Careers

October 2026

Wild Cellar Operator

Reports to: Shaun Hill and Ryan Witter-Merithew
Mentored by: Shaun Hill (sensory, blending, and wild-program craft)
Classification: Hourly, Full-Time · Structured development track
Location: Production facility, Greensboro Bend, VT

Role Overview

The Wild Cellar Operator works in Hill Farmstead's wild and mixed-fermentation cellar every day — executing the hands-on work of the program and keeping its records with discipline, under the direction of Shaun and Ryan, and mentored in the craft by Shaun. The cellar holds more than two hundred wine barrels, twenty puncheons, and three foudres; the beer in them rests for months or years, is tasted weekly on a rotating schedule, blended when ready, and bottle-conditioned until release.

This is a skilled execution and development role, and it is an apprenticeship in the literal sense. Most of the work is physical cellar work — transfers, barrel filling and emptying, yeast propagation, priming, packaging, cleaning, and rigorous record keeping — carried out to a high standard. The rest is the steady building of sensory skill and process mastery. Blending and program decisions are not owned on arrival; they are earned over years of demonstrated ability. Success in this role is executing the cellar's daily work reliably and cleanly, documenting it accurately, and deepening familiarity with every vessel and process over time.

Decision authority for the wild program is held by Shaun and Ryan: sensory, blending, and quality calls rest with Shaun; scheduling and operational coordination with Ryan. The Operator executes the daily program under their direction and builds toward greater ownership as proficiency is demonstrated.

Key Performance Imperatives

• Prepare and execute the wild cellar's daily work — transfers, barrel/puncheon/foudre fills and empties, packaging, and cleaning — accurately, safely, and on schedule under the direction of Shaun and Ryan.
• Guide wild and mixed-fermentation beer from vessel through package, documenting every critical control point in the barrel tracking system.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe cellar. Cleanliness is a discipline the entire program depends on.
• Build sensory skill and process mastery through the weekly tasting rotation and hands-on repetition.

Daily Responsibilities

• Production team meeting and daily team huddles
• Utilities / startup checks; set up parts sink and footbaths
• Appropriate actions for all beers in progress as directed — transfers, gravities, temperature and pressure monitoring, sensory checks
• Participation in the weekly rotational barrel tasting
• Documentation of all actions and checks in the barrel tracker, brew logs, and placards
• Closing checklist / facility shutdown

Planning

• On-time attendance and active participation in daily huddles and the weekly production meeting
• Listen to, record, and follow direction from Shaun and Ryan
• Populate and execute production schedules for tank and barrel moves and packaging, under Ryan's scheduling authority
• Track packaging-material and cooperage-supply needs; flag shortfalls early and ensure items are requested and ordered in time, coordinating with Ryan
• Assist with and complete monthly inventory counts of cooperage, ingredients, and processing supplies
• Assist with the annual fruiting program — receiving, processing, and executing additions — developing toward greater ownership over time
• Facilitate barrel movements to and from 494
• Maintain to-do and points-of-resolution lists and work them on a prioritized basis; use the daily operational plan to manage time

Organization

• Responsible for the condition, maintenance, and cleanliness of all parts, hoses, pumps, and cellar equipment
• Maintain a safe, spacious, well-ordered work area (mise en place)
• Keep all stainless — fermenters, bottler, labeler — shiny and clean
• Accuracy and thoroughness in all work; deliberate, final-analysis mindset
• Information organization: email filed, clipboards and folders used, tracker kept current

Process — Cellar Operations

Executed to standard under the direction of Shaun and Ryan.

Transfers

• Beer transfers across the program — packaging tanks, wine barrels, puncheons, foudres, sani tanks, and stainless totes — filling and emptying, done carefully
• Additions of ingredients to foudres and other vessels (hops, hibiscus, etc.) as directed

Cleaning & CIP

• CIP of all wild cellar vessels — wine barrels, puncheons, foudres, fermenters (Whitbread, Pub Tank, Metalcraft, QTS), sani tanks, stainless totes, and QTS packaging tanks — by MOOG and chemical methods
• Operation of the ozone cart, steam cart, and pressure washer / MOOG; ozoning of barrels, foudres, and tanks as needed

Cooperage Preparation

• Steaming, inspection, hydration, sulfuring, and storage of barrels, puncheons, and foudres
• New-barrel prep: drilling, nail placement, and numbering to the barrel-tracking format

