What Small Breweries Want From Entry-Level Employees

Keeping its eyes on its own backyard has helped Twisted X Brewing Company stay in a growth pattern over the past few years, Operations Director Jody Vance said.

“We’ve been really focused on local distribution over the past couple years,” Vance said of the Dripping Springs, Texas brewery. “During the pandemic years, we reduced and then all together shut down distribution outside of Central Texas. We focused on our local market and really pushed all of our effort toward that — with our brand name, our presence and our advertising.

“We make sure we’re around for events and really focus on our local patrons.”

To do that, you need personnel. Vance, who spoke to Brewer Magazine at a recent job fair hosted by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, said they needed to hire primarily operations staff to keep up with the growth.

When looking for local talent to fill entry-level operations staff roles, Vance said he was fairly flexible when trying to fill out his roster. A non-brewery background doesn’t preclude applicants from landing a job.

Roles they need to fill are mostly at the starting level: packaging operations, back-of-the-house roles, and front of the house roles to pick up the slack during special events and on the weekends.

“You have to be open to different backgrounds,” he said. “Especially when you’re filling entry level roles in packaging in the back of the house or in the front of the house. You’re just looking for people who are a good fit for your organization. They don’t necessarily need to have worked in a brewery, but they need to demonstrate to me that they love craft beer. 

“At the end of the day, I want someone who is going to show up for their shift and is eager to learn. And we want someone who is going to want to grow with the company and move into other opportunities as we grow. A jack of all trades is a nice person to have at a brewery.”

He said job seekers — whether they’re fresh out of school or working an entry-level construction job—should not feel intimidated by the process of applying to work in craft beer.

“There are no specialty hats at craft breweries,” Vance said. ”We’re all looking for someone who fits our organizational structure and is willing to work and learn new things.”