Working in the Industry?

I am assuming here that the majority of Fuggled readers do not work in the brewing or pub industry, although I know a substantial minority do, and the other substantial minority have ambitions to. On Saturday, having been to the opening day of Charlottesville's Farmers Market and out to Lake Monticello to observe some university rowing (Mrs Velkyal is considering taking up the sport), we decided to drag my parents out to Starr Hill before it got too busy in the tasting room, and trust me Saturday afternoons can be nuts in there, and it was only midday when we arrived, spot on for opening time.

I hadn't seen a few of the guys in there since my operation back in January so it was good to catch up with them, and if I may have a moment of narcissism, nice to see their reaction when I walked into the tasting room. So we all tasted the beers, sorry to say though, the new summer seasonal brew, Lucy, just isn't my thing by even the most tripped out of imaginations, but Northern Lights IPA and Dark Starr Stout were just as good as ever, and the Love was good. Eventually though my parents and Mrs Velkyal went off on the tour, while I stayed at the bar, not wanting a busman's holiday by taking a tour I have given many times.

The bar wasn't that busy, but then a couple of people came in wanting kegs and so one of the guys had to run off to get them from the keg room, and that's when a few groups of people turned up, effectively swamping the guy left behind the bar, so I offered to help out until the bar crew was back to full strength. It was only about 15 minutes but it dawned on me that as much as I enjoy drinking beer and making beer, I really enjoy serving beer. I don't mean this just in some esoteric, standing at the bar talking with people, bucolic bar life idyll, which I am sure, like most idylls,  is a pipe dream, but I actually enjoy pouring beer, changing kegs, keeping the bar clean, presenting a good image to the customer, I like to make sure that each sample I pour has a decent little head on it. Simply put, I care about the beer I put down in front of visitors to the tasting room (where I hope to be working more regularly again, soon).

I often think about one day having a pub of my own, perhaps a brewpub, perhaps not, but definitely a pub, and I guess that I have a good skill set for being a landlord/owner of a pub, so hopefully one day I will be.