Many craft beer lovers, homebrewers, and microbrewer wannabees imagine that the life of a brewer entails little more than smiling and sampling beer. Indeed, beer magazine and brewspaper articles tend to feature photos of brewers and brewpub owners, either solo or surrounded by beaming friends, raising full pint glasses.
Have a look at the recent blog series by Chris Poel, lead brewer at Baird Beer in Numazu, Japan, for what he calls a "reality check." He kept a diary of his daily tasks in the brewery over five days, and it is sobering reading. Walk along with Chris as he scrambles to complete countless brewing jobs both big and small, and you may be surprised at how few of them actually involve the brewing process.
Chris's intention is to show "the full range of work that a brewer in a small brewery needs to do," and he does that with grace and good humor.
Here are links to the five posts:
