Shift Brewer/Cellar Person

Who We Are:

WISEACRE Brewing Company is a fast-growing regional brewery located in the gritty but grand city of Memphis, TN. We first started brewing in 2013 and now have 2 production facilities along with accompanying taprooms and a pizza kitchen serving up New Haven style pies. Our focus is on making top quality, uniquely flavorful beverages but we have a particular passion for lagers as evidenced by our top-selling, Great American Beer Festival bronze medal winning Tiny Bomb Pilsner and gold medal winning Sky Dog Lager.

The brewery's core values are summarized with the acronym BEEFY, which has nothing to do with beef but which does stand for Bliss, Education, Excellence, Folks, and Yourself. These values guide our company culture and operations and we're looking for BEEFY folks with a love of craft beverages to join our team. Our most ardent wish is to hire an experienced Shift Brewer/Cellar Person who can hit the ground running within the next month but we are also open to training a reliable, curious candidate who has an abundance of passion, fine attention to detail, and more limited brewery experience.

Position Details:

The WISEACRE shift brewer/cellar person is responsible for assisting the rest of our team in all aspects of production. This position will be responsible for helping facilitate both hot-side and cold-side operations and will be cross-trained to work with very different equipment set ups across both of our facilities. This non-exempt position will report directly to the Head Brewer.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Safely and effectively operating brewhouse/cellar equipment at both of our locations, including various automated and manually operated systems.
• Complete startup and shutdown procedures for either production facility.
• Participate in all aspects of production, including malt production, yeast handling, dry hopping, beer transfers, filtration, fruit zesting, CIP, and barrel handling.
• Keep work areas clean and sanitary at all times.
• Log data and metrics in a timely, accurate fashion using preferred company systems and software.
• Perform routine maintenance on brewing systems and equipment, as well as troubleshooting problems.
• Maintain an awareness of inventory for both raw ingredients and parts and ensure proper handling/storage of all raw materials and processing aids.
• Communicates any known mechanical, raw material, and/or beer quality issues to brewery management.
• Practice safe handling of chemicals.
• Accurately follow existing WISEACRE recipes
• Adhere to and assist in writing, updating, and maintaining all production-related SOPs.
• Uphold QA/QC standards and participate in sensory evaluations.
• Identify opportunities for operational improvements.
• Provide support to other coworkers, including providing occasional coverage of other related departments (packaging, warehouse) as needed.
• Operate a forklift, scissor lift, and boom lift; obtain necessary licenses if requested.

Equipment:

• Wort production is achieved on either a 20bbl JVNW 3 vessel brewhouse (manual) OR a 50bbl BrauKon 4-vessel brewhouse (automated).
• Our fermentation capacity includes an array of 20, 40, 80bbl FV's with corresponding BBTs at our original facility. Our newer production facility features 200 bbl unitanks.
• We utilize GEA Westfalia centrifuges at both of our locations, as well as a GEA carbonation skid at our newer production facility.
• Packaging equipment includes a Meheen bottling line, Cask filler, Krones Craftmate filler, Pneumatic Angelus seamers, and IDD kegging equipment.

Technology:

• Our company runs on Google Workspace but you won't need your own computer as shared production computers are provided for all core record-keeping tasks.
• Experience with Ekos is a plus. 
• Experience with BrauKon would make you a unicorn.

Schedule:

• Typical operating hours range between 5 AM - midnight and average shifts run between 7 and 9 hours. 
• Most production currently happens between Mon-Fri but we expect to add some weekend and night shifts in the not too distant future so scheduling flexibility is a must. 
• We aim for a 40 hour work week most weeks and offer overtime when production demands merit it. 
• Holidays scheduling varies year-to-year but we generally plan our production schedule to accommodate time off around Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
• Veteran's Day is a paid holiday for all full-time veterans on our staff.

Qualifications:

• Must be 21 years of age or older.
• 2+ years of brew and/or cellar experience at a 10k+ bbl brewery desired but not required.
• Working knowledge of brewing and cellaring basics as well as familiarity with various brewing process terminology and equipment strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of effective cleaning and sanitization techniques, including SIP and CIP protocols preferred.
• Excellent time management skills, attention to detail, and basic computer literacy are key.
• A curious, investigative mind is another plus. We don't just want folks who can discover a problem–we want folks who are eager to learn why the problem exists and troubleshoot until a solution is found. 
• No matter how much you think you know, you must be willing to be a student of our craft and seek out knowledge via technical books, papers, webinars, podcasts, networking, etc.
• Must be willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays as needed.
• Must be able to operate without distraction in a noisy, heavy trafficked work space.

Bonus Skills:

• Strong mechanical aptitude
• Lab/microbiology experience
• Scheduling/planning experience
• Deep and abiding love of all things cleaning

Physical Demands:

• Must be able to lift and move heavy objects weighing up to 60 lbs.
• Must be able to stand for the duration of a shift, excluding breaks.
• Must be comfortable climbing a ladder, working in tight spaces, stooping, kneeling, crouching, twisting, and bending repeatedly throughout a shift.
• Must be willing to operate in both temperature controlled and temperature uncontrolled environments. 

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive hourly rates commensurate with experience. We typically offer a training wage of $16/hr to start with increases after 90 days and 1 year of employment, depending on performance. Training wage may vary for highly experienced candidates.
• Company subsidized medical insurance with additional opportunities to enroll in group dental, vision, and short-term/long-term disability insurance. For those who opt in, coverage begins on the first day of the month following your month of hire.
• Paid time off that begins accruing on day 1 and can be used after 90 days on the job. Employees accrue up to 10 days in year 1 with increases after 1 and 5 years of employment.
• Employees are not charged for draft beer in our Taprooms and receive a monthly stipend for to-go beer along with additional discounts on merchandise and food from our restaurant.
• Free on-site parking is available for employees at both locations.

Hiring Timeline:

• We will follow up with all qualified applicants within 3 weeks of receiving your application to set a time for a phone screen. 
• We expect to schedule interviews beginning in mid-July with a goal of extending an offer by early to mid August.
• We are looking to fill 1 position at this time.