Chasing the Dream (Commercial Brewing)
05/15/2024
By Mike Prejna
I love beer. Love, love, love it. And if you’re reading this, you probably love beer too.
My Story
I have to admit I didn’t really love it at the very beginning. My first beer that was all mine, not just a sip of my dad’s, was a 7 oz. Little Kings Cream Ale. I’ll never forget it — but not because of the taste. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even really like the taste that much. I was more into the effects, and the fact that I was drinking beer with my buddies.
But like a first magical kiss, that Little Kings was the beginning of a relationship which was only to deepen and become more committed. And I never imagined that beer, wonderful beer, would one day change the course of my life.
So, what began as a young infatuation with cheap, light lagers eventually gave way to a more mature love and appreciation for taste and flavor. My “Oh, heeeey” moment with beer came shortly after college, when I got interested in what I perceived as “grown-up beers.” Guiness (in a bottle, no nitro!), Samuel Adams, that kind of thing. I vividly remember the light bulb going on after tasting a Pete’s Wicked Ale. It was so deliciously different to my inexperienced palate, and I immediately knew I wanted to try other beers and styles at every opportunity.
Cut to spring 2020, and COVID. Like the rest of the world, I suddenly found myself stuck at home with lots of time on my hands. Long before the pandemic I’d toyed with the idea of making my own beer, but it was always just a vague concept — something I‘d probably get to eventually. Now there was no good reason not to go for it.
After much research and deliberation, I chose the all-grain path. I wanted to take a serious plunge rather than dip my toe in with an extract kit. (Even though kit brewing is great.) Soon, all kinds of pieces, parts and equipment were showing up on my porch — many thanks to MoreBeer!.
So, I had the beer-making tools, but didn’t really know how to use them. The extent of my brewing knowledge was what I’d learned on the free tour at Anheuser-Busch. Joining a homebrew club seemed like a good starting point. The first one I contacted — the STL Brewhogs — welcomed me with open arms, and with the help of many very knowledgeable, generous people, I was soon brewing APA, English dark mild and roggenbier, to name a few.
I mentioned that I love beer. And let’s say you love beer too. But how much do you love it? Enough to walk away from a secure, well-paying, desk job for an entry-level, physically exhausting gig that changes the whole trajectory of your life? Well, that’s how much I love it.
Home brewing, and the camaraderie I found in the club, really fanned the beer-love flames inside me. So much that I decided to pivot into the craft beer industry, via a very reputable, midsize, midwestern brewery.
I started at the bottom, in packaging, with the goal of working my way up to brewmaster. To make a long story short, I spent eight delightfully arduous, gratifying months in the job before unforeseen personal circumstances forced me to abandon that career path.
Reality of Commercial Brewing
Although things didn’t go as planned, it was a fantastic experience and I departed with zero regrets. Here’s some of what I learned:
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Commercial brewing is essentially homebrewing on a much grander scale. Sanitation is still paramount, even more so with so many moving parts. There’s way more at stake than possibly having to dump five or ten gallons of home brew.
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It’s hard work. You’re on your feet all day, hustling around on hard surfaces, climbing over and ducking under things. I dropped 10 pounds and developed a wicked toe corn in no time.
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It helps to have some mechanical and problem-solving aptitude. Things break all the time. Even if there’s a dedicated maintenance person on staff, you often have to fix something on the fly, or figure out how to keep it working.
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The brewing community is tight knit, united by a passion for beer. Everyone knows everyone. People move around from brewery to brewery, to climb the ladder or join a place with a great reputation.
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Working in a brewery is like joining a pirate ship. Everyone’s in it together, coming in early, leaving late and heartily blowing off steam after a rough day. It felt like we knew something the beer-drinking public at large would never know.
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Beer tastes REALLY good straight out of a pigtail coil on a 260-barrel tank.
Tips on becoming a Commercial Brewer
So if you have the kind of passion for beer that makes you want to possibly brew for a living, I can share this advice:
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Go for it, and go all in — take whatever job you can.
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Learn, learn, learn. Be willing to do any- and everything. Some of the work will definitely be crappy grunt work. But the more you do, the more you know and the more valuable you become.
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Buy good work boots. Make sure they’re steel-toed, waterproof and have a very cushioned insole. Don’t be cheap!
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Stay limber — stretch and keep your joints mobile. Seriously, do this.
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When you can flick and fasten a sanitary clamp around a transfer hose with one hand, you’re doing great!
Ultimately, remember to enjoy the work. Enjoy the physicality. Enjoy the camaraderie. And enjoy the satisfaction of creating something special that makes people happy.
All contents copyright 2025 by MoreFlavor Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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