Category: Jasmine

My proudest moment working at Heart of Darkness was the week our supervisor and the brewing assistants were absent for various reasons. Because of this the other intern and I were assigned a double batch nano-brew to complete on our own. The other intern, Will, had far more experience than I did, but I pulled my weight and we completed the double batch together. I even cold-crashed and kegged the batches by myself. After weeks of grunt work, learning the brewing process, and shadowing being able to say I made my own batches and put them on tap was the proudest moment of my internship.

My biggest professional accomplishment of my internship would be the passivation research I did for the brewery. In order to insure the quality of our stainless steel I did research on the safest acid to use to passivate our new vessels and equipment. This project allowed me to use my chemistry background and present useful information that ended up making the brewery work environment safer. After presenting my passivation research I then developed a standard operating procedure for the passivation process which was then translated into Vietnamese so all the employees could use the material. The procedure I developed was also eventually used as a template for other brewery SOPs as we developed our new quality control and assurance programs. Seeing my research having such a far-reaching effect in the brewery and be taken seriously was a huge professional accomplishment. Comparing this work to my future assignments will only show me how much I’m learning in school and growing.

My perspective on life has changed tremendously over this summer. Living in HCMC and working at HOD has shown me what I find most important in life and what I should prioritize this coming school year. I originally thought I’d enjoy working at a small to medium sized company. After working at HOD, however, I would probably prefer to work at a larger company where my position is more specialized. I’ve also always known I love traveling and experiencing new cultures. Living in HCMC was the first time I got to do this away from my family. Traveling with other college students and seeing more of the world is more of a priority in my life now than ever before. Finally, this trip has shown me how terrible I am with money. Living on my own in a foreign country has made me more savvy with saving and has completely changed my perspective on my personal finances.

Before my internship I knew next to nothing about brewing or the craft brewing industry. I’ve learned since the average income in southeast Asia is tends to be low, I’ve learned that the craft brewing is catered more towards expats and wealthier Asian countries. Similar to how we outsource work in the United States, developing countries like Vietnam provide cheaper labor to operate craft breweries. Vietnamese people, however, tend not to be the consumers of craft beer. I’ve also learned how competitive the craft brewing industry is, as craft breweries have to compete not only with other craft breweries, but also with the mega-breweries that provide cheaper, more consistent product.

My company’s strengths lie with our investment backing, creativity, and management. Heart of Darkness has a wide array of investors and collaborates with many other craft breweries. We are also very expansion minded and aim to create more bars in more countries to become the premier craft brewery of Asia. Our management staff functions daily with this goal in mind and is constantly creating new recipes for different flavor pallets to reach a wider range of people.

Our weaknesses lie with our filing and standardization systems. As Heart of Darkness grows switching from analog to digital systems will be imperative to keep up with the fast pace of our growth. Standardizing our flagship beers and having more scrutiny with our recipes and batch specifications will also aid long-term success and help delivery constant product.

Opportunities for expansion would include looking forward to more countries where we can establish bars and possibly creating more bars in the countries we’re already established. As Heart of Darkness grows, we may also be able to lower our prices and serve a wider variety of customers. Attempting to cater to local pallets and creating beers using local flavors and would definitely aid in our originality and draw in more customers.

Our biggest threat would definitely be mega-breweries, which deliver constant, cheaper product, with state-of-the-art technology at breakneck speeds. An example of this that I witnessed first-hand was the Heineken brewery in Ho Chi Minh City. Their recipes and tactics have been consistent for decades and they own several brands one wouldn’t expect to be part of Heineken, like Tiger and Strongbow. Because their recipes are so specific most of their brewing can be automated which aids their consistency and increases their output. In craft breweries there is so much recipe variation, most processes must be done manually, which consumes time and allows for human error and failed batches.

An amazing moment in my life in HCMC would be the weekend I went to Cambodia and watched the sunrise in Angkor Wat. I spent the whole day walking through the ruins with Andrew and other UF students and although the temples weren’t as ornate as other places I’ve been, it was truly a magnificent experience.

My work projects have been going very well for the past few weeks. My projects are assigned in three general sizes. The small project I’ve completed only take one person’s efforts over an afternoon. The small sized projects I’ve completed include research for new system datalogger and reformatting of brewery action sheets and daily pH and gravity sample charts.

The medium sized projects I’ve worked on take about a week for one person to complete and include my favorite projects. At Heart of Darkness, I’ve done research to update and standardize our passivation process, a precautionary measure to ensure the quality of our new stainless-steel equipment. After researching safer chemicals and procedures for passivation, I also developed a formal standard operating procedure for the process to be used in the future. Another medium sized project I’ve completed at Heart of Darkness is research and analysis of our wastewater management. Brewery wastewater has very specific properties that must be mediated before being disposed into municipal water treatment facilities. My research accounted for the properties of our wastewater and suggested widely accepted methodologies for addressing each to reduce the strain on the water treatment facilities.

