[nateo]

I was offered $30K and 6% of beer sales at a brewpub.  Minimum wage basically

Just thought I'd point out that that's about double minimum wage (and a helluva starting salary for a brewer, to boot).

Yeah, $30k is only minimum wage if you work 4137 hours per year, or average ~ 80 hours a week, every week.  Even so, I would take that job if the opportunity arose, 80 hours a week and all.

[boulderbrewer]

So far I have no wage, but then I'm not brewing, but plumbing, electrical and construction. Some day I will brew. Will I get paid? I hope so but I have complete creative control.

[corkybstewart]

I was offered $30K and 6% of beer sales at a brewpub.  Minimum wage basically

Just thought I'd point out that that's about double minimum wage (and a helluva starting salary for a brewer, to boot).

Yeah, $30k is only minimum wage if you work 4137 hours per year, or average ~ 80 hours a week, every week.  Even so, I would take that job if the opportunity arose, 80 hours a week and all.

Well, I let my wife do the math for me and she wasn't willing to take that kind of pay cut

[nateo]

Was the 6% on beer sales off the gross, or net? Either way, that could potentially be a lot of money if it's a busy brewpub.

It might be obvious to everyone but me, but get any profit-sharing deal like that hammered out explicitly in a contract. I went into business with people I trusted (family) because they offered a profit-sharing deal and minority ownership stake in exchange for working 80-100 hours a week for less than minimum wage. Now, a year later they've decided they don't really feel like honoring their end of the deal, and since I trusted them, I never made them sign anything on paper.

[denny]

So far I have no wage, but then I'm not brewing, but plumbing, electrical and construction. Some day I will brew. Will I get paid? I hope so but I have complete creative control.

I'd say that in brewing it's the customers who pretty much have creative control.  You can try something creative, but if they don't buy it, they'll dictate what you create.

[kylekohlmorgen]

I'd say that in brewing it's the customers who pretty much have creative control.  You can try something creative, but if they don't buy it, they'll dictate what you create.

Well said, Denny.

I think that's the biggest difference in the creative aspects of pro vs home brewing. At home, you create for you. At work, you create for your patrons.

You may not like kolsch, witbier, or irish stout... but if thats what sells, thats gotta be 1st priority.

[jeffy]

I'd say that in brewing it's the customers who pretty much have creative control.  You can try something creative, but if they don't buy it, they'll dictate what you create.

Well said, Denny.

I think that's the biggest difference in the creative aspects of pro vs home brewing. At home, you create for you. At work, you create for your patrons.

You may not like kolsch, witbier, or irish stout... but if thats what sells, thats gotta be 1st priority.

Unless you are an arrogant bastard.

[majorvices]

I'd say that in brewing it's the customers who pretty much have creative control.  You can try something creative, but if they don't buy it, they'll dictate what you create.

Well said, Denny.

I think that's the biggest difference in the creative aspects of pro vs home brewing. At home, you create for you. At work, you create for your patrons.

You may not like kolsch, witbier, or irish stout... but if thats what sells, thats gotta be 1st priority.

yeah, but the point you guys are missing is this: I have complete creative control over the brewery. Obviously it will depend on what sells. But a brewer coming in to work under me will have to brew what I tell him to brew.

[kylekohlmorgen]

Ahhh, I gotcha.

So, even though you might not get to brew a barrel-aged-funky-dryhopped-saisonbock, those are YOUR recipes. Otherwise you're just brewing somebody else's.

Kind of like a great chef working for a chain restaurant.

[majorvices]

Kind of like a great chef working for a chain restaurant.

Well, now you are implying that the homebrewer is a better brewer that the probrewer who owns the establishment.  Let's put it this way, my brewery has a very narrow focus on styles. Mostly we brew Belgian and German ales. That's our gig and that's what we are sticking too. We certainly aren't going to change our flagship beers now. That said, if an assistant brewer came up with a great idea and/or recipe I'd certainly let her brew it, as long as it fit in our parameters. But as a business we are going to stick to those parameters.

[denny]

yeah, but the point you guys are missing is this: I have complete creative control over the brewery. Obviously it will depend on what sells. But a brewer coming in to work under me will have to brew what I tell him to brew.

So you'll tell him to brew what your customers tell you to brew.....

I realize there is at least a bit of creative freedom.  I'd bet that a couple of the beers you brew are completely new to your customer base, and obviously they've been well received.  But if they didn't like the styles, you'd have no choice but to brew what they liked.

[majorvices]

I've had a pretty good run of being creative but staying inside the bounds of moderation, so to speak. Some of our most sought after beers are our Tobacco Road Imperial Amber aged in brandy barrels and our Saison de Detente aged in Chardonnay bbls. And our #1 seller is a Belgian White made with ginger and lime leaves. But, yeah, there are certain limitations you have to consider as far as what will and won't sell, and you have to brew the ones that are selling whether you are tired of brewing them or not. Luckily for me I enjoy brewing all of our styles, though I will say hand grating the ginger every week does tend to get old.

[beersk]

Kind of like a great chef working for a chain restaurant.

Well, now you are implying that the homebrewer is a better brewer that the probrewer who owns the establishment.

That may be true also.  Just because one is a pro doesn't make them better than everyone else.  I realize you may have been tongue in cheek with that statement, but I wanted to rebut anyway.

[narvin]

Ahhh, I gotcha.

So, even though you might not get to brew a barrel-aged-funky-dryhopped-saisonbock, those are YOUR recipes. Otherwise you're just brewing somebody else's.

Kind of like a great chef working for a chain restaurant.

$20 bottles of barrel aged funky dryhopped saisonbock are flying off the shelf these days.  If anything, you may not get to brew a Helles!

[majorvices]

Kind of like a great chef working for a chain restaurant.

Well, now you are implying that the homebrewer is a better brewer that the probrewer who owns the establishment.

That may be true also.  Just because one is a pro doesn't make them better than everyone else.  I realize you may have been tongue in cheek with that statement, but I wanted to rebut anyway.

Yeah, well, try getting a job at a brewery with that attitude.  Also, commercial brewing is a lot different than homebrewing. Most homebrewers would not know there way very well around a commercial brewery. It's a big learning curve. Even if they have the best recipe in the world there is no guarantee it will turn out without the supervision of the folks who know how to make the equipment work.

OTOH I have known some pro brewers who made terrible beer and didn't know jack about brewing. And some of the best beer I have ever tasted has been homebrew.