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I want to be a brew master! How to start?

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Written by EFW Staff

How to become a real brew master!

Who is the brew master?

Beer is not only a synonym of pause and amusement with friends, it can be also a stimulating and creative job for many youths that are looking for a course of study. In fact, the brew master, the person in charge to the beer production, is required in the craft breweries in Italy and abroad. This figure can be considered as “the chef of beer”, we are talking about the person that knows better how to mix up perfectly malt, hop, yeast and other ingredients, giving them the right effervescence and the right organoleptic characteristics in order to transform this mix in extraordinary beer.

In Italy there are various courses to become brew master, the most important and famous is, with any doubt, the Master degree in Brew technologies organized by the University of Perugia since 2008. Whereas the CERB (Italian Brewing Research Centre) is an Italian institution that aims to research, analysis and scientific experimentation in the beer field. As you see, the theme is pretty serious. If you want to travel around Europe, the best place to study as a brew master is Germany where it is necessary to attend a school for three years with a connected traineeship in partner breweries.

Brew master specialization: Publican or Cervoisier?

What do these strange words mean? And above all how do they deal with the job of brew master?

Publican is the pub manager, from the English words “public house”, a kind of brewery. Publican is a professional that deeply knows all the qualities of the beer for sale, and knows how to tap perfectly, how to cook with beer and how to pair it with food. Publican is an extraordinary consultant of events in the field of beer.

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Cervoisier, instead, is the natural equivalent of a sommelier. If the latter is specialized in wine serving and tasting, the former plays the same rule with beer.
This professional figure knows not both the final product and all the production chain. Possible professional outlets can be companies that produce and distribute beer, breweries or working as quality consultants.
To become Publican and Cervoisier it is necessary to attend some recognized professional courses, which usually last three or four days. They can be attended as a further specialization of brew master, in order to have a complete knowledge about beer.

How much does a brew master earn?

We can say that, passion is beautiful but money is fundamental, even risking to be called cynics. In fact Martin Lutero says “Beer is made by men, wine by God”. Kidding and wise quotes aside, the question in the title is just a provocation because it is impossible to establish a standard salary. Of course, it is proportional to the experience of the brew master.

We can say that it is possible to start from a basic salary as apprentice craftsman until you have a carrier becoming such a guru of beer that you could open your own company. Cesare Gualdoni follow exactly these steps, he is the brew master and owner of “L’Orso verde” in Busto Arsizio in Milan. A panel of judges awarded his restaurant and his precious beers, defeating other breweries coming from 14 Italian regions and the beer that triumphed has been his Nubia. Passion and research, professional and hard work always gives good results, even with some sacrifices. Think, however, that you can always cheer up with a good beer at the end of the day!

Images source: www.businessinsider.com, www.ceskeminipivovary.cz, www.craftcommander.com

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EFW Staff