Head Brewmaster
Job Duties
Brewmasters may work in settings such as microbreweries, where they may personally brew and ferment the beer, clean the tanks and even manage finances. In larger commercial brewing establishments, brewmasters often oversee a team of workers who handle the day-to-day tasks of brewing beer while maintaining quality standards, managing inventory and tasting the final result.
Selecting the Ingredients
Making beer involves several chemical processes. First, ingredients are selected for use in the beer. Brewmasters are very specific about what ingredients they use because the final product's taste, color and even texture are dependent upon these various items. The brewmaster often experiments with distinctive materials to make a unique beer.
Crafting the Recipe
The second major duty of a brewmaster is to create a recipe in which to combine the approved ingredients. Generally, the carbohydrate ingredients are crushed into finer particulates and then placed into hot water to seep the flavors out, creating an intermediate product called the wort. A creative brewmaster may make changes in this procedure such as lengthening the seeping time to help further distinguish the final product. The amount of hops added is another contributing factor brewmasters use to make unique flavored beer.
Overseeing Fermentation
The most important step is the fermentation process which involves adding the yeast into the wort and allowing it to attack the sugars. The amount of yeast used is carefully monitored by brewmasters throughout the fermentation process. After a period of several days, the yeast converts the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The fermented beer is cloudy with leftover yeast and is frequently filtered before being stored. Depending on brewmaster, pasteurization or filtration is used to accomplish this endeavor.
The qualification every brewmaster must possess is a keen sense of taste and smell, in addition to a lot of experience making beer. No formal education is required, but there are schools that teach courses in brewery, which may potentially increase chances of employment.