I thoroughly enjoy reading literature about beer and brewing (duh), and I've found a group of folks that churn out supremely satisfying content:
Brulosophy.
Marshall Schott founded the site several years ago aiming to improve the hobby of homebrewing one
exBeeriment at a time. Schott takes common claims and, to paraphrase Andy Weir's
The Martian, he "sciences the shit out of it." Through blind triangle testing, statistical analysis, and the good ol' fashioned Scientific Method, Brulosophy and its contributors tackle misconceptions and internet arguments about various brewing techniques like
alcohol-infused Mythbusters.
The level of professionalism coupled with everyone's favorite beverage makes this website a treasure trove of edutainment. In addition to these xBmts, Brulosophy has a segment called
Bru's Views wherein the regular contributors as well as guest contributors from the craft beer industry will weigh in on opinion-driven brewing topics. In their latest installment,
Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company joined the fray to discuss what every homebrewer eventually spends a slightly inebriated evening contemplating: Should I go pro?
Y'all have been extremely supportive of New Main in the past, and as I've mentioned not quite often enough, I am sincerely grateful. However, the notion of diving head-first into the brewing industry, halting my degree-based career and comfortable lifestyle is at best risky and at worst irresponsible.
Many of the Bru's Views contributors believe the biggest factor against going pro is that homebrewing is nothing like commercial brewing. It has been my experience through talking with our local industry folk that this is 100% accurate. The largest part of owning/operating a brewery has nothing to do with boiling wort. It has to do with unabashedly hard work in difficult environments on expensive equipment with ever-looming deadlines. The brewing industry is not to be entered into lightly and takes a solid constitution in order to stay above water, let alone succeed.
Another aspect has to do with market saturation and increased competition with other brands in your marketplace. The Brewers Association reports nearly
two new breweries open every day. While this is great for consumers and craft beer fans, this will eventually mean slimmer margins and tighter belts on each brewery's budget. Don't get me wrong, competition is a cornerstone of the capitalist free market, and I would never choose to live in a society where things like what I drink and where I can shop were decided for me.
That being said, sustainable growth is a tricky thing to master in a fledgling industry. The typical American brewing entrepreneur usually enters the market thinking they will be the next Jim Koch or Sam Calagione. Everyone remembers what happened in 2008 when the housing bubble burst. Some of you may still be recovering from that colossal crash, and my sympathies are with you. It's with this in mind that I am slowly realizing the attitude of "I'm just one more brewery/business/loan" just might be the beginning of the end for markets that grow too quickly.
By all means, you should chase your dream and pursue your happiness, but you better be damn sure what your happiness looks like. My biggest epiphany came in the form of the cliche interview question, "Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?" This can be an immensely helpful question for people to ask themselves about their personal life and goals. Unfortunately most interviewees are concerned with what the interviewer wants to hear rather than what they honestly want their life to look like 5-10 years down the road.
Sure, everyone wants to be successful and happy, but that's entirely too broad to begin acting on today. Avalanches are often precipitated by a series of small but no less important events. You really need to focus on what a specific day in 5-10 years would look like. For example, here's my idea of Wednesday, March 10, 2021:
6:30AM - Wake up
7:00AM - Make coffee and breakfast.
7:30AM - Kiss my wife goodbye as she goes to her immensely successful and rewarding job as Director of Bands at the school of her choosing.
8:00AM - Read latest articles and message boards for tips on improving something about my brewing setup and/or writing.
10:00AM - Whoa, I passed practically all this morning without checking my own website hits and comments section. Hmm. only 6,000 views today, but 1,000 comments?! I guess my article on subterranean brewing with moon-grown hops and fair trade water was a little too edgy. Better take it down a notch next time.
11:30AM - Make lunch and take it to Amanda's band hall. Reminisce about how cool it was for her to be honored at
TMEA last month as the youngest female Honor Band winner. Help her organize her clinician appearance schedule for fall 2021.
1:30PM - Back to the home office to research facts and figures for my second book,
Take That, Big Beer: A Complete Guide to the 21st Century North Texas Craft Beer Boom. (First book was a New York Bestseller about time-traveling baby geniuses, of course)
3:30PM - Rack my split batch of Imperial Red Ale (one clean, one with Brett) to secondary and check the gravities on last week's batch of my award-winning Palo Alto wit. I may keg that one this weekend so it will be ready for next week's
34th Annual Bluebonnet Brew-off "Meet the Homebrewers" pouring session.
4:00PM - Reach out to Bluebonnet Brew-off Director Kyle Nelson for a 3D video interview, record for tonight's live podcast from Atypical DFW Studios.
4:30PM - More writing for the book, specifically the chapter on the impact of to-go sales legislation change on distributors and bottle shops. Contact Deep Ellum, and Grapevine Brewing to set up interviews based on their successful
legal alliance formed back in 2015 to sue TABC.
5:30PM - Make dinner before guests arrive. Fajitas with my famous guacamole. Eat entirely too much guacamole before I decide it's ready to serve.
6:15PM - Dinner with wife and podcast crew, go over last minute topic changes for the show, discuss new sponsor Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
7:00PM - Start live broadcast, show topic: Upcoming Bluebonnet Brew-off, Martin House's upcoming 8 year anniversary party, The Expendables 7 - This Time It's Geriatric, vertical tasting of
Collective's American Sour Red 2016 through 2021.
9:30PM - Kick everyone out of the house, watch latest episode of Better Call Saul spin-off, Tio Salamanca Knows Best
11:00PM - Lay down and reflect on an awesome day spent doing what I love with the people I love, thank God for the invention of the Dog Fart Eliminator which is prominently affixed to the wall near the head of the bed.
Okay, so maybe some of these things are a little far-fetched, but hey, you gotta swing for the fences. My point is it's just as important to be able to put your dream into real, measurable terms as it is to have a dream in the first place. How else are you going to make them come true? And as much as I'd like to say my dream is owning and operating an award-winning brewery, I fear that my lack of relevant experience in both the brewing and business arenas means I am more likely to become a statistic than a success story if I were to jump into it right at this moment.
All caution and forethought aside, brewing is one of my deepest passions. If I could maintain the lifestyle I currently enjoy while brewing beer that I would be proud to serve, you bet your ass I'd be doing it. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm enjoying the comfort of a somewhat typical middle class American lifestyle while brewing tasty beer for my friends and family, and thanks to the internet I've been granted the opportunity to share this experience with all of you. Here's to the next 5-10 years! Cheers!
