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Background
The Duck Foot Brewing Company, located in San Diego, CA, was founded in 2015 and currently brews 3,000+ bbl/year on a Premier Stainless 15-bbl brewhouse with 300+ bbl of fermentation capacity. Duck Foot is proudly distributed by The Karl Strauss Brewing Co. throughout San Diego County, Orange County, Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire. An on-site taproom is open 7 days a week for our thirsty customers and also hosts weekly events and food trucks. A second taproom is located in downtown San Diego and features Duck Foot beer and the occasional guest tap as well as a full kitchen. Duck Foot has eight year-round beers and packages all of them on our own canning line.
The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive commercial brewing experience on a 15+ bbl brew house and will have a deep understanding of brewing science, techniques, best practices and QA/QC. The candidate will have excellent organizational skills in order to create and maintain a fast-paced production and packaging schedule to help us double our production over the next year.
At the same time, this candidate will be familiar with beer trends, styles and ingredients and have the ability to brew and/or direct staff to brew creative and fun seasonal and one-off beers both for retail sale and distribution. If you’re passionate about beer and the brewing industry, enjoy a fun and lively environment, can handle stress with a smile and roll with the punches then please submit a cover letter, resume and at least 3 professional references.
Responsibilities
* Oversee all aspects of brewing operations.
* Manage a staff of 5 or more brewers/cellar workers and give daily direction on brewing activities.
* Work with team to build a maintain weekly/monthly schedules for all brewing activities, maintenance, events, etc.
* Work with team to assure that all brewing ingredients, adjuncts, supplies, etc. are kept in good stock.
* Provide regular feedback on brewery employee performance and write reviews on a regular basis.
* Plan around expected and unexpected absences.
* Report regularly to the Chief Fermentation Officer.
* Assure the timely delivery of product to both retail taprooms.
* Assist with maintenance of taproom beer lines and draft equipment.
* Organize all raw materials, chemicals and ingredients as needed to ensure brews continue as scheduled.
* Work with management to assure that all ingredients are purchased and in stock on a regular basis to meet brewing demands.
* Conduct regular inventory counts.
* Use in-house Ekos brewing software for tracking of finished product and raw materials.
* Develop and maintain a well-organized brewing schedule that keeps all brands available for all wholesale and retail demand.
* Work with management on brewing capacity projections and assure that appropriate inventory levels are kept.
* Harvest, store, maintain and re-use house yeasts per best practices and industry standards
* Work with yeast providers to purchase new yeast to meet brewing requirements.
* Work to improve microbiological program for yeast cell counting and micro analysis.
* Maintain meticulous documentation and logs for all brew house and fermentation activities for each beer using QA/QC analytics.
* Perform all cellaring operations and sanitary procedures.
* Maintain proper brewing, cellaring, cleaning, and sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and develop new ones as required.
* Establish and maintain a clean, organized and safe working environment for all employees in compliance with OSHA and other regulatory bodies.
* Work with distributor to assure regular, consistent deliveries of product on a weekly basis.
* Maintain existing recipes and brew processes to assure consistent quality and reproducibility.
* Develop and brew 2-3 small batch beers plus 1-2 seasonal beers per month for the taproom and wholesale customers.
* Work with staff to maintain existing barrel-aging program and regularly produce releases of barrel-aged beer.
* Maintain and develop existing sour beer program with regular releases.
* Help to cut controllable costs (where applicable) and maintain a profitable brewery.
* Adhere to quality control processes and troubleshoot any quality-related issues.
* Keep all staff, sales and management up to date on brewing schedule and release of new products.
* Train and supervise all brewery staff in the use of all brewing equipment, brewery wide SOP’s, and Safety Procedures.
* Attend, work, set up/break down Festivals, Tastings, Dinners, and Events as needed.
* Act as a brewery and Craft Beer ambassador for Duck Foot.
* Troubleshoot and maintain all brewery and beer related equipment including (but not limited to): Pumps, Draft Lines and equipment, Brewhouse accessories (auger, mill, lights, rakes, etc), CO2 lines and regulators, all tank parts and accessories.
* Maintain inventory in Ekos (software management system) and work closely with accounting team to track all finished beer.
* Make sure that all serving staff is knowledgable on new beer releases, beer information, and draft system operations.
* Work to constantly improve efficiency in all brewery and brewing related processes.
* Schedule, manage, assist with and oversee all packaging (canning and kegging) operations.
* Work with existing vendors of brewery ingredients, chemicals and other supplies to assure quality, consistency and pricing. Cultivate new relationships with other vendors as needed.
Skills
* Strong verbal, written and organizational skills.
* Ability to work independently and with the brewing team.
* Moderately computer savvy.
* Forklift operation/certification. Required Experience
* 4-8 years of experience as a Head Brewer, Brewmaster or similar position.
* Secondary education desired (e.g. 4-year degree, certificate program, self-study, etc)
* Professional ranking from BJCP or Cicerone highly desired.
* LEAD certification a plus.
* Affiliation with professional organizations or trade groups a plus. (BJCP, Cicerone, ASBC, BA, CCBA, etc)
Physical Requirements
* Brewing is hard work. Expect to sit, stand, kneel, stoop, crouch, walk, lift, shove, pull, get wet, get hot, get cold, work with hazardous chemicals, noise and other general unpleasantness.
* Lifting 50+ lbs to shoulder height is required as is spending the day in steel-toed boots.
Compensation
* Competitive salary will be based on skills and experience.
* Vacation and sick time.
* Footwear allowance.
* Lots of free beer.
