Getting a job in the beer industry

I wish you luck, but this is a tough city to break into. Every home brewer and their mother is fighting for the brewing jobs, and if you're looking to get into sales you'll be competing against tons of people who know the local scene and beer far better than you do.

Also, it's a rather tight knit community, and the "who you know" factor is huge, so a lot of the job opportunities are never publicized because everyone knows someone who would be perfect for the gig.

That said, the 2 biggest distributors in town are constantly looking for qualified drivers, so if you have a clean record and CDL (or can get one) you're pretty much guaranteed a job. From there it's just a matter of making friends with your sales team, getting to know the people who run the establishments you're delivering to, and trying to hit as many events as possible to meet brewery reps from your portfolio.

 

How is best at being a business determined? For most investors, it would be share price growth rate, and while ABInbev isnt bad (its more than doubled in share price since merger), Im sure other brewers have increased more. Sam Adams, for example, has gone up 4x or 5x in the same time frame. And Im sure some of the small privately held have done even better.

 

Except on your days off when you have all kinds of other crap you have to do

 

Its determined subjectively and completely. I'm right. You're wrong. The end.

 

Really appreciate the advice! It seems like many of the beer scenes in cities tend to be that way and I know I'm in for an uphill battle in Portland. I'll take what I can get for jobs, but ultimately I'm gonna leave my brewing in the kitchen and aim for marketing, biz dev, representation, etc. with the breweries. Again, thank you for the tip!