Craft Brewing/training programs... (New York, Buffalo: 2015, lease, home)

[ckhthankgod]

Brew crew: Buffalo beermakers covet trainees coming out of ECC, Trocaire

As the craft brewery industry booms in Western New York, production-level employees to make the beer are suddenly in high demand.

In turn, the eyes of the industry have turned to fledgling workforce development programs such as those offered at SUNY Erie Community College and Trocaire College.

At 12 Gates Brewing Co. in Williamsville, head brewer Scott Shuler is the only one of six brewroom employees who did not graduate from ECC’s one-year certificate program. He said Western New York breweries scour the program for potential employees, usually starting with internships before onboarding them into full-time roles.

12 Gates even hosts students in ECC’s Practical Brewing class, helping them produce a beer and hosting a showcase where beer makers from around the region come and sample the final product.

“For the expansion and growth of a brewery, you need trained and qualified personnel,” Shuler said. “This is a specialized trade. Bringing someone off the street is a long and arduous training process.”

One of those ECC graduates who now works at 12 Gates is brewer Dave Schiralli. The 32-year-old had been home-brewing for five years before he heard in 2015 that ECC was launching the program. He saw it as a pathway to turn his hobby into a profession. He ended up accepting an internship at 12 Gates that turned into a job.

“I can’t say how it would have turned out if I hadn’t enrolled in ECC, but the program definitely helped,” Schiralli said.

The local craft brewery and liquor scene has exploded in recent years, with more entries coming online every year. The number of craft beer makers in Western New York listed by Business First grew from 11 in 2016 to 21 in 2018.

The list didn’t include new or planned ventures such as Jamestown Brewing Co., New Buffalo Brewing, Steelbound Brewery & Distillery, Froth Brewing Co., Belt Line Brewery & Kitchen and One-Eyed Cat Brewing.

Twenty-five students are enrolled in the ECC program, which can be completed in one year or at a slower pace, said Keith Scully, an ECC instructor of biology who teaches two courses on the science of beer. Students enrolled in the program learn everything from the brewing process to ways to serve and taste beer. They are required to do an internship before earning certification.

Said Scully: “I’ve had multiple breweries calling or contacting me and saying, ‘We’re looking for interns.’ They know our students have a passion for beer and want to work in the brewing industry.”

Trocaire College debuted its brewing certificate program in fall 2017 and has a handful of students working through the courses while they hold full-time jobs, said Brian Barrows, academic program director of brewing sciences.

Several of those students scored internships at local craft breweries and distilleries, and one former student of the program is now the head distiller at Steelbound Brewery & Distillery in Ellicottville.

“There is a strong demand for interns right now,” Barrows said. “With all these breweries expanding, they are pretty much all in need of workers.”

Source, with some more information: https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/...es-coming.html

[ckhthankgod]

A related article...

Keg connoisseur: Brandon Farrell builds beer-based fabrication biz

Brandon Farrell was at a brewery with his now-fiancée a few years ago when he noticed the keg table.

He thought he could do it better.

A metal fabricator who now works at Cobey Inc., he went home and made a prototype. He put it on Facebook and soon received a call from his first customer, 12 Gates Brewing Co. in Williamsville.

Thus sprung Buffalo Brew Fab, which has expanded to a full suite of products aimed at restaurants, breweries and man caves. The company makes everything from keg urinals and tables to signs and now operates from leased space on Genesee Street in Cheektowaga.

He plans to turn a storefront office into retail space by the holiday season.

The artisan steel industry is a labor of love for Farrell. When he graduated from Cleveland Hill High School 12 years ago, his father brought him in to be trained at Hebeler Corp.

The elder Farrell, a manager at the Tonawanda equipment maker, had always wanted to create a company around steel products for gardens. He died five years ago of lymphoma at the age of 53.

Now the son said he sometimes hears his father while working at Buffalo Brew Fab. When he’s welding, he can hear the refrain, “Not like that,” in guiding him to do a better job. So he stops and says, “Thanks, Dad.”

In the meantime, the 30-year-old’s products have been well-received. August was a record month with about 25 significant new orders, he said.

Farrell has shipped keg-based products as far as Australia and builds tables, urinals and other welded things for a growing collection of local breweries and restaurants.

He works only with new kegs – not refurbished or used ones – which means he has to be efficient to earn sensible margins.

He said it used to take him a few days to complete a single keg-based product but now he builds a handful in a few hours.

Farrell has a good job and his soon-to-be wife, Jaime Fetes, is a nurse practitioner who also has a side job. They have a 1-year-old son, Bryce.

It’s a busy life that doesn’t require the stress and labor of an entrepreneurial venture.

But he said he was motivated after his father’s death to seek an endeavor that represented his own contribution to the world.

“When my father died, it gave me a reality check to enjoy life and get the most out of it,” Farrell said. “You only live once.”

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/...eer-based.html

[Mike Town]

Love to home brew!! ����