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Frederick "Freddy" Bensch
JOB: "Big Kahuna," Sweetwater Brewing Co., Atlanta
WHAT I DO: Bensch, 35, is co-founder of Sweetwater Brewing Co., an Atlanta-based brewer that's outgrown the moniker "microbrewery" and last year turned out 25,000 barrels of beer, porter and ale. He describes his job as being "responsible for this place," which includes creating beer recipes, promoting the products, socializing, dealing with bureaucracy, mingling with the crowds at weekly open houses, being a biologist/chemist/mechanic, running the business side of the operation and - oh, yeah - brewing beer. "Beer is a living organism," he said. "You have to baby-sit it."
WHAT GOT ME INTERESTED IN THIS: When he and co-founder Kevin McNerney were in college in Boulder, Colo., they both worked at a local brewery. Bensch said he enjoyed the lifestyle of college, beer and the outdoors. "At 21, I fell in love with this industry. ... In Boulder, beer is a form of currency," he said. Running a brewery "has allowed me to continue doing what I like," which also includes fishing (hence the company's trout logo).
BEST PART OF MY JOB: "This whole industry revolves around beer. It's highly social. Anything that revolves around beer has gotta be fun. "People want to talk to you about beer. And we're passionate about it."
MOST CHALLENGING PART: The business side of brewing. "We knew the beer side," Bensch said. "The challenge as brewers was to learn the politics and business side of what it takes to run a brewery." There is a new challenge every day, he said, and he has to be flexible to deal with the randomness of it.
WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY JOB: "It seems ultra-glamorous, but, when you boil it down, it's a ton of hard work," he said. Sweetwater's various products are brewed, bottled, stored and shipped from one building. The company is about to open a special events room, complete with bar and Sweetwater on tap. The company modeled its operations on the early business of a Colorado icon, Coors, when its products were not sold east of the Mississippi. "People love what they can't have," Bensch said. His products are not pasteurized, so they keep their flavor but lose shelf life. The company sells its beers through distributorships in Atlanta, Athens, Savannah, western North Carolina, Tennessee, Birmingham, Auburn and the Florida panhandle. When it was pointed out that those are all college markets, Bensch quickly added, "It's also where the fish are."
WHAT KEEPS ME GOING: "The beer." Bensch said he has a great job and, even after 10 years, he enjoys coming to work every day. "Owning a brewery is a fairly popular job. It's never dull, never old. Everyone in the building is very laid-back and loves beer. We have mutual respect for each other."
PREPARATION NEEDED FOR THIS JOB: You can't stay out every night until 4 a.m., Bensch joked. You also need to know how to solve problems, brew beer, make decisions and think outside the box. To learn to brew beer, Bensch suggested working for a brewery to get a foundation in the industry. Two schools teach brewing: the University of California at Davis and the Siebel Institute, which has campuses in Chicago, Montreal and Munich. Bensch, originally from Stockton, Calif., has a bachelor's degree in environmental conservation from the University of Colorado.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
