McKenzies fires head brewer abruptly

[jjpm74]

It is truly a sad day when a brewer as talented as Scott Morrison is shown the door the way he was:

http://www.beeryard.com/news/default.cfm?action=view&id=817

He is one of the most talented brewers in the region. I doubt I will ever return to McKenzies now that he is no longer the brewer.

I apologize if this was already posted here. If it was, I missed it somehow.

[newportstorm]

Wow.....Merry Christmas. Bah-humbug!

There are 2 sides to every story, but if McKenzie's wasn't happy with the award winning strong beers Scott was creating, and the 2 sides couldn't agree to an arrangement, the least the brewery management could have done was tell the guy to start looking elsewhere, while they work on a replacement brewer.

To spring a pink slip on someone with one day's notice, two weeks before Christmas, knowing he just bought a home and is about to be married is just plain shitty.

Hope he lands on his feet somewhere. Heard nothing but good things about his brews.

[Mill Rat]

Seeing this part of the Beeryard story, "...with management wanting Morrison to concentrate on more mainstream brews rather that the strong-ale interpretations which have won him a national reputation," I am tempted to think this was a financial decision. The extra brewing and maturation times that bigger beers demand can significantly reduce the throughput (and profitability) of a brewhouse. Awards are great, but you've gotta keep the doors open, too. I obviously don't know the specifics of the situation, but it is evident this was not a bolt from a clear blue sky. The timing is unfortunate, though.

[dparsons]

Hopefully he'll find a place that wants to take advantage of his brewing preferences. And soon.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
Seeing this part of the Beeryard story, "...with management wanting Morrison to concentrate on more mainstream brews rather that the strong-ale interpretations which have won him a national reputation," I am tempted to think this was a financial decision. The extra brewing and maturation times that bigger beers demand can significantly reduce the throughput (and profitability) of a brewhouse. Awards are great, but you've gotta keep the doors open, too. I obviously don't know the specifics of the situation, but it is evident this was not a bolt from a clear blue sky. The timing is unfortunate, though.

No doubt that mainstream brews appeal to the mainstream crowd and probably help pay the bills and fund the off-the-wall brews that Scott was brewing. However, after reading this comment, "It appeared that an uneasy truce had been established", it makes me wonder if this wasn't a bolt from the clear blue sky.

The two sides were unhappy as-is - that much seems clear. But if the tables were turned and Scott just up and left one day, with no notice, leaving brews fermenting away, with just an assistant brewer to take on the whole workload, we'd all be grumbling at Scott.

If management had approached Scott and said something like..."Scott, we need more mainstream brews. You seem to love brewing more creative, adventurous stuff. It's just not working out. Let's finish up what's already been started, bottle up the beers we planned and go our separate ways. Will you stay on until we can hire a new brewer?"...this would be a different story. Doesn't sound like that's the way it went down.

It's come to the point now where searching for a new job needs to be done with the slyness of a CIA agent and the old courtesy "two weeks notice" is a thing of the past. Sad.

[Lew Bryson]

Guys,

I can't talk about details, but...Scott was not fired for financial or artistic reasons. This was simply an unfortunate occurrence that could have happened anywhere. It was a result of a bad personal atmosphere in the brewhouse, yes, but the actual termination was not about the beer at all. Sorry I can't be more forthcoming -- hope you understand why -- but I'd like to clear that up a little bit.

Lew Bryson