Home brewing has always been a hobby with numerous possibilities for the financial benefit of the home brewer. With the skills and knowledge of brew craft that many home brewers have, it is easy to make the jump from a hobbyist into a career brewer. Some brewers start by opening their own local brewpub. Others go to one of the many schools offering degrees in Master Brewing, hoping to land a job with a larger company that produces ales of quality. Some brewers even go underground to sell their concoctions at parties and even speakeasies. If you are thinking of a career in brew crafting, it is wise to look at many of the entrepreneurial options available to you. You might just find the perfect new career you have been looking for!
Many home brewers love to brew beer, but have trouble making the jump to using industrial style equipment. If you are confused by the array of home brewing products out there, just remember: with each jump in technology, you will be able to make more beer, more efficiently, more cost effectively, and more time effectively than ever before. It is always good to keep your old bottling tools on hand in case you want to make a special gift bottle or limited edition ale. But for the entrepreneurial home brewer, a move to Cornelius kegs and the larger regulation kegs is an important step.
Cornelius kegs are a great way to get to know how modern beer kegging works, and to experiment with carbonation techniques. The set-up price is relatively small, and the savings in time that would otherwise be spent bottling is vast. Another good initial investment is the kegerator, or kegerator conversion kit. A proper knowledge of how your Cornelius keg interacts with a draft beer system will help you greatly when you switch to regulation kegs. Cornelius kegs are becoming harder and harder to find second-hand, but they are available as brand new or reconditioned units through many home brew equipment suppliers.
Because of the size of the Cornelius keg (about 6 gallons), it is the perfect choice for the home brewer who wishes to gradually develop their brew shop and range of knowledge. Most home brewers start out brewing batches in that range, and this will allow home beer production to increase without the need for a larger kettle – but this is the next step! Once you have started to keg your beer, you will find it so easy to make large amounts, that you will want to increase your kettle size to around nine gallons. A nine-gallon kettle takes only a little more time to brew than a three or five gallon one. Many home kitchens are not built to accommodate such massive pots, though, so you will have to plan ahead to ensure success with this increased brew load.
You should always have a spoon or stirring paddle that can easily reach the bottom of your kettle. Kettles with false bottoms and spigots can easily facilitate the exit of the wort from the kettle, which can be a real problem if your kettle is holding in excess of five gallons. Because of the weight of the wort, you will basically have to not move the kettle until the wort has cooled. If you are using a wort chiller to affect this change, you should ensure that the water lines can reach the kettle where it is placed.
The most important jump for the entrepreneurial home brewer is the use of the all grain brewing technique. By using grains, you will save money over using malty extract, and as your batches become bigger and bigger, these savings will increase exponentially. There are some more start up costs associated with this kind of brewing, but also many shortcuts you can use while perfecting this brewing technique. Some find it distasteful, but the use of food grade five gallon plastic buckets can replace the need for a false bottom kettle, and a cleaned and sanitized camping cooler can also help with the mashing process, where maintaining temperature is so important. If you consider yourself a bit of an engineer, and have a lot of room to work with, the three tier brewing system is the best way to maximize the efficiency of your all grain brewing setup.
The career of a brew master is a fun, creative tradition that is enjoyable for both the brewer and the drinker! Remember that you need not have a degree to be a master brewer, but a scientific knowledge of brewing will only make it easier to repeatedly produce the unique ale that is yours! Remember that an eye for invention and mechanical improvisation will save you tons of time and money in this effort, and good luck!
