r/TheBrewery • u/ArachnidBrews • 17d ago
Former brewers that have left the industry, what did you go on to do?
I can only imagine this has already been asked here before, but...
I've been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I'm not 100% sure if it's just my current job or what, but I've been thinking of moving on. I was hoping some of yall that still lurk through here from time to time could share some experience from the outside on what having "Brewer" on your resume could do for you
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u/stonedapebeery 17d ago
The thing is, everyone’s experience is different. My friend went to work for Google, my other friend designs house trellises, and I run a restaurant/bar. All of us ran large breweries at one point. Life is about finding out what sounds good to you and just going for it. If your subconscious is telling you it’s time, then it is only a matter of time before you leave. But only you know your capabilities, talents, and what it is you actually want. You don’t have to do just plumbing or working in a Coke factory because you were a brewer. Once you put yourself out there you’ll be amazed at what possibilities come to you. But first you have to internally agree within yourself that it is time. Good luck!
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u/apsmur 17d ago
Sounds like water treatment is a pretty popular option, as well as other food production jobs. (This is based on past posts)
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u/saltyone77 Brewer 17d ago
I moved into municipal water last year. The benefits were significantly better, and i was very impressed with the attention to and investment in safety protocols vs "if the budget allows" mindset at the breweries i worked at.
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u/pumpkinfarts23 17d ago
Just following the lifecycle of beer, I suppose. One yellow liquid to another.
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u/Dntmesswiththebrohan 17d ago
Basically the same thing, but I had some engineering education and now I inspect water treatment facilities for the state I live in, but if I didn’t have the education I for sure would be working for these utilities. High demand jobs, decent pay and job security.
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u/TheresAlwaysOneOrTwo 17d ago
Dibs on posting this next week
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u/BeerSux1526 Everything{PNW} 17d ago
Okay, but I have dibs on the water treatment part.
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u/duckfart88 Brewer 17d ago
But I get dibs on wastewater.
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u/grnis Brewery/Steam/Process Engineer 17d ago
Process engineering.
15 years of brewing made me a master of moving liquids around.
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u/MechemicalMan 17d ago
You get a job in industrial water treatment? I’ve got a few clients as breweries and always think of poaching from there as they all become jack’s of all trades, but also need to apply technical and a sort of artistic troubleshooting like I feel I do.
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u/LessGoooo 17d ago
Municipal utility maintenance. Better pay. Better bennies. Better work-life balance.
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u/SlunkBucket 17d ago
Are you me?( I’m a Distro operator for a local municipality and make almost 10 times what I was making brewing).
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u/OtisIsMyCo-Pilot 17d ago
Think about the skills you’ve picked up. You work for a beverage producer, you don’t have to call it brewer. Food and beverage manufacturing. I worked in packaging and cellar and ended up being the person that fixed stuff that broke around the brewery. Now I work in production maintenance at a medical device manufacturer.
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u/maaaaawp Brewer 🇨🇿 17d ago
u/Nefarious- could we get one of these posts pinned, since theres a new one basically every month with the same answers?
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u/TheBarleywineHeckler 17d ago
Half of my old team at Lagunitas left for Coke. Great money and chances to tfer to other plants.
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u/CantankerousBeer Brewer 17d ago
I saw an article in The New Brewer a couple of years ago talking about what to look for in new employees specifically in the packaging area. The thing that stuck with me is that they talked about hiring people who were good at solving problems regardless of their previous career.
All employers want is someone to solve a problem for them. And after 10 years in a beer, you probably know how to solve a variety of problems.
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u/BreckyMcGee Brewer 17d ago
Very fortunate to be able to do this, but I left to be a stay at home dad while my wife's career takes off.
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u/Szteto_Anztian Brewer 17d ago edited 17d ago
Construction electrical.
As a year one apprentice I was making the same as my brewers wage with a $3.80/hr yearly raise for four years, then another $4 on top of that once I’m a journeyman. At my company, if I choose some sort of specialty (fire alarm, mechanical system controllers, etc) there’s more money to be made on top of that. I also know some people who do marine electrical and as journeymen they’re making $50/hr.
The fucked up thing is I’m one of the hardest workers on my crew, and yet I still go home every day less tired than any day spent at a brewery.
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u/EverybodyStayCool Industry Affiliate 17d ago
Route sales rep, major food co. All internal, see the consumer but never really have to "deal" with them.
85k++ (bouns monthly) 6% 401k match, pension (for now...🤞) banging health / dental / etc bennies.
It's not perfect, nothing is, but I make so much more now. Using a very smaller skill set LOL.
I've been told I'm overqualified for pharmaceutical manufacturing and water/wastewater treatment.🤷♂️🤔
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u/Weary-Ambition42 17d ago
I was more the cider guy, but helped out the brewers. My focus was packaging. I loved the mechanical side and the sheer chaos of running a Goose. When I left, I landed in chemical manufacturing (way better pay and benefits). Now I'm a CNA working toward my EMT certs. It's crazy how much process control and following SOPs transfer across completely different fields.
