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What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources cluster Food Products and Processing Systems pathway.

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How are you going to know if you're cut out to be a brewmaster? A love of beer is a good start. Visit a brewery to see the operation in process. Many larger breweries offer tours. You'll have the chance to talk to brewers about their training and experience.

Many towns have brewing clubs, and even if you don't brew your own, you can learn from others. People who want to start a small brewery must have a sense of commitment and entrepreneurship. Brewmasters in small breweries must know about running a business, and setting up and fixing distilling machinery -- in addition to knowing about brewing beer. Money management is also important for brewmasters who look after the entire operation.

Brewmasters should enjoy dealing with the public and have good people skills. It is also helpful for brewmasters in larger breweries to have administrative skills.

Some brewmasters have a degree in microbiology. This helps in understanding the yeast and fermenting process of beer.

Taking an informal apprenticeship is another route to this career. Most breweries will take people on in this role, but you have to be there when they need the help or else someone else will get the job.

Many people become brewmasters by starting out in quality control or as a laborer in a plant. It is possible to become a brewmaster without formal training. You might be able to work your way up. But education and formal training will improve your chances.

"That is obviously up to the brewery's discretion whether they want to hire someone with formal training or not," says Hurst. "I know breweries that have both. I know a very successful brewery whose head brewer never brewed a batch of beer before he walked through the door, and now he's their head brewer."

"In North America we don't really have a lot of formal training," says brewmaster Mike Kelly. "Most brewers have a background in science, so they'll have an undergraduate degree in microbiology or chemistry or something, and then... in North America there are a few different programs you can attend."

Some brewmasters, especially those at larger breweries, get their training in Europe. In fact, some say that only brewmasters who have completed a brewmaster program offered in Germany should use the title of 'brewmaster.'

"Technically 'brewmaster' is reserved for people who have gone through the four-year program in Germany," says Tracy Hurst. She and her husband, Doug, own a brewery in Chicago.

"In America we use the term semi-loosely [and] out of respect for that we say technically Doug is the head brewer because he has not done the German program."

Grady Hull is an assistant brewmaster with New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado. He started out as a home brewer.

"I liked it so I changed my major to food science when I was in college, got my bachelor's in food science, then did an internship with Coors, and then I've just been working for brewers ever since," says Hull. "I have a bachelor's in food science and a master's in brewing science, and our Brewmaster also has a master's degree in brewing science."

"For smaller brewers, maybe not, but for larger brewers I think it's pretty common to have a master's in brewing science," Hull adds. Hull got his master's degree from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.

Like many brewmasters, Kelly has taken science courses to better understand the brewing process.

"I have a degree in politics, but then I started brewing and I went back to school and I took chemistry and organic chemistry, microbiology courses, and I went to UC Davis and took some brewing science courses there as well," says Kelly. "So I have the grounding now that I need, and that allows me to take other courses as well, specifically designed toward brewing science."

What advice does Kelly have for young people hoping to become brewmasters?

"I'd say you need a grounding in science, because it's a lot easier to do it from the get go rather than taking correspondence courses while you're working," says Kelly. "Every brewer I know has at least an undergraduate degree.

"People think, 'I don't really need that to drag hoses and turn water valves on and off and stuff like that,' which is true, you don't, but if you want to have any position of responsibility, you need to be able to learn what's really happening," Kelly adds. "The scientific basis for what you're doing is really important. In facilities where people don't really know what's happening and what's sort of the cause and effect, they get into a lot of trouble, they can send out defective product and not know how to deal with mistakes that happen."

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