Assistant Distiller job.

[aircarbonarc]

A good friend of mine is the head Distiller at a decent sized distillery located nearby Vancouver BC. He was over lastnight and was telling me they have an opening for an assistant position. I would love to take the job and I'm sort of qualified, except I'd have to give up my job welding and take a 50% pay cut. It's a dream of mine and I'd be very interested in taking it, except the paycut concerns me and so would the thought of giving up one of my cars and other stuff.

[aircarbonarc]

Also if anyone here in the area is interested you'd be trained and you'd get to work with an emerging BC whisky brand.

[still_stirrin]

It sounds like a "glamorous" job...cleaning fermenters, hauling spent grains, sweating in the boiler room, working from morning till night cleaning, sanitizing, transferring product, with the hope that the product will sell...a gamble on future income.

Sure, there is the "pride in ownership" of a commodity that has consumer value. But will that be enough to satisfy YOUR needs?

Good luck with your decision....and sacrifice.
ss

[Bushman]

It sounds like a "glamorous" job...cleaning fermenters, hauling spent grains, sweating in the boiler room, working from morning till night cleaning, sanitizing, transferring product, with the hope that the product will sell...a gamble on future income.

Sure, there is the "pride in ownership" of a commodity that has consumer value. But will that be enough to satisfy YOUR needs?

Good luck with your decision....and sacrifice.
ss

+1, live just across the border doesn't sound like my cup of tea sitting at the border everyday then putting in those long hours.

[Desvio]

Funny thing, there is nothing I would rather do!

Only when I finally retire from my present job (if), otherwise it's a 70%+ pay cut. And then there is the fact I completely lack the discipline to do this under anyones employment other than my own, and even that's sketchy. Hell, I've already fired myself for fucking off several times...

[aircarbonarc]

I'm going to apply for it, it's an established bigger sizes brewery and distillery with great products and the Distiller is a great intelligent person and friend of mine. I don't mind the pay cut, I can live on less and if it doesn't work out i still have welding to fall back on

[aircarbonarc]

It sounds like a "glamorous" job...cleaning fermenters, hauling spent grains, sweating in the boiler room, working from morning till night cleaning, sanitizing, transferring product, with the hope that the product will sell...a gamble on future income.

Sure, there is the "pride in ownership" of a commodity that has consumer value. But will that be enough to satisfy YOUR needs?

Good luck with your decision....and sacrifice.
ss

I've been having dreams about doing this, I'd love to fill barrels with my grain/malt Spirits, make rum in the tropics and even be able to make working man's blended spirits to exclusive limited releases that collectors and conouseurs will be buying up. I'm 38 so I better get on with this sooner than later.

[speedfreaksteve]

A good friend of mine is the head Distiller at a decent sized distillery located nearby Vancouver BC. He was over lastnight and was telling me they have an opening for an assistant position. I would love to take the job and I'm sort of qualified, except I'd have to give up my job welding and take a 50% pay cut. It's a dream of mine and I'd be very interested in taking it, except the paycut concerns me and so would the thought of giving up one of my cars and other stuff.

Do you want your work to be the same as your hobby? I say "no".

[aircarbonarc]

A good friend of mine is the head Distiller at a decent sized distillery located nearby Vancouver BC. He was over lastnight and was telling me they have an opening for an assistant position. I would love to take the job and I'm sort of qualified, except I'd have to give up my job welding and take a 50% pay cut. It's a dream of mine and I'd be very interested in taking it, except the paycut concerns me and so would the thought of giving up one of my cars and other stuff.

Do you want your work to be the same as your hobby? I say "no".

It's alot of barrel handling, bottleling and paperwork mostly. The mucking out fermenters is the brewery hands jobs mostly, not something I'd be scared of if I had to. It's better than working in some of the usual crap spots in Shipyards, boilers and oil Refinerys.

[aircarbonarc]

A good friend of mine is the head Distiller at a decent sized distillery located nearby Vancouver BC. He was over lastnight and was telling me they have an opening for an assistant position. I would love to take the job and I'm sort of qualified, except I'd have to give up my job welding and take a 50% pay cut. It's a dream of mine and I'd be very interested in taking it, except the paycut concerns me and so would the thought of giving up one of my cars and other stuff.

Do you want your work to be the same as your hobby? I say "no".

