Brewery Operator-Iowa City

Summary/Objective 

Join the Big Grove Iowa City production team as a Brewery Operator and help produce the exceptional beer we’re known for. This role supports the full brewing process—from raw materials through fermentation to cellar work—while maintaining our gold medal standards for quality, safety, cleanliness, and consistency. If you’re passionate about craft beer, thrive in a fast-paced, innovative environment, and take pride in doing things the right way every time, we’d love to meet you.

Core Values

Big Grove only hires and retains people who exhibit our core values. Our Core Values are:

1. Set the Tone
2. Thirst for Improvement
3. We Care
4. Practice Candor
5. Passion Driven

You will be given a culture deck explaining these core values. The goal of our culture deck is to show you who we are as a company, and then you can decide if you personally align with us and are excited to begin a career here. 

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Ability to perform and troubleshoot all functions of the brewery and cellar per standard operating procedures. 
2. Responsible for maintaining and operating the brewhouse. Operation involves using automation in the millroom, mashing in, mash transfers, lauters, boils, wort transfers, and sending wort to fermentors, dumping cones, pitching yeast (cone to cone and from the yeast propagator), CIPs of brewhouse vessels and equipment. Preventative maintenance such as oil checks, pump seal replacements, and general cleaning. 
3. Responsible for maintaining and operating equipment in the cellar. This includes the use of pumps (centrifugal and diaphragm), the MaxLupp (for hop recirculation), CIP Skid for sending caustic and water around the facility, The Alfa Laval Brew350 centrifuge, carbonation skid, and hop elevator connected to the catwalk. 
4. Responsible for Cleaning In Place and maintenance of Fermentation Vessels, Yeast Propagator, MaxLupp, and Cleaning in Place of brite tanks under pressure and at ambient pressure. Also responsible for cleaning exteriors of tanks, scrubbing floors, sweeping, and general cleaning of the production floor. 
5. Responsible for accurate data recording on brewlogs, cellar logs, and centrifuge logs. This includes taking pH readings, wort gravities, RLU scores, lot numbers, tank volumes, etc. 
6. Ensure a safe work environment through safe work habits, understanding of risks, compliance with regulations, and following corrective action plans for any identified safety hazards and risks as directed by brewery management. 
7. Communicates any known mechanical, raw material, and/or beer quality issues to brewery management immediately. 
8. Report, evaluate and interpret wort and beer quality daily, including analytical results, process consistency, and taste. Implement changes to improve processes, recipes, beer flavor and consistency as directed. 
9. Ensure that Production areas are always clean and organized. Organize and Rotate Hop and Grain inventories. 
10. Continuous problem solver- we will have problems and we need people who don’t stop at the problems, but find the root- cause and take action to solve them. 

Competencies

Technical & Operational Skills

• Production and Operation: Managing all stages of brewery operations. Monitoring fermentation, tracking gravities and managing yeast health, dry hopping and carbonating finished products.
• Mechanical Aptitude: Proficiency in troubleshooting pumps, valves, boilers and other brewery machinery as necessary
• Forklift Operation: Certification in safely handling forklifts for material transport.
• Quality Control: Ensure product meets company standards and regulatory requirements
• Cleaning and Sanitation: Executing Clean In Place (CIP) procedures for tanks and equipment to maintain quality standards
• Packaging and Logistics: Filling kegs and managing raw material inventory like grains, hops and malts

Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking

• Troubleshooting: Ability to identify and resolve equipment issues quickly to minimize downtime.
• Attention to Detail: Accurate record keeping for brewery logs and adherence to standard operation procedures (SOPs).

Communication & Teamwork

• Collaboration: Work effectively with all parts of the brewery team.
• Clear Communication: Report issues, inventory levels, and operational concerns in a clear and timely manner.

Be a high performing Big Grove team member with ability to look at business as a whole, communicate with all people, collaborate with all departments, work to solve organizational problems, and accomplish goals. Contribute to and exemplify Big Grove values, vision, standards, and culture.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Work Environment

• Temperature Variability: The brewery floor may be warm due to production equipment or cooler in storage areas.
• Loud Noise Levels: Constant operation of machinery, conveyor belts, and forklifts may require hearing protection.
• Fast-Paced Setting: Production deadlines and efficiency standards demand a high level of focus and speed.
• Wet or Slippery Floors: Frequent cleaning, liquid spills, and condensation are common, requiring proper footwear.
• Exposure to Chemicals: Cleaning and sanitizing agents are used regularly, requiring protective gear. Gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection and proper footwear is required while on the production floor.

Physical Demands

• Standing for Long Periods: Requires being on your feet for extended shifts, often 8+ hours. 
• Frequent Lifting & Carrying: Operators frequently lift 44lb boxes of hops, 42lb boxes of fruit, 50-55lb bags of grain by hand. They use pallet jacks to move full pallets of product  which could weigh between 1000-2200lbs.
• Fast & Continuous Movement: Walking, bending, reaching, and turning quickly to keep up with brewing demands. 
• Endurance & Stamina: High energy and focus needed to sustain fast-paced work for long shifts. 
• Dexterity & Hand-Eye Coordination: Essential for precise brewing, packaging, etc 

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position and hours of work/days may vary from week to week.  Schedules will be posted the week prior to allow time for employees to be informed of work requirements. 

Travel

None

Preferred Education and Experience

1. High school diploma or equivalent
2. 1-2 years of related experience or training in a production/brewery facility environment
3. Passionate about craft beer 
4. Must be able to operate a forklift and bucket lift- can be certified after employment.
5. Must be legal drinking age

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.