Carbonation, Yeast & Fermentation

• Calculation and measurement of priming sugar rates, and yeast cell counts (including dilutions), for bottle conditioning
• Yeast propagation (EC1118) and harvesting from fermenters
• Care and maintenance of fruit beers in progress; adherence to dissolved-oxygen control and tank purges

Packaging

• Assembly and disassembly of kegging systems; Criveller keg washing; kegging in stainless and KeyKeg
• Assembly, disassembly, and operation of GAI bottling and GW Kent hand-bottling systems
  Crown crimp checks and label height / placement accuracy

Fruiting & Additions

• Execution of fruit additions, including cement vacuum setup; dry hopping

Other

• Weekend duty rotation with other staff

Monitoring & Record-keeping

• Weekly participation in the rotational tasting across all 200+ barrels, puncheons, and foudres — building systematic familiarity with every vessel and contributing tasting notes
• Flag and escalate any vessel showing signs of acetic drift or quality decline to Shaun early — before it becomes unrecoverable
• Maintain the barrel tracking database (Google Sheets): fill date, source, previous contents, wine variety, ingredient additions, and running tasting notes; keep hard-copy documentation current
• Daily monitoring and recording of tank temperatures, pressures, and gravities; continuous awareness of plant utilities (CO₂, N₂, cooling, hot water)
• Sensory analysis and data recording of all products in process
• Accurate records supporting TTB and food-safety compliance
• Use of AI tools to help organize tracking, note-taking structure, and data analysis

Communicating

• Timely, accurate completion of daily pre- and post-shift checklists, weekly cleaning checklists, and daily packaging records
• Creates and circulates proposed packaging logs via Twist for team comment and approval ahead of each packaging run
• Accurate logs and distribution: packaging and bottle-conditioning logs, dry-hopping records, transfer reports, tank placards, brew logs, barrel tasting notes (email / Trello), and barrel tracking files (empty logs, fill logs, tracker)
• Keep the right people informed in real time; clear verbal and written communication
• Daily end-of-shift report including a qualitative reflective analysis of the day; read and respond to teammates' end-of-day reports with questions, comments, and suggestions

Sensory & Development · the apprenticeship track

This role is explicitly developmental. The following is grown into over time and must not be confused with day-one expectations.

• Active participation in tasting and blending sessions to build palate and understanding. Blending authority is earned through two to three years of structured development — it is not owned on arrival.
• Co-develops sensory skill against internal panels and scorecards with Shaun.
• Assists the annual fruiting program with a path toward greater ownership as proficiency is demonstrated.
• Progress is tracked on the wild cellar proficiency scale — 0 (no proficiency), 1 (has seen the task), 2 (has assisted), 3 (can accomplish supervised), 4 (proficient, unsupervised), 5 (mastery) — and reviewed at regular check-ins.

Work Environment, Physical Requirements & Safety

• The work is physical: heavy, cold, wet, and repetitive. Requires the capability to handle heavy cooperage safely.
• Safe handling of CO₂, ozone, and sulfur compounds; rigorous sanitary practice across all operations.
• Care for all equipment and tools as if they were your own — clean, well maintained, and in good working order.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Professional, hands-on experience with wild, sour, or mixed-fermentation beer (homebrewing alone is not sufficient)
• Real bottle-conditioning experience: priming calculations, yeast management, and refermentation in the package
• A good palate, and the self-awareness to know the limits of it
• Physical capability for heavy, cold, wet, repetitive barrel work
• Cleanliness as a discipline; steadiness and humility

Schedule, Compensation, and Benefits

• Full-time, hourly, on-site at our production facility in Greensboro Bend, Vermont.
• $23 to $25 per hour based on experience. At our typical 50-hour weeks with time-and-a-half past 40 hours, this comes to roughly $65,000 to $72,000 per year.
• Benefits include Health Insurance (MVP), Health Savings Account, 401(k) with matching up to 5% (Roth optional) upon one year of employment, Life Insurance,
• Short- and Long-Term Disability and AD&D coverage, Beer Allocation and Discounts, paid vacation, and PTO (personal and sick days) granted pro-rated at the
• start of employment, all as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
• Start date: as soon as possible. We move quickly for strong candidates.

How to Apply

Email [email protected] or use the link below to submit your resume. Our process from there: an interview, a working day in the cellar, and a final conversation with Shaun.