Prior to enlisting in the Navy, Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Barron Sluder started brewing beer at home as a hobby. Three years later, Sluder became one of the youngest brewmasters in Georgia history at the age of 23.
“I enjoyed drinking craft beers when I got the chance, sparking an interest to create my own beers and possibly pursue a career in the craft beer industry,” said Sluder. “I quickly began home brewing and developing my own recipes. I made the most simple homebrew setup I could, called the ‘brew in a bag’ setup. It was just a pot, burner, hose, funnel, and a five-gallon glass fermenter. Most of the materials were purchased at Home Depot and the rest at local homebrew stores.”
“I started brewing simple Pale Ales and [India Pale Ales] before quickly expanding my range to include Imperial Stouts, Saisons, Berliner Weisse, and more complex IPAs,” said Sluder. “My favorite craft beer at the time happened to be by a brewing company that was only a 20-minute drive away from [Eastern Carolina University], where I was playing college hockey at the time.”
Sluder kept improving his brewing ability, and his love for the hobby led him to inquire about a job in the brewing industry.
“I drove out to the brewery on a whim to ask about a job opportunity and got hired on the spot as a part-time packaging tech – working on the bottling line, packaging six packs – at the age of 21,” Sluder said. “It was a fast-paced position, loading bottles onto the bottling line, making sure the system was operating properly, making sure the bottles were filled the right amount, capped, and finally packed away into cases to be shipped.”
After moving down to Georgia and bouncing around a few more breweries, Sluder was finally approached by another brewing company set to open in the fall of 2016 with a job opportunity, making him one of the youngest brewmasters in Georgia history at the age of 23. He was in charge of everything from recipe research and development to directing brew house operations, as well as caring for the beer post-brew, and packaging. Being in this position forced him to learn vital professional leadership skills at a young age. He was in charge of tens of thousands of dollars in product, managing personnel, brewing and packaging schedules, and coordinating with suppliers. Leadership came easy to Sluder, as he captained his college hockey team at Kennesaw State University as a sophomore. However, learning the ins and outs of the business world was a new challenge he happily took on. Just several months after the grand opening of the brewing company, Sluder’s Berliner Weisse-style beer, named “Neon Neon” won two Gold Medals at the Suwanee Beer Fest and Georgia Wild Beer Fest, respectively.
Sluder eventually finished out his brewing career as Head Brewer and Director of Brewery Operations at yet another brewing company prior to enlisting in February 2019. He has since been able to transition his professional knowledge and skills to the Navy, where he is currently work center supervisor of Avionics Shops 1/8/9.
“Learning how to manage people has been the biggest help in transitioning to the Navy,” said Sluder. “I prefer a leadership style where I get to know people and will use their strengths to help them progress as Sailors and in life.”
Being in charge of high-value assets in stressful situations has also come in handy, as he now supervises a work center which specializes in communication and navigation equipment, night vision goggles, vital aircraft cable harnesses, and aircraft batteries. Oftentimes as a brewer, he was in situations where he had to work alone, leading to the ability to problem-solve and troubleshoot on the spot, which is useful as an aviation electronics technician. Sluder looks forward to continuing his naval career after he leaves the Nimitz to continue supporting his wife Savannah and their four young sons.
“Joining the Navy has turned out to be a fantastic decision,” said Sluder. “I loved brewing, but I was never able to have the comfort of knowing my family was taken care of in all aspects of life until now.”
He is currently working towards an astrophysics degree in hopes of being employed by NASA one day, and he hopes to make chief or become an officer before his time in the Navy concludes.
Date Taken: | 10.03.2022 |
Date Posted: | 12.29.2022 21:05 |
Story ID: | 436078 |
Location: | US |
Web Views: | 74 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Brewmaster to Nimitz Sailor, by PO2 Elliot Schaudt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.