Beer Career by Michel Entler

            I know what you are thinking “I love beer so much I wish there was a way to combine my skills as a writer with my love of beer.” Well never fear because there is a lot of options for writers in the world of beer. You have to think of brewing as a business and a big business at that in fact, INBEV (owner of Anheuser-Busch) in 2008 was an 11.6 billion dollar company.  Like any big business they need people who are creative and are able to produce something that can market their product.

Now that I have sold you on the beer industry here are a few options for you: First is marketing, English majors are great when it comes to marketing products. Companies desire someone who can be creative with word play, lettering design, and descriptions of the beer to put on the side of the box. The problem with people who have marketing degrees is that they can provide a brilliant look web site or box design but fail at providing the content needed to keep the interest of the consumer. One great example of that is the “Prost” underneath any Widmer cap. Those catchy phrases are more than likely written by someone who is good at writing.

Second is writing a book on beer; the number of books on the subject are as endless as the topics in which they write about.  It could be on the vast history of beer, women and beer, large scale brewing, micro brewing or even home brewing (a guy named Michael Jackson has made his career on just that).  According to Randy Mosher who wrote Radical Brewing “if you want to write about beer then you better have an eye for design.” The reason is although some hardcore home brewers might find all that science fun and exciting most other people don’t.  “There is also a huge growing market for home brew books” says Randy and according to Paul Gatza who was the director of the American Home Brewers Association, estimates that 250,00 – 500,00 people are brewing their own beer.  Where there is a hobby there is a need for a how to book and if there is one-thing publishers love it’s a how to book. 

Publishing is a problem you might run into if you decide to write a book on brewing. Randy Mosher says,  “be prepared to have a different book come out then the one you turned in.”  Randy makes his living through his design company and says that he makes about $10,000 on his three books so don’t expect to get rich off home brew books.  The publishing industry is also changing thanks to Amazon and Apple’s introduction to e-books.  Randy believes that “there is always going to be a market for paper books” but he fears that if the books are sold on the internet then people will find a way to get them free which means no money for the author.

Marketing is probably the best way to make a great living when it comes to the beer world. I know what you’re thinking “I have an English degree not a marketing degree” don’t worry about it; people who have English degrees are great at marketing. Marketing is nothing more then a form of communication and who is better at communicating ideas then an English major. In an interview with Seatllepi Tim Lemire who wrote I’m and English Major- Now what said,

"You know a lot of people say English is a versatile major but any major that doesn't prepare you for any one job can be called versatile. In order to make what they have studied marketable in the workplace, (students) need to understand that what they are learning is not just facts about books, but skills that are essential."

These skills are wanted in the marketing department of the brewing industry. The fact that an English major has had so much education on the English language says that they have the ability to articulate the taste of a beer and make it desirable to the consumer. 

Well those are the big three choices when it comes to applying a degree in English toward a career in brewing beer. The connecting theme in all three is the fact that English majors are versatile people and if its one thing that the brewing industry and all companies love its versatility. The one great thing about getting into the beer industry as Randy Mosher puts it “you complain a lot less about your job then the other people…and the beer helps.”