A while ago I wrote a paper on the importance of beer in the history of society. I brought up many aspects of the cultural importance of the craft and one of those aspects was jobs and employment. Having grown up in the Olympia area and personaly knowing many people that provided for their families by working at a brewery (Olympia Beer), it just seemed like a given to me that Brewery=family wage jobs. After becoming more immersed in the craft beer culture though, and at times really desiring to work at a brewery AND provide for my family, I have come to wonder if craft beer provides the same thing anywhere. They are "micro-breweries" afterall. Does anyone know the statistics or the overall economic benefit to having breweries in our communities? Do craft breweries today mainly just provide minimum wage jobs for young people getting through school or is there any craft breweries (mainly in our region) that still provide family wage jobs for people?
Are you looking for something like this? https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/by-state/?state=WA Are maybe something like this? http://oregoncraftbeer.org/
Well, it kinda depends. Some of our breweries are one or two person operations. A lot depends on if a brewery has a tasting room/restaurant. One brewery up here has, during the summer, about 140 employees. Not everyone is full-time of course, and a lot of those jobs are cooks-servers-hosts. About 10-12 people are in the brewing and sales end of things. Wander, which has been open just over a year, started as a husband & wife only operation, and now has staff operating the tap room, and a sales guy full-time now. Still, that's probably only about 10 folks.
Yeah, the brewery where I work employs about 20 people in total, but most are kitchen and front of house staff. Most all of the brewing operations are done by the head brewer and myself. I make a liveable wage for sure, but I also don't have any kids. I think the main thing is that people who get into the industry young have a chance to move up the ladder as their financial needs also increase. It's next to impossible when a father of 2 gets laid off from an accounting firm (or similar) and wants to get into the brewing industry, because almost everyone (even if you went to brewing school) has to start by washing kegs or packaging line, etc. Those are simply not jobs that can provide for a full family in most breweries' wage structure. More my experience than actual study, but hope that helps nonetheless. Cheers!
Good question and a good answer needs to drill down a bit to find some answers. Breweries are diverse businesses and the vast majority here are very small. The overall economic benefit of craft brewing is referred to above so I won't touch on that (and its late and July 3rd so...). I can speak to Fremont's business structure though. So, we offer higher than industry wages and a full benefits package that includes 100% cost free health coverage (dental, vision and a small life insurance policy that can be increased if needed) with a low deductible, 401(k) with 3% match, free Orca cards for all employees (free transportation around the state), training allowances, paid vacation, a liberal attitude towards family realities and a home owner assistance program for those looking to buy their home. We are continually looking to increase wages as our revenue increases and to offer more benefits. However, we can offer this full suite of benefits and the wages because of you, awesome craft beer drinker, and the resulting growth this has provided. Not all breweries can offer what we do. On the other hand, we have always offered free health insurance because I baked that in to our business model from day one. Also, I believe that this industry should offer higher wages than it does currently and want to lead the way to show that it can be done, if the owners put employees first and if they are successful. So, yes, craft brewing benefits thousands around this state but like most very small businesses, most breweries can't offer wages that are industry leading. One thing that would help would be higher beer prices but that is another subject.
This is probably TMI but whatever. I've been wanting to find a side job at a brewery/beer bar for quite a while now, weekends only due to my full time job. Just would be neat to work in beer, get more hands on knowledge of it, and make a little extra dough. So, uh, advice for a n00b who's never worked in a bar before? Do you need a mixologist certificate thing if you're only pouring beer?
Yes, you have to have your servers permit, which you can get on-line. It's about 3 hours and the price varies, this one is $20:http://www.washingtonclass12permit.com/class-12-course-info.html You'll probably also need a food handlers permit. Up here, it's through the health departments website, takes about 20 minutes, and is $10. Print up some resumes, be prepared to host/bus tables, wash dishes. Few places will put you right behind the bar with no prior experience, so get in somewhere however you can. Buy some comfortable shoes.
I thought this article might complement @Texwild's post above. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-brewery-shows-why-better-pay-makes-better-beer-2015-07-07 And I'd like to point out, anecdotally, that Fremont doesn't seem to have much turnover. I see many of the same familiar faces every time I've gone there over the past few years, which isn't all that often. It's probably more expensive on the front end to pay better wages and provide competitive benefits, but I bet it's cheaper (or at least break-even) in the long run in terms of not constantly having to train new staff because you can't retain good people.
