And So It Begins...

Let me start by saying, beer is my life. Over the past few years I have seen my interests in beer evolve from beer lover to commercial brewer. My interest in home brewing began when my mother bought me a home brew kit for Christmas of 2008. This was an all liquid extract kit (as almost all starter kits are), and my first brew was awful. By most accounts it tasted like an under-carbonated sake bomb. Long story short, we drank the beer, and I have never looked back. Soon I was purchasing equipment for all grain brews, researching recipes, and reading every snippet I could about beer. When I moved into an apartment with my two awesome dude-bros, Chris and Max, in the summer of 2011, I had a three tap kegerator that we kept stocked by brewing up to three times a week.

Eventually, I realized that if brewing was something that I loved so much, why shouldn't I pursue it as a career? My job was mediocre (well paid and consistent, but completely unrewarding), and I decided that I owed it to myself to do something with my life that I genuinely cared about. About the same time, my girlfriend, Catherine, was planning on studying abroad in London. I took the opportunity, and wrote a few emails to breweries in London. I explained my situation via email to five or so brewers, and Duncan Sambrook of Sambrook's Brewery was the only one to respond. 

It is an unconfirmed notion, but I believe there is a good reason why Duncan responded to me. He empathized with my situation. Before Duncan opened the brewery in 2008, he was working for the same firm in London that I was working for in Southern California. He quit his job to open the brewery, which is similar to my situation of quitting my job to step into the commercial brewing sphere. Duncan offered me a trial period of a couple weeks to be sure that I was not a complete dunce. After the trial period I was able to convince him and the other employees at the brewery that, not only was I not a complete dunce, I was, in fact, somebody that was crazy (this is not an exaggeration) about beer. As it stands, I have a unique opportunity to continue to gain work experience at the brewery. 

I can honestly say this is the most excited I have ever been about anything in my life, and I look forward to sharing my experiences and knowledge about beer with anyone who cares to listen. 

Cheers,

Colin