Head Brewer
Company Overview
Kinnegar Brewing is one of Ireland’s leading independent breweries. We make a range of high-quality beers at our main production facility in Letterkenny, County Donegal. From our humble start as a farmhouse-based brewery in rural Donegal we’ve grown into a dynamic production facility with an annual output of 14,000HL. Our beers have been recognised as world class by achieving Ireland’s first ever Gold awards in both the World Beer Cup and European Beer Star awards.
To date, this growth has been driven by an obsessive focus on producing a highly accessible and drinkable core range of beers. We’ve grown organically by re-investing heavily in the business, in our production capacity, in our quality systems, and in our people. As the beer and beverage market changes and evolves, we continue to evolve with it, guided by our origins and our commitment to consistency and quality.
Location
Letterkenny is in north east Donegal, an area of unparalleled beauty and diversity in Ireland’s north west. The rural landscape and coastal environment in which our story has unfolded offers a superb lifestyle for those who enjoy the outdoors and appreciate the absence of crowds and the stresses of urban existence. Whether you’re foot loose and fancy free or in the thick of raising a family, Donegal is a fantastic place to live.
The Job
We are now recruiting for a Head Brewer to join our management team and take a leading role in the company’s next phase of development. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head Brewer with passion, knowledge, and drive.
You will work in a close-knit production management team with our Head of Operations and Head of Packaging. Together, this team carries responsibility for ensuring and maintaining a highly efficient and seamless workflow across all production stages in the brewery. As Head Brewer you will be directly responsible for all brewhouse and cellaring operations.
Your Responsibilities
Your specific responsibilities in these areas will include:
- Further developing and maintaining a data-driven approach to brewing and production
- Taking a lead role in new product development and implementation
- Supervising brewhouse and cellaring teams
- Setting and maintaining production targets
- Setting and maintaining quality and hygiene standards
- Continuous review and improvement of systems and operating procedures
- Continuous review and improvement of core range product formulation and production
- Continuous review and improvement of health and safety guidelines
- Continuous review and improvement of training procedures
- Raw material supply chain management and quality control
- Ensuring continuous upskilling of production staff
- Maintaining impeccable records and ensuring regulatory compliance
- Working with inhouse engineers to manage preventative maintenance schedules
- Troubleshooting technical maintenance and quality assurance
- Working in a team to plan production expansion and cap ex investment
- Performing production related tasks across brewhouse and cellaring operations
- Assisting across all production stages when required
Job Requirements
You will be expected to:
- Maintain an exceptional focus on quality, safety, and efficiency, always seeking to evaluate and improve on our procedures
- Communicate clearly, openly and effectively with other team members
- Be highly detail-focused and accurate in your work
- Foster a positive and supportive working environment
- Be flexible and adaptive in your management approach and working habits
- Work closely and collaboratively with our full management team and the other production managers
- Stay well informed of broader industry developments, drawing on these developments where appropriate to further improve our quality, safety, or efficiency
- Be highly-motivated and self-driven, capable of working very independently within our collaborative team structure
- Be physically able to work safely, confidently, and comfortably in the demanding environs of a production brewery
You will be based full-time on site in Donegal but will be prepared to travel for events.
Although you may be of any nationality, you will have a legal right to live and work in Ireland.
Hours of Work
The brewery’s schedule is dictated by the pace of brewing, fermentation and conditioning of the product and is therefore not entirely predictable. You will normally work within standard industrial hours but will be flexible enough to undertake shifts outside these hours at times when the production timetable so dictates.
Our production day runs from 6am until 9 or 10pm and we operate roughly 8-hour shifts determined by a weekly rota for production staff. Brew-side, we currently operate a 6-day production schedule and staff work every fifth or sixth weekend by pre-agreed rota.
While we expect a certain level of flexibility in work schedules, in return we offer as much flexibility as is practical.
This is a full-time position.
Education & Experience
You will have a third level degree in brewing science and technology, or similar, and at least 7 years industry experience with 3 years in a Head Brewer role. A passionate desire to work for Kinnegar is an imperative.
Salary
€45,000 – €55,000
How to Apply
Please send us your CV and a letter of application by Friday 18 April, telling us what you can bring with you to Kinnegar and what you hope to gain from working with us. We will shortlist candidates and arrange preliminary interviews where you will have the opportunity to learn more about the working environment and the job requirements.
Kinnegar Brewing, K2, Ballyraine, Letterkenny, Co Donegal · management@kinnegarbrewing.ie
