Head Brewer at Steel Bender Brewyard in Albuquerque, NM

[mmondragon]

Head Brewer


REPORTS TO: Owners and Leadership Team


About Us

Steel Bender Brewyard is a local family owned brewery and taproom located in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our brewhaus is a 15bbl system and a 7bbl pilot system, in which we are currently brewing 4,000- 5,000 bbl a year, with clear goals to increase production and distribution. Steel Bender operates with a strong spirit of inclusion and employee collaboration, and we are looking for individuals who share our enthusiasm and love for craft beer.


JOB DESCRIPTION:

The primary responsibility of the Head Brewer is to provide leadership to the production team on the brewery floor. They will ensure that brewhouse and cellar operations effectively meet the needs of the planned production schedule. This position will support overall brewing operations by facilitating daily communication and ensuring that staff has all the tools, materials, and information they need to efficiently complete their jobs. The Head Brewer will assign accountability to shift workers and promote ownership of processes and equipment. This position will also lead projects to increase efficiency and improve processes. Minimum of 3 years of managerial brewing experience required.


JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Brewery Operations

• Proficient at recipe development, as well as optimizing quality and efficiencies of existing recipes.
• Manage small to medium sized brewery/ cellar/packaging team
• Work with leadership team to establish and maintain a culture of quality
• Assist Brewery Operations Manager with contracting for hops, malt and fruit to meet forecast needs.
• With Operations Manager, develop, manage and train production team in SOPs for:
  • Brew prep
  • Brewhouse operations
  • Cellaring & dry hopping
  • Packaging
  • Yeast cropping, propagating, assessing viability & appropriate pitching
  • CIP and sanitary practice
  • Gravity, DO, Carbonation, pH readings and PCR testing
  • Actions guided by above info
  • Warehousing, order picking and stock rotation of finished goods
  • Equipment upkeep and scheduled maintenance
• Oversee scheduled maintenance of and forecast future needs for brewery equipment
• Schedules staff to meet production needs
• With the Operations Manager, review the Production Schedule on a weekly basis to make necessary adjustments
• Creates, implements and monitors safety protocols in the production environment, including:
  • Establish culture of safety (starts from the top)
  • Hold regular brewery staff meetings to review current practices
  • Appropriate use of PPE / Enclosed space permit management
  • Lock-out / tag-out procedures during maintenance procedures
  • Enforces proper safety practices in forklift and scissor lift operations
  • Safety procedures around chemical handling, lifting of heavy and awkward loads and high pressure and high temperature operations
• Works with leadership team to constantly explore avenues to reduce costs, increase revenues, and improve overall company performance while maintaining a culture of quality
• With Operations Manager, develop and implement the DVM (Daily Visual Metrics) framework for the production team
• Take on work in production as needed based on staffing availability
• Occasional representation of Steel Bender Brewyard at Off-Site Events
• Train front of house staff on house beers, and beer releases

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

• Work with Operations Manager to ensure all products meet internal quality standards, assessing their effectiveness through rigorous testing in the lab and sensory analysis, and always maintaining an emphasis on quality
• Maintain and review production data for all batches
• Work with brewing and packaging staff on process improvements where quality is impacted

Line Management

• Oversee and direct the work/assignments of reports. Partner with owners to manage co-worker actions and responsibilities to include:
  • Creating a work environment that promotes teamwork, accountability, performance feedback, recognition, and mutual respect
  • Conducts quality hiring, new hire orientation, and training that encompass the company’s values
  • Execute timely processing of all coworker-related actions, including status, pay, and position changes using established procedures and systems.
  • Conducts coaching and counseling actions for coworkers, ensuring the accountability of all location coworkers and enforcing policies and procedures.
  • Partners with and makes recommendations to owners regarding employment and termination decisions.
  • Ensure timely and honest performance reviews are provided to all employees at least annually
• Pursue and cultivate clear and open lines of communication with internal departments and external contacts

Benefits

• Paid Vacation
• Health Insurance; supplemental dental/vision available
• 401(k)
• Shift meal at taproom (when open)
• Discounts on merch and meals when not at work
• Post-shift beers
• Flexible Schedule
• Working In an exciting, fun, and collaborative environment and industry

For consideration please submit your resume to Ethan@steelbenderbrewyard.com.