how to get involved in whisk(e)y production

[brettie vedder]

i know this may sound silly, but i would really love to get involved in the process of distilling whisk(e)y. ive been in ireland now for 2 years and cannot find any work. its really bad, but i wont bore you with the details. anyway, i was wondering if anyone knew of how to get involved. im guessing its a hard job to come by and its all "who you know." i was looking into classes for distilling, and the only thing i could find was some learn from home course based out of scotland. it dealt with chemistry and bio for the distilling process. im assuming even if you did pass the course, it would be extremely hard to get a job distilling. i would think it would be one of those jobs that takes years to get right . maybe an apprenticeship? to be honest, i would love to just be one of the workers in the storehouse. and then possibly work my way up to other things. me and my wife are currently looking at moving out of western ireland. we def. want to go somewhere in the UK...possibly up north. but we would go anywhere if a job came up. im a pisces so i am a natural born dreamer. so dont be too hard on me, haha

[JohnM]

I suppose you could write to a few distillers, and at least ask them what qualifications would help getting in to the industry. Many of today's master distillers probably started working at a low level in the distillery.

Sorry to hear you're leaving Ireland, but I hope it works out wherever you end up.

[brettie vedder]

I suppose you could write to a few distillers, and at least ask them what qualifications would help getting in to the industry. Many of today's master distillers probably started working at a low level in the distillery.

Sorry to hear you're leaving Ireland, but I hope it works out wherever you end up.

yea, i would have no problem starting out at the bottom of the barrell (no pun intended). ive contacted a few distillery's and the only one who responded was laphroaig. they basically said no jobs were available at the time, but they would keep me on record. and they wished me good luck in my search for a job. i thought that was nice of them.

we love it here in ireland, but its just not working at the moment. my wife has a great job, thank god. but we've no quality of life. it could be worse i suppose. we will see what happens. thanks john

[varizoltan]

I suppose you could write to a few distillers, and at least ask them what qualifications would help getting in to the industry. Many of today's master distillers probably started working at a low level in the distillery.

Sorry to hear you're leaving Ireland, but I hope it works out wherever you end up.

yea, i would have no problem starting out at the bottom of the barrell (no pun intended). ive contacted a few distillery's and the only one who responded was laphroaig. they basically said no jobs were available at the time, but they would keep me on record. and they wished me good luck in my search for a job. i thought that was nice of them.

we love it here in ireland, but its just not working at the moment. my wife has a great job, thank god. but we've no quality of life. it could be worse i suppose. we will see what happens. thanks john

Hi

i remember when i was on Islay in 2007
at Bowmore, i met the manager Eddie McAffer
he started working on the malting floor 41 years before, if i remember right, so that is 44 years now
he made it the hard way to be the manager, and i have to say ; i have never seen a prouder, happier man then him in my life

look at Barry Crocket, he was born on the land of the distillery in Midleton, and still working there

so that proof of, if you get in there, you will have a job for life

best of luck, and i hope to meet you at some distillery

[brettie vedder]

I suppose you could write to a few distillers, and at least ask them what qualifications would help getting in to the industry. Many of today's master distillers probably started working at a low level in the distillery.

Sorry to hear you're leaving Ireland, but I hope it works out wherever you end up.

yea, i would have no problem starting out at the bottom of the barrell (no pun intended). ive contacted a few distillery's and the only one who responded was laphroaig. they basically said no jobs were available at the time, but they would keep me on record. and they wished me good luck in my search for a job. i thought that was nice of them.

we love it here in ireland, but its just not working at the moment. my wife has a great job, thank god. but we've no quality of life. it could be worse i suppose. we will see what happens. thanks john

Hi

i remember when i was on Islay in 2007
at Bowmore, i met the manager Eddie McAffer
he started working on the malting floor 41 years before, if i remember right, so that is 44 years now
he made it the hard way to be the manager, and i have to say ; i have never seen a prouder, happier man then him in my life

look at Barry Crocket, he was born on the land of the distillery in Midleton, and still working there

so that proof of, if you get in there, you will have a job for life

best of luck, and i hope to meet you at some distillery

thanks for the encouraging words that is my goal in life....to be happy and love my job. i dont want to wake up every morning and dread going to work. and i have absolutely no problem starting at the bottom. maybe i will start writing letters to all the distilleries. its not a bad idea actually. i read on laphroaig's website that the distillery closes 2 months every summer. that would be awesome

[PureDrop]

Not really addressing the job hunt problem, but definitely should help with the dreaming bit ... see my earlier post re a book "The Art of Distilling Whiskey and other spirits" posted here.

