actually probably the closest thing to brewing. And that's actually something I feel is of value and contributes to society.
Other thoughts: As much as I love having some creative expression, it's not a huge part of the job. What I actually liked about being a head brewer is coming up with, refining, and perfecting processes in a system that is growing and changing just a little bit each day. I like working out and solving puzzles in an environment that is a mix of manual and intellectual, but not wholly either.
And yes, I want it to be a field that I see is of real value to society. That doesn't mean it has to be fancy, flashy, or feel good. I mean, I want to be able to finish a day/week/month and be able to see the results of my work have contributed. That can be in manufacturing, or waste treatment, or teaching. I just don't want it to be in paper-pushing or selling widgets.
I see you doing one right thing right away and that is tell everyone you know (or don't know) that you are available.
Seems to me that there is a lot of beer being brewed in Columbus; everything from National Brands to medium brands like Columbus Brewing Company down to smaller places like Elevator. I know nothing of the industry but I suspect its not that big of an industry. Make sure all those people know who you are (I suspect they already do) and know you are available.
Best of luck but I figure you will come out of this very well.
Can you sell? Might there be a place for you at places like Heidelberg, the beer/wine distributor?
As in municipal waste water treatment? Takes a special breed IMO, I wasn't that breed even after years of industrial waste water treatment. Contributing to society gets old quick.
HappyAndy wrote: In reply to Beer Baron: Doing what you love as a job is a good way to ruin your relationship with that thing.
Doing what you hate for a job is a good way to ruin your life.
JohnRW1621 wrote: I see you doing one right thing right away and that is tell everyone you know (or don't know) that you are available.
Well, I need to vent. This is where I come to get semi-emotional about it and get that out of my system before I start beating the pavement and chatting up all my contacts.
Seems to me that there is a lot of beer being brewed in Columbus; everything from National Brands to medium brands like Columbus Brewing Company down to smaller places like Elevator. I know nothing of the industry but I suspect its not that big of an industry. Make sure all those people know who you are (I suspect they already do) and know you are available.
There is definitely a lot going on here. This is not a bad location for me to be in.
I used to work for Columbus brewing, and we split pretty quickly. I don't know if Columbus would re-hire me, or if I'd want to work there anyway. Elevator isn't that small. They're actually not much smaller than Columbus. I've got a decent relationship, but I don't think their head brewer is ready to step down anytime soon.
I'm leaning more towards trying to connect with someone getting ready to expand (e.g. Granville or Zaftig). Or any number of others in similar sorts of situations.
Can you sell? Might there be a place for you at places like Heidelberg, the beer/wine distributor?
I'm okay, but I'm not the best. I did a healthy amount of sales while I was working here, but I'm really a brewer/engineer type of personality rather than a closer. I really don't want to work sales. I'd rather do delivery work.
About 15 years ago I was the second programmer (and one of my best friends was the software development manager) at a startup. We had a decent amount of venture capital considering the dot com bomb had just dropped. Things were looking pretty good for success, but the programmers were all putting in 12 to 16 hours a day. It was interesting work, but you just can't keep that up no matter how much you enjoy it. Early in this job, I met an older guy at a party that gave me advice I didn't fully believe at the time. He said it doesn't matter how good your product is or how hard you work. If the business folks don't do their part well, it's all for naught. Damn if he wasn't right. We crashed and burned after 3 years. I was glad to have done it, but more glad it was over. Move on, learn, and grow.
Keith Tanner wrote:HappyAndy wrote: In reply to Beer Baron: Doing what you love as a job is a good way to ruin your relationship with that thing.Doing what you hate for a job is a good way to ruin your life.
Brewing is a job for me, not a hobby. And I'm fine with that. I like that there is an element of creativity and ego fulfillment to it, but that's not what makes the job worthwhile for me. My frustration did not come from waking up and discovering that brewing is hard work of lifting and scrubbing.
That sucks Baron, hopefully there will be opportunities in your area. I would say look into raising hops, but that'll cost you 7 figures to get started in a way that can make money.
fasted58 wrote: As in municipal waste water treatment? Takes a special breed IMO, I wasn't that breed even after years of industrial waste water treatment. Contributing to society gets old quick.
Really? That nasty? I figured treatment plants would be about as nasty as cleaning a brewery cellar. Just smelled worse.
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