Cidermaker / Winemaker / Brewer / Blender / Cellar Lead
Our awesome Head of Fermentation, Barrel Management, and Blending, Katie Cochrane, is relocating cross-country and, although Katie will remain on board in a remote consulting/advisory role, we need someone to take charge of day-to-day operations and ultimately assume the mantle of Head of Fermentation.
Located in the beautiful Skagit Valley in Northwest Washington, with its uniquely fertile soils and cool, temperate climate, Garden Path Fermentation is one of very few producers in the world that’s able to make beer, wine, cider, and mead, all using ingredients sourced from our own backyard, and may be the only one to do so using only native yeast fermentation.
This is not a typical production job, but rather an opportunity to put your own creative stamp on a unique, multi-modal fermentation program. We’re a very small company with a mission to capture the unique flavor and terroir of our abundant local ingredients and of each passing season while also striving to maintain a sense of subtlety, balance, and nuance in everything we make. Each of us is involved in a number of different areas, with a strong emphasis on community, cooperation, communication, and inclusiveness. Our production is highly seasonal, focusing on cider and wine in the fall, spontaneous beer in the winter, fruit refermentation in summer and the remainder of our brewing and packaging as time allows. While the list of responsibilities of the Head of Fermentation is long and varied, our overall production volume is extremely modest; we released less than 150 bbl (4650 gallons) of beer, wine, cider, and mead in total last year.
With remote guidance from our outgoing Head of Fermentation, the person taking on this role will be solely responsible for all aspects of day-to-day cellar operations and production, including sourcing ingredients, developing new recipes, processes, and ideas, planning our production, cellaring, and packaging, adapting to circumstances as needed, curating blends, and overseeing all aspects of beer, wine, cider, and mead making at Garden Path. The ideal candidate will have an exceptional palate and extensive professional experience, particularly with native/wild yeast fermentation, barrel-aging, barrel maintenance, blending, and natural conditioning, as well as unbridled creativity, strong leadership and organizational skills, and a deep, personal connection to our mission and values.
We currently do the majority of our wort production off-site, at neighboring breweries, with assistance from their team members, and transport the wort back to our facility in stainless steel totes for overnight, airborne inoculation in our coolship, open fermentation in an oak foudre, long-term barrel-aging, and/or future blending or refermentation with fruit or other local ingredients. We also have a small, 1hl electric pilot system and 3 bbl manual direct fire system that could be used for on-site experimentation, with tentative plans to add a larger system in the near future.
Beyond our brewing activities, we help tend to the nearby research orchard at Washington State University, where we’re able to source an abundance of traditional cider apples, perry pears, cherries, plums, and other fruits and a nearby vineyard from which we source our wine grapes, and we also maintain close relationships with a number of other local growers. In addition to our many agricultural partnerships, our long-term vision is to own and operate our own farm, where we could offer visitors a true seed-to-glass experience and we’re currently working closely with the county and other stakeholders to make that a reality.
Our facility, where we also operate an onsite Tasting Room & Bottle Shop, is located at the Port of Skagit, adjacent to Skagit Regional Airport in an agri-business park containing 477 acres of protected wetlands and 10 miles of hiking/biking trails. In addition to Chuckanut Brewery, Skagit Valley College’s Cardinal Craft Brew Academy, the Washington State University Bread Lab, which also serves as home to the King Arthur Baking School, Cairnspring Mills, Water Tank Bakery, True North Bakery, NW Local Meats, and The Heritage Flight Museum are all less than ½ mile away.
Skagit is a rural, largely agricultural county of 130,000 people, stretching from the Salish Sea to the Cascade Mountains. We’re situated approximately 65 miles north of Seattle and 50 miles south of the Canadian border.
If this all sounds exciting and you think you might be the right fit, please send a cover letter and current résumé to jobs@gardenpathwa.com.
Responsibilities:
Job Type: Full-time (36-40 hours/week)
Minimum Qualifications:
Starting Base Compensation: $23.50-$26.75/hour, depending on experience
Additional Benefits:
Garden Path Fermentation is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants, irrespective of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, and/or any other protected category under state and/or federal law.