Of Trains and Training

When I got hired as MudHen Brewing Co's assistant brewer, I knew I'd be a proverbial bridge between the brewery and the pub, but also between the brewery and the public. It's why I've stayed behind the bar and why I'll be out and about at festivals - when we start doing the festivals thing again.

A while ago, Tony handed me a thick booklet of how to put together a training program for brewpubs. The goal, of course, being to implement an actual standardized training for our FOH staff. It's been long in the making, and the final manual is still being compiled by yours truly.

I've never had to come up with a training manual on my own. But with a background of having been a floor trainer at a big sports bar in Midtown, Atlanta, and an assistant manager a small pizza pub, I figure I can do this. Easy! It's just a matter of trying to find the appropriate materials and passing along the right information.

Some of the tips I've found include taking staff on field trips to visit hops farms and bakeries. Intriguing ideas, but our staff is so rotational due to the seasonal nature of the location that something a little more basic is probably better.

We'll begin holding a weekly mini beer school to ensure the basic information about beer gets passed to all staff. I'm excited to be leading this endeavor as some of my new assistant brewer duties!