Brewery Production Manager

Career Guide

A Brewery Production Manager oversees day to day beer production, ensuring batches are made safely, consistently, and on schedule. The role blends people leadership, process control, quality standards, and coordination across brewing, packaging, maintenance, and logistics.

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Key Responsibilities

Plan weekly and monthly production schedules
Lead and coach brewhouse and cellar teams
Ensure consistent product quality across batches
Oversee sanitation and cleanliness standards
Manage safety practices and incident prevention
Track production output and key performance results
Coordinate raw material ordering with purchasing
Maintain accurate production records and batch logs
Partner with quality teams on testing and release decisions
Coordinate packaging runs and changeovers
Work with maintenance to reduce equipment downtime
Control production costs and reduce waste
Support audits and regulatory compliance
Improve processes to increase efficiency and consistency

Top Skills for Success

People Leadership

Production Scheduling

Process Improvement

Quality Management

Food Safety

Workplace Safety

Sanitation Management

Inventory Management

Cost Control

Root Cause Analysis

Equipment Troubleshooting

Documentation

Vendor Management

Cross Functional Communication

Career Progression

Can Lead To

Brewery Operations Manager

Brewery General Manager

Head Brewer

Director of Brewing Operations Director of Manufacturing Supply Chain Manager

Transition Opportunities

Quality Manager

Packaging Manager

Maintenance Manager Continuous Improvement Manager Plant Manager

Distillery Production Manager

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Formal Safety TrainingQuality SystemsPreventive Maintenance PlanningData ReportingLabor PlanningCost Accounting FundamentalsRegulatory Compliance

Development SuggestionsAsk to co lead a safety walkthrough program, own a weekly production report, and partner with quality on release standards. Build a basic maintenance plan with clear checks and schedules. Take a short course in food safety and supervisory leadership, then document improvements with before and after results.

Market Intelligence Report

Brewery Production Manager is part of the Plant & Line Supervision category.Explore our market intelligence report to see how AI and hiring demand are shifting for these roles.

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Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range

Entry LevelUSD 55,000 to 75,000

Mid LevelUSD 75,000 to 105,000

Senior LevelUSD 105,000 to 140,000

Growth Trend

Steady demand. Hiring tends to follow local market growth, with more openings in regions adding new production capacity and in larger breweries expanding packaging and distribution.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

Anheuser BuschMolson CoorsConstellation BrandsBoston Beer CompanyHeinekenDiageoSierra Nevada Brewing Co.New Belgium BrewingStone BrewingGoose Island Beer Co.

Industry Sectors

Large breweriesRegional breweriesCraft breweriesContract brewing facilitiesBeverage manufacturing plantsHard seltzer producersCider producersNon alcoholic beverage producers

Recommended Next Steps

Create a one page production scorecard with output, yield, quality holds, downtime, and safety incidents

Standardize shift handoff notes to reduce rework and missed tasks

Map the end to end brewing to packaging process and identify the top three bottlenecks

Introduce a preventive cleaning and inspection calendar tied to equipment uptime

Build a training plan for new hires with clear steps and sign offs

Meet weekly with quality and maintenance leads to align priorities

Update your resume with measurable outcomes such as yield improvement, downtime reduction, and on time delivery rate