Brewing Manager

Funky Buddha Brewery, located in Oakland Park, Florida, is seeking a full-time Brewing Manager to join its growing team. Established in 2010 at its Boca Raton brewpub, Funky Buddha is known for pushing the boundaries of traditional brewing methods with culinary-inspired recipes utilizing all-natural, food-centric ingredients. Some of its best-known beers include flagships Hop Gun IPA and Floridian Hefeweizen.  This fast-growing company is the first production brewery in the greater Fort Lauderdale area and the largest brewery in South Florida and is positioned for rapid expansion over the next few years.

“Where the Best Beers Are – Top 20 Brewpubs/Breweries for good beer” – USA Today “25 Breweries to Know” – Draft Magazine “10 Best Breweries to Visit in the South” – First We Feast

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Brewery Manager is responsible for managing and participating in all aspects of the brewing process including brewing, fermentation, cellaring, and finishing, as well as with administrative and organizational duties. Team members directly reporting to this position include those in the Brewing, Cellar, and Quality (Lab) departments. This employee must be a hard-working, responsible, and self-motivated individual with a passion for craft beer and a desire to continue learning and growing within the brewing industry. The candidate must be someone who leads by example in following procedure and policy, is proactive, and helps to maintain the highest standards of employee development and performance. The candidate needs to be ready to be flexible in their schedule and be available to work long hours if needed to get projects done and meet operations schedules.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Understanding of brewhouse operations, with the knowledge/ability to produce batches from start to finish
• Assisting in the development of new recipes and improvement of existing recipes
• Plan pilot batches as needed
• Organizing brewhouse, cellar, and lab operational schedules and coordinating team projects such as deep cleaning tasks, while ensuring continuity of overall operations
• Ensuring the maintenance and organization of all brewing and cellar related notes from brew days through fermentation, finishing, and packaging, while ensuring logs are completed and maintained properly by appropriate personnel
• Perform analyses, tests and inspections needed to monitor product quality and will provide results to internal stakeholders.
• Support process standardization and improvement through application of sound statistical techniques.
• Liaise with EHS Team on the design, implementation and scheduling of safety programs throughout the brewery, and leading others to follow safety guidelines through coaching and good example
• Perform daily updates of the Chillertron (glycol control) and brewery management software systems
• Must always be finding new ways to improve consistency, organization, cleanliness, and efficiency, and be able to report these strategies, implement and maintain them
• Must always be a champion for following the rules and policies of the brewery, and must encourage this to others, both by example and vigilance
• Organize testing of all beer at all stages for micro, IBU, ABV, SRM, free amino tests, turbidity, forced wort tests, iodine tests, brewhouse wort testing, O2, carbonation testing (brite, bottle, keg)
• Organize daily facility testing; chlorine and chloramine levels, environmental CO2 level checks, metal testing in brewing and facility water
• Organize regular ingredient testing; congress mash analysis of all new lots of malt, crush analysis from mill, Alpha Acid content of hops
• Actively communicate with Director of Brewing Ops about concerns, priorities and scheduling issues
• Organize all yeast usage, monitoring, propagation, ordering, pitching, and collection
• Set up and run regular sensory panels, conduct regular all-staff (Operations and Tap Room) training for off-flavor detection, identification of staff “supertasters” for Quality Assurance (QA) sensory panels
• Establish QA sensory panels, compile and analyze data, report all data with the purpose of identifying any QA issues with all batches of beer and communicating findings accordingly
• Establish quarantine procedures for batches of beer prior to release
• Coordinate and perform regular audits of lab protocols for compliance and efficiency
• Organize, schedule, and keep records of periodic calibration of all brewery measuring instruments
• Organize, schedule, and keep testing log of regular testing of all safety stations and equipment with support of EHS Team (i.e. eyewash stations, emergency shower, etc.)
• Maintain lab inventory, analyze costs for inventory, research new potential lab supply sources
• Assist in development of HACCP plans for the entire facility

REQUIREMENTS:

• Three years’ work experience at a commercial production brewery or high-volume brewpub
• Minimum of 5 years of management experience, with more than 5 years preferred
• Advanced understanding of all aspects of brewing including cellaring, yeast handling, CIP, and sanitization
• A passion for brewing modern American beers, as well as the desire to push the boundaries of experimental brewing
• Strong organizational habits, ability to multi-task, a self-motivated work ethic, and good critical thinking/problem solving skills
• Computer literate with an understanding of Microsoft Office programs
• Ability to work independently, and as part of a team
• Schedule availability to work long and/or odd hours as needed to complete tasks and maintain the brewing operations

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS:

• Understanding of QA methods and techniques, laboratory operations, and basic knowledge of chemistry and biology
• Prior packaging, bottling, and racking experience
• Mechanical experience and aptitude
• Forklift operation experience and ability to obtain certification upon hire

Any combination of experience, education, and/or training that can be considered equivalent to the requirements of the position will be reviewed to assess candidacy.

SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:

OSHA laws require the use of the following Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when performing work duties that have the potential of risk to your health or safety:

• ●Safety glasses, steel-toed safety boots, ear protection, and safety belts when working in Operations areas

Employees will be trained in the proper use and care of assigned PPE. Funky Buddha Brewery provides all required PPE.  It will be your responsibility to report defective, damaged or lost PPE, or equipment that does not fit properly to your manager.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to frequently sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl 
• Heavy physical work including climbing stairs, climbing into tanks, pulling hoses, etc. 
• Willing to work in wet, hot and cold conditions 
• Willing to work in consistently loud environments 
• Ability to work safely with potentially hazardous chemicals 
• Ability to frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds

Integrity, loyalty and a good sense of humor are all factors in who we hire.  We are a rapidly expanding company with growth potential within.

Funky Buddha Brewery is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

If you think you have what it takes to join this exciting and growing company, please apply here. Calls, letters, faxes, carrier pigeon, or personal visits will not be accepted.

By applying to this job, I certify that all information represented by me in this employment application is true, correct and complete to the best of my knowledge. I agree and understand that any falsification, omission or misrepresentation of information is grounds for withdrawal of an offer of employment and may result in my dismissal if discovered at a later date and I agree that Funky Buddha Brewery shall not be liable, in any respect, if any resulting employment is terminated because of misstatements or omissions made by me in this application.