The Duck Foot Brewing Company, located in San Diego, CA, was founded in 2015 and currently brews 3,000+ bbl/year on a Premier Stainless 15-bbl brewhouse with 300+ bbl of fermentation capacity. Duck Foot is proudly distributed by The Karl Strauss Brewing Co. throughout San Diego County, Orange County, Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire. An on-site taproom is open 7 days a week for our thirsty customers and also hosts weekly events and food trucks. A second taproom is located in downtown San Diego and features Duck Foot beer and the occasional guest tap as well as a full kitchen. Duck Foot has eight year-round beers and packages all of them on our own canning line.
The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive commercial brewing experience on a 15+ bbl brew house and will have a deep understanding of brewing science, techniques, best practices and QA/QC. The candidate will have excellent organizational skills in order to create and maintain a fast-paced production and packaging schedule to help us double our production over the next year.
At the same time, this candidate will be familiar with beer trends, styles and ingredients and have the ability to brew and/or direct staff to brew creative and fun seasonal and one-off beers both for retail sale and distribution. If you’re passionate about beer and the brewing industry, enjoy a fun and lively environment, can handle stress with a smile and roll with the punches then please submit a cover letter, resume and at least 3 professional references.
Responsibilities
* Oversee all aspects of brewing operations.
* Manage a staff of 5 or more brewers/cellar workers and give daily direction on brewing activities.
* Work with team to build a maintain weekly/monthly schedules for all brewing activities, maintenance, events, etc.
* Work with team to assure that all brewing ingredients, adjuncts, supplies, etc. are kept in good stock.
* Provide regular feedback on brewery employee performance and write reviews on a regular basis.
* Plan around expected and unexpected absences.
* Report regularly to the Chief Fermentation Officer.
* Assure the timely delivery of product to both retail taprooms.
* Assist with maintenance of taproom beer lines and draft equipment.
* Organize all raw materials, chemicals and ingredients as needed to ensure brews continue as scheduled.
* Work with management to assure that all ingredients are purchased and in stock on a regular basis to meet brewing demands.
* Conduct regular inventory counts.
* Use in-house Ekos brewing software for tracking of finished product and raw materials.
* Develop and maintain a well-organized brewing schedule that keeps all brands available for all wholesale and retail demand.
* Work with management on brewing capacity projections and assure that appropriate inventory levels are kept.
* Harvest, store, maintain and re-use house yeasts per best practices and industry standards
* Work with yeast providers to purchase new yeast to meet brewing requirements.
* Work to improve microbiological program for yeast cell counting and micro analysis.
* Maintain meticulous documentation and logs for all brew house and fermentation activities for each beer using QA/QC analytics.
* Perform all cellaring operations and sanitary procedures.
* Maintain proper brewing, cellaring, cleaning, and sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and develop new ones as required.
* Establish and maintain a clean, organized and safe working environment for all employees in compliance with OSHA and other regulatory bodies.
* Work with distributor to assure regular, consistent deliveries of product on a weekly basis.
* Maintain existing recipes and brew processes to assure consistent quality and reproducibility.
* Develop and brew 2-3 small batch beers plus 1-2 seasonal beers per month for the taproom and wholesale customers.
* Work with staff to maintain existing barrel-aging program and regularly produce releases of barrel-aged beer.
* Maintain and develop existing sour beer program with regular releases.
* Help to cut controllable costs (where applicable) and maintain a profitable brewery.
* Adhere to quality control processes and troubleshoot any quality-related issues.
* Keep all staff, sales and management up to date on brewing schedule and release of new products.
* Train and supervise all brewery staff in the use of all brewing equipment, brewery wide SOP’s, and Safety Procedures.
* Attend, work, set up/break down Festivals, Tastings, Dinners, and Events as needed.
* Act as a brewery and Craft Beer ambassador for Duck Foot.
* Troubleshoot and maintain all brewery and beer related equipment including (but not limited to): Pumps, Draft Lines and equipment, Brewhouse accessories (auger, mill, lights, rakes, etc), CO2 lines and regulators, all tank parts and accessories.
* Maintain inventory in Ekos (software management system) and work closely with accounting team to track all finished beer.
* Make sure that all serving staff is knowledgable on new beer releases, beer information, and draft system operations.
* Work to constantly improve efficiency in all brewery and brewing related processes.
* Schedule, manage, assist with and oversee all packaging (canning and kegging) operations.
* Work with existing vendors of brewery ingredients, chemicals and other supplies to assure quality, consistency and pricing. Cultivate new relationships with other vendors as needed.
Skills
* Strong verbal, written and organizational skills.
* Ability to work independently and with the brewing team.
* Moderately computer savvy.
* Forklift operation/certification. Required Experience
* 4-8 years of experience as a Head Brewer, Brewmaster or similar position.
* Secondary education desired (e.g. 4-year degree, certificate program, self-study, etc)
* Professional ranking from BJCP or Cicerone highly desired.
* LEAD certification a plus.
* Affiliation with professional organizations or trade groups a plus. (BJCP, Cicerone, ASBC, BA, CCBA, etc)
Physical Requirements
* Brewing is hard work. Expect to sit, stand, kneel, stoop, crouch, walk, lift, shove, pull, get wet, get hot, get cold, work with hazardous chemicals, noise and other general unpleasantness.
* Lifting 50+ lbs to shoulder height is required as is spending the day in steel-toed boots.
Compensation
* Competitive salary will be based on skills and experience.
* Vacation and sick time.
* Footwear allowance.
* Lots of free beer.