More directly related: Bruichladdich run something called The Academy - "Experience ‘hands-on’ the art of distilling - the Victorian way. Stay for 4 nights in the Distillery Manager’s house, limited to a maximum of 6 guests, you will work alongside our craftsmen on a one-to-one basis as they go about their craft of milling, mashing, distilling, tasting and bottling our whisky. ... The Academy season runs from March to November at a cost of £850 per person. While possibly not the best thing to suggest to you, it might kill or cure you of the notion of working in the industry!
Michael

[JohnM]

That's a very good idea

Bladnoch used to do the same. Maybe they'll start doing it again when the recession is over.

[brettie vedder]

that sounds awesome. but i would probably be p****d when its time to go home, hahaha. it would definitely be a great experience though. maybe one of these days....

[DavidH]

Someone has to work in the industry so why not you? Try overwhelming the distilleries with obvious enthusiasm and insight. For example, you could malt your own barley and ferment it, reporting the results on a weblog. It's something to talk about when you get to an interview.

[brettie vedder]

Someone has to work in the industry so why not you? Try overwhelming the distilleries with obvious enthusiasm and insight. For example, you could malt your own barley and ferment it, reporting the results on a weblog. It's something to talk about when you get to an interview.

thats a great idea. im going to overwhelm them with letters asking for employment too, lol. im opting for old fashioned hand written. no emails for this.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Sorry to hear that ye are thinking of leaving

There are a few whisky schools in Scotland run by various distillers but they are frightfully expensive as you pay them for doing a weeks work You just gotta love that.

Yes unfortunately most distilleries are only run by a hand full of people so positions are few and far between ... maybe try it from a PR side and worm your way into a distillery that way. You could always start a new trend in PR and tell the truth

[Michael Foggarty]

Herroit Watt university in Edinburgh do degrees in Brewing and distlling, i looked into it a few years back, but i didnt fancy returning to Scotland. Another option maybe a Chemistry Degree i.e. Chemical Engineering, but be prepared for the boring stuff, i have hands on expereince of that degree and its not a barrel of laughs.

Heroit Watt link-

http://www.icbd.hw.ac.uk/

[Michael Foggarty]

the following artical was in the Gaurdian a couple of years back -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/ap ... graduates1

[brettie vedder]

Sorry to hear that ye are thinking of leaving

There are a few whisky schools in Scotland run by various distillers but they are frightfully expensive as you pay them for doing a weeks work You just gotta love that.

Yes unfortunately most distilleries are only run by a hand full of people so positions are few and far between ... maybe try it from a PR side and worm your way into a distillery that way. You could always start a new trend in PR and tell the truth

hahaha, working for school. thats a good one.

thats a good idea about the PR side. my problem with a job like that is its impossible for me NOT to tell the truth, hahaha. i actually emailed the guy from kilbeggan about how he got into his job. he hasnt answered me and its been 3 weeks. he still hasnt given me the findings on the bottle of kilbeggan either. dont know if thats good or bad, HAHA

[brettie vedder]

Herroit Watt university in Edinburgh do degrees in Brewing and distlling, i looked into it a few years back, but i didnt fancy returning to Scotland. Another option maybe a Chemistry Degree i.e. Chemical Engineering, but be prepared for the boring stuff, i have hands on expereince of that degree and its not a barrel of laughs.

Heroit Watt link-

http://www.icbd.hw.ac.uk/

cheers for the websites. ugh, chemistry. i had a hard time passing that in secondary school, lol. i would be okay if it was just chemistry dealing with whisk(e)y making, but the other stuff would just bore me to death. and when brett is bored, he does not learn....

[TheWhiskeyBro]

In these straightened times offer to work for free for a period... you never know where it might lead

It might worth thinking about the process from start to finish, and where you might fit in the food chain,

Malting
Brewing
Distilling
Casking
Warehousing
Bottling
Distribution
Sales
Promotion
Ambassadors

If you think hard about each of these you will come up with a wide range of occupations employed in the industry.
Apprentice cooper, travelling coppersmith, analytical engineer, bottle washer (sorry they have machines for that),
Maltster, Distiller, Maintenance & Engineering, Warehouse Manager, etc etc

You could do worse than start a conversation with Cooley, IDL and Bushmills...

[brettie vedder]

In these straightened times offer to work for free for a period... you never know where it might lead

It might worth thinking about the process from start to finish, and where you might fit in the food chain,

Malting
Brewing
Distilling
Casking
Warehousing
Bottling
Distribution
Sales
Promotion
Ambassadors

If you think hard about each of these you will come up with a wide range of occupations employed in the industry.
Apprentice cooper, travelling coppersmith, analytical engineer, bottle washer (sorry they have machines for that),
Maltster, Distiller, Maintenance & Engineering, Warehouse Manager, etc etc

You could do worse than start a conversation with Cooley, IDL and Bushmills...

yea, i thought about offering to work for free. it would work if i was still here, because the wife has a good job. if we move though, that might not be possible

was thinking of getting in touch with bushmills since we might be moving to the north. cant hurt i guess...