The largest project I’ve worked on has been over the course of several weeks in conjunction with one of the brewery assistants, Nhi. This project is meant to develop a quality control and assurance program at the brewery to ensure product consistency, employee safety, brewery cleanliness, and customer satisfaction. This program will use all the research from smaller projects as a template and result in a brewery-wide standardization to be used as a foundation for future expansion.

The most dynamic relationship I have at the brewery is with the other intern, William. As a rising senior, he has had far more brewery experience than I. Because of this, I often shadow William when we brew nano-batches. Conversely, as the more analytical and organized intern, William follows my lead on tasks he is unfamiliar with, such as research projects and clean-in-place (CIP) procedures. The dichotomy in our skills and interests have made both our experiences more rewarding.

I also have a very fruitful relationship with the brewery assistant, Nhi. As a graduating senior not only does Nhi have more experience and knowledge than I, but she has also explored several career paths I’m interested in. Like me, Nhi started her college career in chemical engineering, but decided to switch to industrial engineering, which I am considering. Nhi and I have had several discussions on the differences between the disciplines and different industry opportunities both have to offer.

 Nhi is also involved in programs at her Vietnamese university that I planned on joining at UF. Nhi is a teaching assistant at her university and also has a part-time job in addition to working at Heart of Darkness and taking classes. Getting tips from her on how she balances her life and interests is very eye-opening and helpful as approach my very busy sophomore year. Next year, I plan to work part-time, become a teaching assistant, and take classes at UF. Balancing my school and work life next year is very daunting but watching Nhi over the past weeks has given me a great example to follow. Her encouragement for me to explore other interests has made me less fearful of the possibility of changing my major and broadening my college experience.

Living and working in Ho Chi Minh City has taught me so much about being cautious and aware when driving. Driving laws in Vietnam are far laxer than those in the US. That paired with the high volume of scooters and motorcycles has led to me seeing several collisions during my commute and travel experiences. Both my boyfriend and I are purchasing scooters to use on campus this coming school year. Even though scooters in the US have far more safety regulations and speed maximums, living in Vietnam has taught me that driving safe is not only about how fast you’re driving, but also about paying attention to the drivers around you. Avoiding risky situations like weaving through traffic and swerving between cars could have prevented many of the collisions I have seen. Seeing the driving and scooter culture in Vietnam and its similarities to the UF campus has made me a more conscientious driver and mindful of the dangers of driving scooters.

My work projects have been going very well for the past few weeks. My projects are assigned in three general sizes. The small project I’ve completed only take one person’s efforts over an afternoon. The small sized projects I’ve completed include research for new system datalogger and reformatting of brewery action sheets and daily pH and gravity sample charts.

The medium sized projects I’ve worked on take about a week for one person to complete and include my favorite projects. At Heart of Darkness, I’ve done research to update and standardize our passivation process, a precautionary measure to ensure the quality of our new stainless-steel equipment. After researching safer chemicals and procedures for passivation, I also developed a formal standard operating procedure for the process to be used in the future. Another medium sized project I’ve completed at Heart of Darkness is research and analysis of our wastewater management. Brewery wastewater has very specific properties that must be mediated before being disposed into municipal water treatment facilities. My research accounted for the properties of our wastewater and suggested widely accepted methodologies for addressing each to reduce the strain on the water treatment facilities.

The largest project I’ve worked on has been over the course of several weeks in conjunction with one of the brewery assistants, Nhi. This project is meant to develop a quality control and assurance program at the brewery to ensure product consistency, employee safety, brewery cleanliness, and customer satisfaction. This program will use all the research from smaller projects as a template and result in a brewery-wide standardization to be used as a foundation for future expansion.

The most dynamic relationship I have at the brewery is with the other intern, William. As a rising senior, he has had far more brewery experience than I. Because of this, I often shadow William when we brew nano-batches. Conversely, as the more analytical and organized intern, William follows my lead on tasks he is unfamiliar with, such as research projects and clean-in-place (CIP) procedures. The dichotomy in our skills and interests have made both our experiences more rewarding.

I also have a very fruitful relationship with the brewery assistant, Nhi. As a graduating senior not only does Nhi have more experience and knowledge than I, but she has also explored several career paths I’m interested in. Like me, Nhi started her college career in chemical engineering, but decided to switch to industrial engineering, which I am considering. Nhi and I have had several discussions on the differences between the disciplines and different industry opportunities both have to offer.

 Nhi is also involved in programs at her Vietnamese university that I planned on joining at UF. Nhi is a teaching assistant at her university and also has a part-time job in addition to working at Heart of Darkness and taking classes. Getting tips from her on how she balances her life and interests is very eye-opening and helpful as approach my very busy sophomore year. Next year, I plan to work part-time, become a teaching assistant, and take classes at UF. Balancing my school and work life next year is very daunting but watching Nhi over the past weeks has given me a great example to follow. Her encouragement for me to explore other interests has made me less fearful of the possibility of changing my major and broadening my college experience.

