Head CiderMaker

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Location: Hampton, Virginia
Status: Full-Time

We are looking for someone to lead our award-winning team to craft delicious hard ciders made from 100% Virginia apples. Sly Clyde Ciderworks has really big plans for the Mid-Atlantic from its Hampton, Virginia headquarters. Just blocks from the beach and bathed by the sun, Sly Clyde is anchored by its bustling neighborhood tap room and currently distributed from the Outer Banks to Richmond. 

As a cidermaker, manager, and ambassador, the Sly Clyde Head Cidermaker will lead all areas of cider development, production, and packaging while directly reporting to the co-owners.

  • Cidermaker

    • Manage fermentation, ensuring consistent quality from pitch to package

    • Develop new products, from tap room one-offs to new seasonals and year-round core ciders, while making adjustments to existing recipes as needed

    • Filter cider on our Della Toffola Crossflow, performing routine maintenance and cleaning as necessary 

    • Handle scheduling of juice deliveries, mobile canning runs, and public cider releases

    • Interface with distributors and Sly Clyde’s sales team to arrange and prepare for order pickups

    • Work closely with tap room manager to coordinate draft and package allocation as well as release schedules

    • Manage inventory, ensuring we do not run out of necessary items by ordering ingredients, raw materials, and supplies

    • Regularly review SOPs and work closely with Consulting Cidermaker to keep updated

    • Keep diligent records, from fermentation to cider allocation

    • Ensure taxes in Virginia and North Carolina are filed accurately based on accurate record keeping

    • Package cider: can, pasteurize, and keg

    • Keep the cellar clean, tidy, and safe

    • Clean tanks and kegs with the assistance of the Assistant Cidermaker

    • Receive and load shipments

    • Regular re-organization of production space and off-site warehouse

    • Troubleshoot issues that arise in the cellar

  • Manager

    • Oversee Assistant Cidermaker and any packaging help to ensure Sly Clyde standards are upheld and operating procedures are followed

    • Train and manage future cellar employees

    • Regularly interface with company owners to help lead company in new directions

  • Ambassador

    • Participate in the wider cider industry including the American Cider Association (Cidercon) and the Virginia Cider Makers Association

    • Develop and present educational content for distributors and tap room staff

    • Occasionally conduct cider house tours and participate in onsite events

    • Periodically represent Sly Clyde at festivals and special occasions

    • Provide interviews to print and broadcast media as needed

Requirements

  • Minimum Required Experience

    • At least 1 year at cidery, brewery, or winery in a production capacity. Please do not apply if you cannot meet this criteria.

  • Preferred Experience

    • 2-3 years as cidermaker at a commercial cidery

    • Formal cider training through CINA, such as the foundations or advanced course, and/or formal study of fermentation science or brewing 

  • Other Requirements

    • Practical knowledge of fermentation, sanitation, and cellar equipment. 

    • Imaginative and creative mind.

    • Strong work ethic, communication skills, and mechanical ability.

    • Ability to work independently to accomplish daily and weekly tasks. 

    • Operate as a team player in a small and tightly-knit team.

    • Flexible schedule; ability to periodically work extremely early or extremely late in the day, sometimes at short notice.

    • Experience with forklift, pallet jack, electric pallet jack.

Physical Requirements

  • Ability to reach with hands and arms, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl

  • Ability to physically operate a standing or sitting forklift

  • Ability to work near moving mechanical parts in moderate noise level

  • Ability to stand for long periods at a time

  • Ability to frequently and safely lift and/or move up to 55 pounds and 160 pounds with assistance

  • Frequently exposed to strong and sometimes disagreeable odors and occasionally exposed to caustic chemicals

  • Vision: close vision, distance vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus

Compensation and Benefits

  • Compensation 

    • DOE

    • Relocation expenses for out of area candidates negotiable

  • Benefits

    • 401k

    • Healthcare (75% funded by Sly Clyde Ciderworks)

    • Free and Discounted Cider based on Company Policy

Application Deadline: July 21, 2020.
Start Date: As available but before September 1 is preferable.

To apply, please send a short cover-letter, resume, and list of the best 3 craft beverages you have ever created to Doug Smith, doug@slyclyde.com

Sly Clyde Ciderworks is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. And no one else should either. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.