Head Brewer - Pelican Brewing Company

Pelican Pub & Brewery; Oregon (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Pelican Brewing Company is seeking a Head Brewer to lead the brewer/cellar team and coordinate daily brewing operations. You will partner with other managers to ensure timely completion of daily needs, while bringing leadership and a deep knowledge of brewing operations.

The role requires maintaining safety standards, scaling pilot batches, and driving continuous improvement across production, quality, and process controls. Night/weekend shifts and occasional travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Preferred brewing degree or certificate.
• BS in fermentation, biology, engineering or related field preferred.
• 3+ years managerial experience in a manufacturing environment.
• 7+ years brewing and/or distilling experience.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all brewer/cellar employees and procedures meet safety standards.
• Oversee wort production, cellaring, clarification and maintenance.
• Manage utilities, raw materials, safety, personnel, training and maintenance.
• Collaborate with other managers to meet production schedules (Just In Time).
• Conduct brewery audits for consistency, quality and adherence to Pelican standards.
• Monitor fermentation health with QC, sensory panels and analytics.
• Scale pilot batches to production and assist product development.
• Develop reports on brewing execution, quality and exceptions; improve processes.
• Keep production systems and inventories accurate and up to date.
• Ensure cleanliness and sanitation of brew house and cellars.
• Provide staff coverage and cross-skill where needed.
• Recruit, supervise and develop staff; manage scheduling.
• Mentor and supervise other technical staff.

Skills

Managerial experience

Manufacturing experience

Brewing/distilling experience

Education

Brewing degree/certificate

BS in fermentation/biology/engineering

Job description

Summary of the Position:

The Head Brewer serves as the department manager for the brewer/cellar team and acts as the primary coordinator for daily brewing operations. The ideal candidate will bring progressive leadership and a creative mind for keeping daily and weekly operations on track while working with other department managers to ensure daily needs are completed on time. Passion for the industry and a deep and diverse knowledge of brewing operations is required.

Key Accountabilities:

• Ensure all brewer/cellar employees and procedures meet Pelican Brewing Company/State/Federal safety standards.
• Responsible for knowing and managing all aspects of the brewing process. This includes wort production, cellaring, clarification and associated maintenance.
• Understanding and management of other key elements including utilities, raw materials, safety, personnel, training and maintenance.
• Works closely with other department managers to drive the production schedule to meet a Just In Time production model.
• Manage/conduct brewery audits to ensure consistency, repeatability, and quality of process and product adhere to Pelican Brewing standards.
• Work cooperatively with QC department to monitor the health of the brewery via fermentation performance, sensory panels, and analytics.
• Participates in the product development process helping to scale pilot batches to production model.
• Develop reports on brewing execution, quality and exceptions. Put systems in place to improve process controls.
• Keep production systems and inventories updated and free of errors for accurate reporting.
• Responsible for the cleanliness and sanitation of the brew house and cellars to ensure all work areas comply with company standards.
• Provide coverage for staff needing breaks/cover shifts if needed. Must be willing to gain skills to understand and execute in-house processes.
• Recruit, supervise and review performance of direct reports and develop staff professionally and technically to meet goals.
• Manage staff scheduling to ensure weekly production needs are met.
• Providing guidance, mentoring, and supervision for other technical professionals on staff

Staying current with technical literature and information about sensory evaluation.

This may require occasional night, weekend and overtime shifts as well as response to emergencies that may require action during non-scheduled periods. Occasional travel may be requested for industry events, company meetings or other reasons.

The work environment characteristics and physical demands described here are representative of those a team member encounters while performing the key accountabilities of the position. The work may be conducted in an office environment; or may require work in a warehouse/production/restaurant/lodging environment.

Requirements

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Brewing degree/certificate strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s of Science in fermentation, biology, engineering or other related field is preferred.
• 3 plus years of managerial experience in a manufacturing environment
• 7 plus years of professional brewing and/or distilling experience