A Few New Things

It has been a while since I have last updated this blog, and just a few things have changed.

Since I have been at Silver City, I have been trained on nearly every brew house operation. I have improved my brew yields and efficiency, mash and gravity accuracy, and vastly improved my physical condition and multitasking ability.

I also got a raise. Which is nice.

In January, my wife collected donations from my family for my birthday so that I could make my dream kegerator. I couldn't have been happier with the gift. I can now pour three beers at a time from the brass faucet tower, and store up to four more kegs plus some bottles in the same space.
My wife is the best!

It's been a great past few months and I am feeling confident in my abilities and seeing a bright future for me in this industry.

Hopefully I'll see some of you during Seattle Beer Week or the Cask Ale Festival this month.

Cheers,
Greg

The Great American Beer Festival 2009

The Great American Beer Festival is held every year in Colorado. It is what some would consider the Olympics or the Oscars of the beer industry.

This year there were 495 breweries entered into the competition, with a total of 3,308 entries. 49,000 people attended the festival and perused the 2,100 different beers available in the festival hall.
Silver City Brewery entered 10 beers this year for judging. We came away with two Gold medals; one for Ridgetop Red in the Irish Red Ale category, and one for Old Scrooge '98 for the Old Ale or Strong Ale category. We also came away with a Bronze medal for our Gold Mt. Pilsner in the International Pilsener category.

Three medals for ten entries is incredible. Once again I am proud to be a part of this team.Cheers,
Greg


**What I did today at the brewery:
Brewed Imperial Stout

Makin' That Paper

When I decided to become a brewer and pursue a career that would fill my soul rather than drain it, I understood that I might take a serious pay-cut.

Given that I had been laid off and we reduced our monthly expenses considerably by moving in with my wife's parents, it was the perfect time to start a career from the bottom up.

Even though I took a near 50% reduction in pay compared to my marketing career, my first paycheck from Silver City was worth a lot more than the amount printed on the paper.

I think you can see it in my face.



Cheers,
Greg

Bumps and Bruises

This job is physical.
A full keg weighs about 170 pounds. A bag of malt weighs 50-55 pounds. The combination of heavy objects that need moving, a growing brewery with no space to spare, and a brand new brewer who is often not awake at 6:40 a.m., bumps and bruises will happen.
On my right hand, I have had 5 cuts. On my left hand, I have had a crushed ring finger that is still bruised after a couple weeks.
I stood up into a metal box on the wall in the cellar that made my head bleed.
A stainless mash paddle fell towards me as I was gazing into the mash tun. It struck me just behind the left ear and cut and bruised the area. That one hurt.
I have rammed my knee into the sharp pieces of a serving tank, ran into a gas-in nipple on a uni-tank, and nearly slipped off the brew deck.
Even with the pain, blood, and immediate cursing, this job is really growing on me. I've having fun and am proud to be a part of the Silver City team!

Cheers!
Greg

Going full-time

I heard the news Friday that I will be going full time starting on Wednesday, July 1st. The other good news is that it will be Monday through Friday, no weekends! The head brewer pushed hard for me to go full-time because he wanted me to be his cellarman; racking, cleaning, prepping, and transferring beer so that he can focus on brewing.

Looking back on the only 10 or so days I have been working there, it's incredible how many tasks I can perform on my own. I still don't feel as confident as I'd like with everything, but I have to remember that I've only been working part time for one month. Then I think, "I guess I'm doing pretty well!"

As my schedule heats up, Sara and I are very confident that we will be moving over to the Kitsap peninsula sometime soon so that I don't have to commute on the ferry every day for 1.5 hours. It may be tough to leave the cool scene that is the Seattle area, but it may be nice to have a bit of a new beginning, post grad-school and post crappy marketing job. After all, it would only be a ferry ride away to go downtown or to a quirky pub in Fremont.

Now is a huge transition period for us, but good things are happening and the future is bright.

Brighter than the Belgian Golden Strong that I am currently sipping.

Cheers everyone, and thanks for the support. More to come on this journey!

Greg

Starting to get it....

I've learned so many processes since I've started. Today I racked out a serving tank to kegs, cleaned out the pub lines (not an easy process), milled grain for the IPA, and filled a couple more kegs. I learned how to clean a serving tank and how to harvest yeast from a fermenter.
Pretty cool stuff. Plus I am getting free lunch every day!
Some advice to those who want to go pro:
Learn as much about tri-clover fittings, cleaning and sanitation, draft systems, and Sanke kegs. Those things are the primary skills I am using right now, supporting the brewery and pub.
Of course, as much information and education about all aspects of brewing and serving would be beneficial.

I hope that you have an opportunity to try some of Silver City's beers in the near future. They are really fantastic.

We just found out today that we won four awards at the North American Beer Awards. A Gold, two Silvers, and a Bronze.

Looks like I got in at the right time at the right place. ;)

First Day

I arrived at the brewery at 6:40am yesterday and met up with head brewer Gary. We went through the opening rounds, checking the cellar to make sure there was enough beer to serve for the day.

Gary and I then man-handled a pallet of 50 lb grain sacks up a ladder to the milling room above the brewery. The mill room was a good 90°+ and I sweated like a pig.

Next, I learned to fill up a keg the right way and then we prepped for bottling day.

The portable bottling machine arrived at 9 am and once it was set up, all hell broke loose (in a fast-paced, productive kind of way). Until 3pm, there we 3-6 people on the bottling line pushing cases and cases of bottles into the truck. We labeled, bottled, packaged and stamped for hours.

It was the inaugural bottling of Silver City's Deluxe Malt Liquor. Sooo tasty and smooth. At a moderate 6.2% alcohol, it's a nice balance of session and sip, and extremely refreshing.

We then bottled Whoop Pass Double IPA (epically hoppy and incredibly delicious; one of the best double IPA’s available) and Indianola Pale Ale. Overall we bottled a few hundred cases. It was pretty epic to see how many cases we actually put together and to know that those will sell.

At the end of the day after cleaning up, my old Timberland leather shoes were completely soaked and so were my feet. My shoes and socks were saturated with beer and with water.

I was sore as I drove home from my thighs to my toes. My shoes were incredibly inadequate for standing and hauling all day and even a day later my feet are hurting.

Even with all the hard work and the pain, it's still great to be part of a team that wants to help me learn and develop. I'm confident that I'll catch on pretty quickly and feel a bit more autonomous in my position.

Today, Sara and I went looking for work boots. I finally got a pair that’ll keep my feet dry and comfortable. Now I feel even a little more like a real brewer!

I think I’m still in shock. I’m actually living my dream!

Cheers!

Greg