Living and working in Ho Chi Minh City has taught me so much about being cautious and aware when driving. Driving laws in Vietnam are far laxer than those in the US. That paired with the high volume of scooters and motorcycles has led to me seeing several collisions during my commute and travel experiences. Both my boyfriend and I are purchasing scooters to use on campus this coming school year. Even though scooters in the US have far more safety regulations and speed maximums, living in Vietnam has taught me that driving safe is not only about how fast you’re driving, but also about paying attention to the drivers around you. Avoiding risky situations like weaving through traffic and swerving between cars could have prevented many of the collisions I have seen. Seeing the driving and scooter culture in Vietnam and its similarities to the UF campus has made me a more conscientious driver and mindful of the dangers of driving scooters.

My supervisor, Enrique, is the Lead Brewer of the Heart of Darkness. He’s responsible for the daily brewing operations of the nano and mega batch equipment at the brewery. This includes management of the brewing process for each beer being produced that day, the cleaning process for each tank, hose, and vessel, the packaging and distribution of completed products into kegs and bottles, the maintenance of kegerators, refrigerators, and brewhouse drains and pipes, and the development of new brew recipes. Anything that needs to be done concerning production at the brewery, Enrique manages and oversees. On a daily basis, Enrique updates the boards with the brew statistics of over half a dozen tanks and vessels in the brewhouse. Next, he sets the daily goals and responsibilities for the brewery assistants and staff. During the day, Enrique regularly does research and development at his desk in the brewery to learn more about industry standards and norms. He regularly returns to the brewhouse for updates on the given tasks and maintains the large batch brews.

This schedule is very representative of his personality and management style. Enrique takes a more hands-off approach and prefers for is brewing assistants and interns to learn by guided trial-and-error, only stepping in when he sees we are truly lost. This method encourages the brewing assistants and interns to crowdsource and problem solve on our own and only come to him with emergencies and pertinent questions.

Because of our relatively small size, most brewing assistants and interns are involved in all “departments” of the brewery. The biggest departmental distinction is between operations management and production. Operations management is in charge of bar tap and kegerator maintenance, warehouse management, and distribution, while production is in charge of brewing and packaging.

As a part of the production team, I aid the lead, shift, and assistant brewers in the brewing process wherever I am needed. My primary daily objectives as an intern revolve around becoming more independent and comfortable with the nano-brewery equipment and packaging and researching important topics chosen by the head and lead brewers to improve brewery quality control, standardization, safety, and sustainability. My days are usually split equally between brewing and research projects, with me researching on my laptop in our breakroom or in the brewhouse completing tasks. As an intern those tasks usually include copious amounts of cleaning, sanitizing, and batch sample testing, but also hands on involvement in every step of the brewing process.

The most surprising experience I’ve had in Ho Chi Minh City has definitely been my dining experiences. Back in the US, waitstaff is easily accessible and attentive to their assigned tables waiting on their every need. In Vietnam, however, I’ve found my waiter disappearing for more 20 minutes at a time, telling me to ask other waiters for help, or hovering over me while I read the menu. In some establishments, I’ve spent more time waiting on my check than actually eating my food. Almost every Vietnamese person I’ve met has been nothing, but kind, friendly, and hospitable, however it’s interesting to see how something as simple as a restaurant experience could be so different from back home. The US has a tipping culture that is a rare phenomenon in other countries, which most likely artificially produces the dining experience I’ve grown so accustomed to.

The most culturally informative was our last excursion to the Cao Dai Temple. Unlike the United States were most religions are practiced separately, Caodaists “combine Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Taoism, Judaism, Confucianism and Zoroastrianism into a monotheistic religion”. The creative and colorful architecture beautifully connected various local religions into an eccentric belief system known as Caodaism. The local belief that all religions have equal validity built a strong sense of community and comradery in the area.

The cultural difference between the United and Vietnam that I expected were very different than the cultural differences I experienced. As a politically right-wing conservative in the United States I expected to be more shocked living in a communist country. Surprisingly, however, the Vietnamese people speak little about taboo topics such as politics and history, especially to foreigners.

The Vietnamese culture shares similarities with many other eastern cultures that I didn’t expect. For example, for almost all meals the table eats communally and doesn’t split the bill at restaurants. The Vietnamese also have the same concept of “saving face” that is found throughout Asia and they prioritize reputation and perception of others. This is very similar to Chinese and Japanese cultural practices but isn’t necessarily a sign of international influence. It is most likely a shared eastern cultural practice that never developed in the West.

Unlike other eastern cultures the Vietnamese don’t bow or care about being too noisy. The Vietnamese form of politeness is to not disturb others and to be respectful of their space, time, and expectations.

How do Vietnamese and tones and pronunciations relate to languages I already know? What other cultural differences separate the Northern Vietnamese near Hanoi from the Southern Vietnamese near Saigon? What are some more rude or unsettling habits that foreigners should avoid while traveling in Vietnam and Southeast Asia? How do the different countries in Southeast Asia view each other and what are their cultural similarities and differences? How has K-culture influenced the Vietnamese way of life and why is it so popular across the world? What sectors of Vietnamese business are growing and gaining international recognition and prowess?