I am a Brewer!

At least I'm an assistant brewer.  I just saw that my last post was almost two years ago.  I am shamed by this for two reasons.  One, what's the point of having a blog if you're not going to update it.  And more importantly, number two, I see that I've done almost nothing in that time to get where I said I wanted to go. Well hopefully that all starts to change now.

So, about that assistant brewer position I now hold.  A friend of mine's wife works at a local brewpub near here, Stockholm's.  One day we went over to have drinks at her place.  The owner happened to be there and we got to chatting.  I mentioned that I home brewed and asked if he needed any help.  In the politest of blow-offs he said it was pretty much a one man operation.  Fine, I didn't expect much.  We just finished our night out and I went on my merry way.

Stockholm's Vardshus

I believe a couple months went by and my friend calls me.  He said that Michael, the owner of Stockholm's, needed help with the brewing, and asked if I was still interested.  Was I ever!  Michael had hurt himself and was unable to do the heavy lifting that was necessary.  So that's where I came in.  So starting in May, I began doing the heavy lifting and bending involved with the brewing.  Things have gone well since then, as the job has progressed from just following directions to being in control of the process on brew days.  Management is minimal and I am often left alone to follow the process on my own.

Brew days are generally on Thursday's, and they start very early.  Due to electric circuit problems with the kitchen, brewing equipment and kitchen equipment can not be run at the same time.  That means I get to get up at 5 am to start brewing.  That usually will take around three hours if I'm strictly brewing that day.  Other duties include measuring ingredients, cleaning kegs, and rotating stock.

Keg days are Mondays.  They also start at 5 am, although I suspect that since the circuit problem is irrelevant, we don't run the pump or heating element, I could get more sleep and do it later in the day.  It is nice however, not having to try to fight around wait or kitchen staff.  Kegging is a quicker day and I'm usually done in under two hours.

Aside from the weekly beer making, I've also been a part of a couple beer festivals this summer.  The first was at the beautiful Garfield Conservatory in Chicago.  It was some sort of benefit thing that they've been doing for a couple years.  On a side note, a few weeks after being there a bad storm came by and sent hail through a large majority of the glass windows that make up the conservatory.  The other one was the Midwest Brewers Fest.  It was a first year fest held in Plainfield, IL.  It was a long twelve hour day, with strict rules from the Plainfield police, that prohibited beer pourers from sampling other breweries beer.  That's one of the perks of working these festivals!

Wish me luck with Stockholm's.  I hope to gain knowledge and contacts while working there.  It's been a fun few months.  On the homebrew front, I need to get on it.  I haven't brewed in a long time.  I'm planning on giving beer out as my Christmas gifts this year, so that should be fun.

Skol!