Swapped like war stories over after-shift pints, the anecdotal horrors of close calls, injuries, and near-death experiences are not only badges that represent time spent on the brew deck and in the cellar. They are also cautionary tales—slips and falls; hot wort that fills boots, cooks feet, or scalds hands; eyes sprayed with caustic; de-glovings. Graphic photos of the aftermath and healing wounds are shared to Facebook groups and Reddit threads.
Yet there is still an attitude in some corners of the industry that accidents can’t happen or that experience trumps everyday dangers. There can be a stigma on the production floor that safety gear is for new hires, but those attitudes hold the industry back. People die brewing beer. It doesn’t happen every year, but it happens too often for the comfort of safety-minded industry leaders.
“Brewers are beverage manufacturers,” says Matt Stinchfield, safety ambassador for the Brewers Association. “They work in a manufacturing environment by definition.” However, not everyone comes to the industry with an industrial mindset. “Workers in every industry wear long pants—it comes with the territory. Some brewers are still wearing shorts,” he says, with some exasperation.