It's alot of barrel handling, bottleling and paperwork mostly. The mucking out fermenters is the brewery hands jobs mostly, not something I'd be scared of if I had to. It's better than working in some of the usual crap spots in Shipyards, boilers and oil Refinerys.

[Oldvine Zin]

I'm going to apply for it, it's an established bigger sizes brewery and distillery with great products and the Distiller is a great intelligent person and friend of mine. I don't mind the pay cut, I can live on less and if it doesn't work out i still have welding to fall back on

follow your dreams - you are still young and maybe you could pick up a few welding gigs on the side to make up for some lost income

OVZ

[speedfreaksteve]

I'm going to apply for it, it's an established bigger sizes brewery and distillery with great products and the Distiller is a great intelligent person and friend of mine. I don't mind the pay cut, I can live on less and if it doesn't work out i still have welding to fall back on

Best of luck!

Actually if you can "drink" on the job then maybe it's worth the pay cut!

[Odin]

If you are pasionate about this, go for it. You get one shot at life. Make the best out of it. You know what's best for you.

Odin.

[aircarbonarc]

Well I didn't end up taking the job, well I was talked out of it due to the paycut and they decided to wait a bit before they hire anyone. Also the Distiller has made so much spirit that they need a new barrel warehouse. Things worked out though even, the distiller has offered for me to come in a day or two a week for a few hours at a time to help out and learn how the still runs, to make cuts according to the desired flavor profile after barrel aging and even all the tables for dilution and exact ABV using temp, and weight. I was told that my liquor is very good and very easy and pleasurable to drink!! And after 2-3 years they will have an expansion where they hope to have another still and a cereal cooker for grains then If my unofficial apprenticeship goes well and I'm still interested then ... Grain distilling for me!! Also learned that the job is pretty automated and monotonous distilling the same premade beer for the single malts, to the point that cuts are pretty much predetermined and second nature.

[LWTCS]

Once upon a time,,,,
Well known guy at a well known distillery ended up being replaced by another slightly lesser well known guy.

The lesser well known guy then by virtue of association became more well known. That is good.

What ended up being bad,, is that the now more well known guy ends up being relegated to only being able to replicate the product introduced by his predecessor. At the start it was fun. But as time passed it only served to stifle the now more well known guy's creativity.

Evidently, the well known distillery that the now well known distiller works for,,,was not really interested in developing any new profiles or even any seasonal specials for that matter.

The work is essentially monotonous. And with out the motivation of at least being able to realize the benefit of a royalty on every bottle sold,,,,the job is like 95% unskilled labor...Or at least it will be after 5 or 6 years of humping grains and pushing a squeegee.

Unless!!! Hang on! Unless your idea of running a bottling line is fun?? They say that is fun,,,repeat,fun,,,repeat,fun,,,repeat, fun,,,repeat........

[aircarbonarc]

Once upon a time,,,,
Well known guy at a well known distillery ended up being replaced by another slightly lesser well known guy.

The lesser well known guy then by virtue of association became more well known. That is good.

What ended up being bad,, is that the now more well known guy ends up being relegated to only being able to replicate the product introduced by his predecessor. At the start it was fun. But as time passed it only served to stifle the now more well known guy's creativity.

Evidently, the well known distillery that the now well known distiller works for,,,was not really interested in developing any new profiles or even any seasonal specials for that matter.

The work is essentially monotonous. And with out the motivation of at least being able to realize the benefit of a royalty on every bottle sold,,,,the job is like 95% unskilled labor...Or at least it will be after 5 or 6 years of humping grains and pushing a squeegee.

Unless!!! Hang on! Unless your idea of running a bottling line is fun?? They say that is fun,,,repeat,fun,,,repeat,fun,,,repeat, fun,,,repeat........

I don't think I'd give up my career welding or replace the guy who's signature is on the bottles.

[LWTCS]

Not unless they were going to offer an equity position or some kind of profit sharing at least.

If you were at a real transitional place in life then maybe. But work is mostly work.

[MDH]

I think we all want to own a distillery like this guy. He has no standard product line outside of the world-famous Monkey 47 Gin. The rest is his art.

[MoonBreath]

Different folks take different journeys.
Some find a spot and are happy ...Some never figure it out and quit for some reason or other...Others strive for perfection and diversity.
Likker maken is serious business, especially ifn you're lookn for a label, a legacy, and them royalties.