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.
August 2026
Retail Hospitality Manager
Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend, Vt. Compensation: $65,000 to $80,000, tied directly to the scope you're qualified to own (see "Scope and Compensation" below)
About the Role
Hill Farmstead is not a typical taproom, and this is not a typical retail management role. People travel a long way to be here, some from the next town over, some from the other side of the world. For most of them, what they experience in this building is the entire relationship they will ever have with this brand. That makes the person who runs the floor one of the most important hires we make.
We're looking for a proven leader to run our taproom and retail operation: the team, the guest experience, the inventory, and the systems that keep it all running to a standard worthy of what we produce. This is a hands-on leadership role, not a back-office one. You'll be present on the floor, setting the tone, and building a team that can elevate from "getting it done" to genuinely excellent.
This posting describes the full ambition of the role. Where you enter and what you're paid depend on what you've already demonstrably done, not on potential alone.
Scope and Compensation
We are hiring one person, and we've defined two versions of the role. Which one you're offered is determined by your track record:
Retail Hospitality Manager: $65,000. Full ownership of floor operations: team leadership (5-10 team members based on seasonal needs), scheduling, guest experience, inventory, procurement, POS, and documentation. The right fit at this level has led a retail or hospitality team with real accountability and can show it.
Director of Hospitality: $80,000. Everything above, plus ownership of our events program (onsite festivals, private functions, offsite events, brand partnerships, etc.) and the broader guest-experience calendar. This level requires a demonstrated history of running an operation of comparable complexity: multi-location or high-volume single-location leadership, P&L or full inventory accountability, and events you have personally built and executed, not just worked.
The $80,000 tier is reserved for candidates whose accomplishments we can verify. The Director of Hospitality position is open to those with verifiable experience in this area, not to those looking to grow into this role. Our hiring process includes a practical working exercise and detailed discussion of specific things you've built, fixed, and led. If your experience is strong, this process will work in your favor.
What You'll Own As Retail Manager
- Direct leadership of the taproom and bottle shop operations: staffing, scheduling, coaching, and upholding the standard for how guests are treated from the moment they arrive, in compliance with state and federal alcohol-service and employment regulations.
- Inventory, stocking, and procurement: ordering, forecasting, and vendor coordination, done with real rigor, attention to detail, and an eye for optimization.
- Curating and updating the daily taproom menu: setting bottle and draft offerings, descriptions, and pricing, and keeping signage and guest-facing materials up to date.
- POS operations and daily administrative reporting, including tip reconciliations, time card reports, end-of-day sales reports, and visibility into costs and cash flow.
- Building a team, not just staffing a shift: developing people, giving direct feedback, coordinating release tastings and product education, and moving your team from basic execution toward real hospitality.
- Acting as a steward of this place: maintaining the standards, checklists, and procedures that keep the space running at that level and resolving guest issues and feedback—in person and virtually, including the main email point of contact—so every guest touchpoint reflects the brand.
- Partnering closely with other departments and leadership, including the CEO, COO, and Chief Experience Officer (CXO). This role has real ownership of its domain and real responsibility to the business as a whole. We're looking for someone who leads their area with autonomy while staying connected to the bigger picture, not someone who runs it as a silo.
- Food vendor recruitment, coordination, and scheduling.
What You’ll Own As Director of Hospitality
- Everything included in the role and responsibilities of Retail Hospitality Manager.
- Onsite events: Creation and ownership of Hill Farmstead's onsite events and guest-experience calendar—special events, private functions, live entertainment, private tastings, rehearsal dinners, and special culinary experiences, etc —from concept through execution, staffing, run-of-show, and post-event accounting and reporting, upholding the standard the space holds on high-traffic days.
- Offsite events: plan and execute Hill Farmstead's presence at regional and national festivals and brand partnerships, handling travel, booth setup, staffing, product shipments, and licensing compliance so the brand shows up off-premise the way it does at home.
- Event Systems: manage the audience ticketing and booking interface, including existing Tock reservations and eTix ticketing systems
- Growth and positioning: research new concepts to grow traffic and revenue, including ideas for Vermont's shoulder seasons, and partner with the CXO and
- Director of Quality to keep events aligned with the brand's identity and market position.
- Cross-departmental partnership: collaborate with the CXO and hospitality team on execution, and contribute to monthly newsletters spotlighting events, community initiatives, and brewery stories.
What We Need to See
Strong applications will point to the following:
- Several years of progressive leadership in retail or hospitality, with concrete outcomes you can name: a team you built, a process you fixed, numbers that improved because of decisions you made.
- Experience in beer, wine, spirits, or another elevated/specialty retail environment where the product knowledge and the guest experience both mattered.
- Real command of the operational and analytical side: ordering, forecasting, POS systems, documentation, and the math underneath all of it.
- A track record of developing people, with team members who got better, and ideally got promoted, under your leadership.
- Steady, direct communication and strong follow-through, including under pressure and through disagreement.
- A real sense of hospitality, the kind that comes from feeling connected to a place and a community.
- Reference contacts who can shed light on your practical experience and skills.
In your application, tell us about one operation you made better: what it looked like when you arrived, what you changed, and how you know it worked (250-400 words). Applications that skip this will not advance.
Schedule, Compensation, and Benefits
- Full-time, salaried, on-site at our Greensboro Bend, Vt., taproom.
- Compensation: $65,000 to $80,000 annually, determined by the scope tier described above. Relocation stipend available.
- Working days are Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday service is staffed by your team. You're accountable for making sure it runs well (staffing it, hiring for it if needed, and stepping in when coverage falls through), but it is not a standing sixth day on the floor.
- 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 separate PTO (personal and sick days) granted pro-rated at the start of employment, all as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
- Start date: Target date flexible for the right candidate. We move quickly for strong individual.
How to Apply
Submit your application using the button below or email [email protected]. Please include your resume and the written response described above: one operation you made better, what it looked like when you arrived, what you changed, and how you know it worked. Applications without this response will not advance.
Our process from there: interview, then a practical working exercise, then a final interview with leadership.