OUR SISTERHOOD OF S.T.E.M.
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Let’s take a moment to meet a few more of our incredible people here on Planet BrewDog. Every day these five amazing women head to our Ellon HQ and play their part in getting super-fresh craft beer into your glass. And these folks are the specialists – as a brewery we have a number of different roles that fit within the broad baseline of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Thanks to these guys we know that the technical aspects of our business are in safe hands.
If you’d like to join them on the BrewDog crew, check out our vacancies here!
Claire Bibby Packaging Operator
Our Krones bottling line is a huge – and hugely complicated – piece of kit that runs night and day in our brewhouse packaging room. We need skilled people like Claire to be en pointe 24/7, ensuring the line is working well and running smoothly – “I work on both day and night shifts,” she says “running packaging lines but mainly focusing on the bottle filler. Every day I work towards producing the best quality beer possible.”
Last November Claire gained a distinction when passing her IBD Fundamentals of Brewing & Packaging examination so we know the line is being well looked after. This support we give to our crewmembers pays off – “Working for BrewDog has taught me a lot about a variety of key areas in the supply process,” Claire continues. “Understanding how beer goes from ingredients to a product in our customers hands will allow me to progress in my career.”
Alessandra Confessore Brewer
Alessandra began her journey to beer by studying gastronomy; once beer became part of the syllabus she changed tack completely and studied to be a brewer. After gaining her MSc in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University the world of cuisine’s loss was our gain. Alessandra works in our brewhouse, on some days brewing wort and others taking care of the beer in tank, from fermentation through to just before it goes to packaging.
“The day usually starts with the handover from the previous shift,” she explains, detailing a typical day at the BrewDog brewface. “We then check all the beer in tanks and make a plan for the day on what we need to do to stay on top of the production plan, and what we can do to put the next shift in the best conditions to do the same. Then we get dirty: wort production, yeast management, de-hopping, dry-hopping, filtration, records keeping... and a lot of cleaning.”
Gillian Paterson Analytical Lab Technician
It was a tour of BrewDog that introduced us to Gillian (and Gillian to us), as crucially it made her realise that the brewing industry is hugely scientific. That meant she could transition from a degree in Forensic and Analytical Science into being one of the key crewmembers in our laboratory. Gillian even used BrewDog for her final-year project, looking at how time can affect freshness in craft beer – so she was a natural fit even before she began working in Ellon!
As an Analytical Lab Technician, she has a number of responsibilities but they all lead back to something hugely crucial. “My job includes daily sampling of the tanks, ensuring the beer is in spec and on its way to something awesome,” she says. “This includes ABV, pH, gravity, bitterness and off-flavour checks. We also do the approval and final products checks to make sure we are only releasing the best beer!” It’s our amazing technicians that make the difference in beer quality.
Ersi Emmanouilidou Brewer
Like Alessandra, Ersi graduated from Heriot-Watt’s MSc course in Brewing & Distilling, but it was a biology degree and some unfulfilling scientific studies that got her started. “I worked as a research associate in the University of Athens but research was not something that made me happy, definitely not as happy as beer.” Ersi applied for one of our brewer vacancies before her course in Edinburgh had even finished, and aced her interview – joining us as soon as she graduated!
Ersi now works in Site 1 (our original Ellon brewhouse) brewing wort, cropping yeast, dry-hopping or any one of the dozen other tasks being a brewer necessitates. “BrewDog is one of the most exciting places a brewer can be,” she says. “The equipment that we have is amazing and we develop so fast that our site has doubled since I’ve seen it for the first time. I love that we try to push the limits of what beer is and how beer is made daily.”
Elaine Bramwell Analytical Lab Technician
Elaine was already working as a Lab Analyst when one of her ‘beer enthusiastic’ friends got in touch about a similar opening at BrewDog. “I went for a trial and ended up thinking it would be a cool place to work,” she says. “I knew nothing about the making of beer before I came here, just enjoyed the drink thoroughly.” This again shows that if you have the skills and the passion, you don’t need to be a beer geek to work at BrewDog. Even if we tend to turn you into one.
Elaine works alongside Gillian analysing beer at all stages of production – and a lot more. In her words a typical day also includes “analysis of raw materials, approval of Bright Beer for Packaging, attending the taste panel in the morning for sensory analytics, trouble shooting and maintenance of analytical equipment relating to physical chemistry.” In short, anything to ensure the beer leaving our Ellon HQ is every bit as amazing as we can get it.
All of these incredible women help us achieve that, as they work every day to give more and more people the chance to enjoy our beer. If you would like to join them, head to our vacancies page here and check out our current openings!
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