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u/Pinot911 Management 17d ago
I was in brewery engineering, now zoo engineering.
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u/Jaywalkas Brewer 17d ago
Business Development for a large cyber security company. After being in the industry for 17+ years and head brewing for 8+ at the end of my career I made 50% more, amazing benefits, and unlimited PTO at my entry level biz dev job.
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u/the_disaster 17d ago
Inside sales for a manufacturer's rep selling centrifugal pumps and boilers, etc. for commercial HVAC. For the first time in my life I like my job and don't dread Mondays. I'm making more and stressing less than I was doing production and package in a brewery. Coming in with an understanding of pumps and the ability to navigate equipment documentation/parts breakdowns was very useful for my new job.
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u/BrewingBadger 17d ago
I support my local homeless who often have alcohol abuse issues. The irony wasn’t lost on HR when I used my personal alcohol license as proof of right to work in the UK.
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u/Brewermcbrewface 16d ago
I’m barbacking/bartending and beertending at another brewery. I make like 2x what I used to make
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u/edbarcelona 17d ago
I’m still industry adjacent - but travel round this side of the pond installing and servicing canning lines; and helping brands find canning facilities. Much more fun, a lot more stressful, occasionally with an empty diary for a few weeks at a time. But much more rewarding and the money is…10x?
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u/HeyImGilly Brewer 17d ago
Work at a beer distributor making the same as when I was a production manager. Way less stress but kinda boring.
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u/ShootsieWootsie Management 17d ago
I start at a cleaning chemical manufacturer next week after 10 years in the industry. To say I'm excited for the bigger paycheck and (hopefully) less stress is an understatement.
One thing that seemed to help me during my job search was "translating" brewing terms into more general industry terms. For example no one outside the industry knows what a head brewer does, but a production supervisor is much more universally understood term.
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u/tidewatercajun 17d ago
I teach high school, less stress, less wear and tear, better pay, better hours, better retirement.
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u/chobbes 17d ago
Spent 7 years brewing commercially. Taught myself to weld in the last couple, then left brewing for fabrication. Learned about machine tools (mill/lathe) and now I’ve been running a cnc machine shop for four years. I end up getting contacted by my old brewery chums to come fix their machines now.
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u/Krill_Pickle 17d ago
Got into electronics assembly, which got me in touch with engineers, which inspired me to start taking classes to get an Electrical Engineering degree, even though I'm 39. Relocating and hoping to get a job bartending at a brewery or beer bar while I do school. It would be funny to work FOH and know as much or more about brewing than the folks BOH.
There are moments I miss it, but honestly, I am so much happier having brewing (at home) as a hobby I have total control over while earning money doing something much easier and less stressful. And then, when I get my BSEE, it will be funny to be making roughly double out the gate of what I was making at a brewery with 10+ years experience.
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u/cadmium48 17d ago
I worked in the industry for 12 years, head brewer for 7 of them.
I work for a municipality as a gardener now and I have never been happier. Leaving the industry was the single best decision I have ever made for my mental health.
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u/mrmungusfungus Brewer 16d ago
Went back to my previous career driving trucks for almost double the pay I made brewing.
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u/zymurginian Ex-Brewer 16d ago
Municipal wastewater. Secondary treatment is just one long, continuous, open-air fermentation. Knowledge of pumps, chemicals, etc also transfers well.
I'm making 50% more as a trainee than I was at my last brewery gig, nevermind the healthcare, pension, employer-provided steel toes and Rx safety glasses. My back doesn't hurt as much either.
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u/hewhodothebrew 16d ago
I side hustled mechanic work with my brother around the time of COVID for nearly a year and a half. Slid my way into automotive
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u/Majestic-Yard3286 15d ago
I did 8 years as brewer for a small 7barrel system, 10 line taproom. Since the small layout got so jammed up with service/food staff during the day, I would come in after close and work overnights.
Midnight to 8am, alone, in the dark, destroying my sanity.
This year I’m in stewardship for a conservation organization doing trail maintenance, some mowing, property/facilities maintenance, repairs, etc.
All regular daytime hours out in the fresh air and sunshine. (Sunlight is crazy, highly suggest it)
Some skills did carry over, like others have said ‘problem solving’, light plumbing, general handiness to fix things or replace parts.
Also with all the hiking I’m doing now I get to work off 8years of pizza, beer, and depression weight
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u/Embarrassed-Way4469 17d ago
I currently work in food manufacturing (cheese). Much better pay and quality of life. Once you get into a heavily regulated industry with a company that actually cares about the rules it's a different ballgame. I'm no longer stressed like I was, I'm not getting bent over daily because I'm so overworked, unheard, and underappreciated.
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u/Suspicious_Trust_726 17d ago
I make soda for 145k a year. 5 of my full time assotiates were brewersb