Degree to study for Distiller

[krola]

Hi All,

Fortunately I live in a country which permits me to run a craft distillery with relative ease, both bureaucratically and logistically. As im progressing im realising more and more that i'd be happy to do this day in day out as my profession and thus i've been scaling up. Recently, I've been thinking though if there were any certain degrees, likely Bachelor of Science, which would not only provide a deeper understanding of the science but also reward me with a certain type of qualification. Especially if I were to one day relocate to say the UK and wish to work in a distillery or within the spirits industry there.

It would have to be a degree available to complete online, as far as i've seen there arent many specific bachelor degrees really focused in brewing and distilling, however i have seen masters. One course which I am leaning towards is Chemistry but my only qualm is that it seems that only organic chemistry is really applicable to the craft and that makes up only a small part of the 3 or 4 year long degree.

Curious what your experiences are!
Thanks

[Just_Doug]

A distillery is first and foremost a business doesn't matter a lick how good your product is if you can't run the front office well. I would lean towards a major in business and a minor in the science based field you feel is the most relevant.

D.

[Ben]

The fermentation science courses at the university I went to contain classes on business and law, marketing, entrepreneurship, tasting, chemistry and other sciences. Some of that is not easy online, for instance tasting is much better done with a group, the business and law courses probably don't apply to your region, marketing tactics are going to be much different there than they are here etc.

If you want a more traditional degree path, it's all chemistry; an organic chemistry degree, petroleum or chemical engineering degree would get you a great foundation to understand all the reactions that take place and enough physics knowledge to engineer equipment.

If you are looking to pick just a few classes to take online rather than a full degree path then take organic chemistry (it will have other chem pre-requisites that will help you out) and chemical thermodynamics.

If you want to design equipment take enough physics courses to get you into fluid dynamics, between that and thermodynamics you will have the base knowledge.

Siebel institute offers online brewing classes.


Do you have an option to find a position at a local distillery? You could learn a lot by working at an established facility.

[krola]

Hi Ben,

Thanks for your detailed response.

I hadnt considered Chemical Engineering but its definitely something i will do more research into.

Personally, i find a bachelors in Business not worthwhile and therefore am not interested in pursuing one. I am aware of the necessities any start-up faces with branding, marketing, law etc etc. but i feel confident enough to continue tackling that with self study, good contacts and hard work.

When it comes to the technical aspects of making product though, i would very much like to know and understand exactly what is happening down to a molecular level in everything i do. Be it brewing and distilling or incorporating phyto-chemicals and flavonoids into said product.

Do you have an option to find a position at a local distillery? You could learn a lot by working at an established facility.

In my country of residence, not so much unfortunately.

[HDNB]

there's no question you need to make a decent product to succeed, but i think your approaching it exactly opposite. You need to know the business and marketing at a molecular level. as far as making hootch, any toothless hillbilly can make booze. and they do.

[Chur]

Take a look at the site below for links to UK Distillation qualifications that might be a good place to start.

https://www.distillers.org.uk/institute ... lling-ibd/

[zach]

If you want to work for an established company, I recommend mechanical or chemical engineering.

Thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and electrical circuits are all part of the basic curriculum. Many of the operations managers and plant mangers in beverage plants that I work with have some type of engineering degree.

In the US, UC Davis has a fermentation science program. I know several engineers that have been sent to that program by their employer.

[Saltbush Bill]

99% of the distillers that I know of that have been successful in this country started off in the hobby as members of different forums.........most learned how to make booze then jumped in at the deep end. Most took a big risk in my opinion, one that I can remember sold his house to go into business , was a school teacher ..asked wife before selling house .....she agreed....they have now run a successful distillery for about 8 years. Ive visited that place and they make damn fine products.
Quite a few that I can think of have started out in similar ways, starting out with little experience , learning on a hobby level , then jumping in.
Some of those same "Hobbyists" have ended up taking out awards for their spirits in the USA and other places around the world.
Some fail , some make it , there have been so many start ups in this country in recent years that I'd consider it "high risk " these days.
Having said that , you only live once, follow a dream if that's what is right for you. In the end I don't think a degree will help.....if your smart enough and play the game right you will make it .....if not , you wont.
If I was 30 years old again I'd be in there up to my armpits.

[wv_hillbilly]

There’s a wide variety of degrees that would likely help. I suppose I would likely suggest education in the area you consider your knowledge base to be the weakest or where you would like to grow the most. Need or want to learn the tiny details about fermentation? Organic chemistry or microbiology. Want to know more about how the equipment functions? Maybe mechanical engineering. Chemical or Petroleum engineering can help you, believe it or not, with the actual distillation process. Having a solid base of physics wouldn’t hurt either. Unfortunately. There’s no single degree that is the end all be all to learning this craft. I’m a petroleum engineer by education, but I have a few brewery and distillery accounts that I have sold equipment to and consult with. I have another friend who works solely in breweries and distilleries and his background is organic chemistry. A base education in any of these fields will also help strengthen other areas. Science and engineering fields are so intertwined, you’ll grow in all areas.

[JAMAWG]

Whats your favorite distillery? Call them and email them to see what they would recommend. Ask to speak to the master distiller. You will probably get an answer and make a contact. If they recommend a major, then go for it. And always regardless of your degree get a minor in buisness or accounting.
If you enjoy the distiller part then do not start your own distillery. You will spend your time running the business and not doing the fun part.

[BrewinBrian44]

I don’t think a degree is necessary. Many folks out there have mastered this craft from their own research and experimentation. A lot of which can be found online. Hell, even in this forum.

At the end of the day, like others have eluded to, distillery success is a marketing/business game. That’s the one area where a formal education would help the most, but again, the info you need can still be found online, for free.

If you’d like to simply be in the game, not necessarily a distillery owner, a degree could help, but bringing bottles of your excellent home made spirits would tell the distillery owners a lot more about your value. A very large scale commercial operation would likely require the piece of paper, but I’m not so sure about a craft distillery.

A couple of my own anecdotes. Things to consider.

There’s a local brewery/distillery in my area that is very successful and I’m good friends with the owners. They started with the brewery and delved into the distilling game with little knowledge. They were in over their heads, but went for it. They learned quickly that they couldn’t effectively run both the distillery and the brewery simultaneously, so they were forced to hire a distiller. The guy who got the job was a home distiller, never ran a commercial level operation. His home made spirits of all different styles got him the job. No degree, no commercial experience, just fantastic spirits were the only resume needed. He learned how to scale his techniques quickly. Regardless of scale. The same principles apply.

The other less encouraging anecdote: in the US, it shouldn’t be an expectation that you will be rich with a successful craft distillery. Sure, you can make a good living doing what you love, which is enough for a lot of us. The overhead for a distillery is very high. It’s also tough to find investors because of the long lead time to release aged spirits. A lot of the new operations are forced to sell white spirits initially and purchase their whiskey from MGP, slapping their own label on it.

Personally, as I started making great beer as a home brewer and began getting some ribbons, I fell in love with the hobby. I mentioned to these brewery friends that perhaps I’d quit my well paying corporate job and jump into opening a brewery one day. One of them point blank asked me how much I currently earned. I told him and shockingly, he said I make more money than him. He also reminded me that commercial brewing, especially when starting out, is a grind. Cleaning out giant mash tuns, covered in sweat. Dealing with distributors bullshit and operating the business is a tough, and can really dull that original passion and love for the craft. Despite these downcomings, he still loves what he does and can feed his family. That’s what matters.

Sorry for the long winded post. I have tons of respect for people willing to take risks and go for it! I hope you can make your dreams come true.