Do brewers make any money?

[MikePote]

Brewing sounds like such a cool job. Making beer, sampling, testing hops... but in reality I would imagine its 99% lugging grain sacks, cleaning sticky fermenters by hand, driving forklifts, hot, humid, loud, outright hard work. I would imagine this comes with a typical blue collar salary but was curious if anybody had any insight. Not that I have any desire to be a brewer Im just bored. Thanks.

 

[insanim8er]

I'm sure the salary varies. I know someone who is making about 40k and he went to school (Bachelors) specific for brewing. It's basically a biology degree geared towards the science of beer, yeast, bacterias...etc. I think he run the lab doing the tests prepping the yeasts... if something is up with a batch, he's the one to get it fixed... etc.

It's definitely a labor of love.

http://www.craftbeer.com/brewers_banter/getting-a-boot-in-the-brewhouse-door-2

 

[Punity]

Brewing sounds like such a cool job. Making beer, sampling, testing hops... but in reality I would imagine its 99% lugging grain sacks, cleaning sticky fermenters by hand, driving forklifts, hot, humid, loud, outright hard work. I would imagine this comes with a typical blue collar salary but was curious if anybody had any insight. Not that I have any desire to be a brewer Im just bored. Thanks.

And you would be correct. Yes money can be made but its a balance of doing something you love with making serious cash. I can work for 16 hrs working at the brewery and not even notice until the next day haha, im also the only employee so everything falls on me. I didnt get into it 100% to make money yes we do but I do it becuase I still love the feeling of watching people come in specifically for something you have put your (hopefully not to much ) blood and sweat into.

 

[raabs]

That chart looks about right for medium/large.

 

[Hello]

The pay for a medium/large brewmaster is actually a lot higher than I thought. In fact, the pay for a brewmaster for a small brewery is about $5k higher than I thought. I suppose it could be location dependent as well; as with many/most jobs. I also think that if you do carry some certification or even degree specific to brewing that you could make more. I am unsure if breweries are seeking brewers who have such education under their belt, it would be interesting to find out.

I've worked just over half my life in the same line of work. Sticking with the same industry, I found something that I was highly passionate about. With mergers & acquisitions over the last decade, I have found myself doing whatever I can to hold down the job which has proven to be impossible for me to be passionate about. Make no mistake, I am happy to have a job, even if I am not passionate about the job.

Since I started brewing and hanging around breweries, I have found groups of people who have left high paying careers only to have their pay sometimes cut in half, or more, just to do what they love. I assume many home brewers have looked into what it takes to be a brewer on a pro-level and what it pays, regardless of their ability to make that leap. I am not sure I want to be a brewer forever. I am still in the honeymoon period of the hobby where I think everything is awesome and it would be awesome to do this 24/7. I am also aware that brewing is a small percentage of the job and cleaning and hauling crap occupies more of the job than not. However, what these folks have done, the ones who left corporate America jobs behind for less pay, sometimes no benefits, and days upon days of getting dirty and working longer hours, have inspired me. Unfortunately, inspiration doesn't pay the bills.

/ramble

 

[mbbransc]

I couldn't financially take the cut to work in a brewery. And I wouldn't be excited about increasing my hours and being away from my family. I think I've settled on the idea of trying to intern at a brewpub/brewery after I retire from my day job. I think I'd really like working in a brewery, even if it were for free... when I didn't need the money. Think I'll have to stay in the rat race until then.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

It's one of those things that would be cool to check off your bucket list (measure hops by the pound and brew a 20barrel batch of Double IPA) but you definitely have to do it because you like beer, not because you think making beer is so specialized that you deserve a huge paycheck.

It takes some getting to know the brewmasters and convincing their legal guy it's worth the paperwork, but I've heard more than a few of them welcome having guest brewers help for a day.

 

[GrogNerd]

brewers make beer, some get paid to do it

 

[Punity]

brewers make beer, some get paid to do it

Good call haha