Head Brewer at Zak's Kombucha
Job Title: Head Brewer
Start Date: December 2026
Location: Wye, Kent
Type: In-person at our brewery
Hours: This is a full-time role, with some occasional evening/weekend work. Our typical operating hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, though we're open to discussing flexible hours. Salary: Dependent on experience
About Zak's Kombucha
What started out as a lockdown hobby for Zak has now grown into an independent kombucha brewery with currently ~200 stockists and a loyal community of customer-ambassadors! We're currently based right next to the very quaint village of Wye, Kent, and have a close-knit team of full-time and part-time employees who are friends as much as they are colleagues.
Here at Zak’s we make unpasteurised, live kombucha which spotlights local, seasonal, high-quality ingredients (some of which are grown by friends!). We're fiercely proud of the craft and care that goes into every batch and consider our process more akin to that of a wine-maker’s philosophy than your typical soft drink producer.
We've been steadily growing year-on-year and are now looking to properly expand from our Kent/East Sussex stronghold to the Big Smoke and beyond. As we expand our sales and events across the country we're looking for a team of like-minded people who want to be a part of this journey with us and create something incredibly special. Our aim is to become a national player in this growing market so it's really important that our team wants to contribute to this vision, while helping us maintain our high level of quality as we scale the business. Whoever you are, you could be instrumental in making this happen!
Role Overview
Our current Head Brewer who has been with us since the early days is leaving for pastures new (the army!), so we're looking for someone to take the reins in heading up production here at Zak's Kombucha. This is a very hands-on role for someone who is confident in managing day-to-day brewing, maintaining consistent quality as batch sizes and order volumes increase, and helping to develop or refine the processes we need as we scale up. This role definitely requires someone who’s a dab hand with machinery, or has a knack for engineering; while we make a lot by hand, machines play a key role in our production process and will continue to do so as we meet growing demand. Ideally, you're someone who can not only solve problems but also identify them early so we can pre-emptively strike and ensure we're as efficient as we can be.
Initially, you'll work closely with our founder - Zak - on production, planning, systems and compliance. However, it’s essential that our new Head Brewer can ultimately lead on the production side of things. This role will ultimately be pretty autonomous, meaning you will inevitably play a significant role in shaping how the brewery scales. As a small business, it will be a multi-faceted role and one which requires someone who is personable, adaptable, proactive and has fun figuring things out. Though we aim to finish at a consistent time, we can’t always guarantee with brewing that the day will end at exactly 5pm; sometimes things can take a little longer than expected, so we appreciate someone who understands that the day will end when the work is complete.
Key responsibilities
- Managing the full brewing process end-to-end: SCOBY/culture maintenance, fermentation, carbonation, chilling, bottling, and packaging
- Maintaining consistent product quality and flavour profiles across growing batch volumes (a good tasting palate is pretty essential!)
- Monitoring and managing fermentation parameters (pH, temperature, timing) and keeping accurate, up-to-date batch records
- Formalising processes through systems and spreadsheets to increase efficiency
- Running quality control checks alongside Zak and tweaking recipes where needed
- Calculating accurate ratios, percentages and volumes for brewing and packaging
- Helping establish and maintain food safety and hygiene practices appropriate for unpasteurised beverage production
- Supporting compliance with relevant UK food safety and labelling regulations as the business scales up
- Managing stock of raw materials (tea, sugar, cultures, other seasonal ingredients), liaising with our suppliers and price comparison checks
- Planning production schedules to meet growing demand
- Maintaining equipment to a high standard of cleanliness and functionality
- Keeping the brewery clean and tidy and left in good working order at the end of each day
- Troubleshooting/resolving issues with production, systems and/or machinery
- Research and sourcing of equipment as and when needed e.g. lab equipment, stainless steel fittings, tanks, hoses, tools, chillers and components, etc.
- Working alongside our Secondary Production Manager to keep production schedules up to date and communicating any changes to upcoming stock levels Essential Skills & Experience
- Hands-on experience brewing kombucha or another fermented beverage (beer, cider, kefir, wine, etc.) at a commercial scale
- Previous experience in a growing/scaling food or drink production business
- Solid understanding of fermentation science and food safety principles
- Comfortable working with unpasteurised/live products and the extra care they require
- Meticulous record-keeping and attention to detail (batch logs, quality checks etc)
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Desire to lead and take ownership of production (being proactive and genuinely invested makes a massive difference here!)
- Physically able to handle brewing equipment, heavy-lifting, and manual tasks involved in production
- Confident in managing supplier relationships, price negotiating, and purchasing wholesale goods at scale
- Excellent time management skills and experience scheduling/executing multiple tasks
- Experience supplying goods at commercial scale and delivering to deadlines
- Equipment maintenance or troubleshooting skills - this is where the engineer’s brain comes in!
- Ability to identify and solve problems pre-emptively
- Pride in maintaining high standards of cleanliness
- Mathematical skills and ability to translate data from/into spreadsheets
- A really great communicator - we can't stress enough how important this is
- Valid, clean UK driver’s licence
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Interest in or passion for kombucha, fermentation, or wider wellness drinks space
- Leadership and/or people management skills
- Knowledge of UK food labelling and allergen regulations
- Experience with HACCP, SALSA or similar food safety management systems
- Understanding of (or willingness to quickly learn) UK food safety regulations for small beverage producers
- Knowledge of CIPs and SOPs in breweries
- Familiarity with cooling systems (chillers and glycol-based systems)
- Good knowledge of and experience using caustics and sanitising agents
- Data analysis skills
- Appreciation for and understanding of high-quality consumables
- A discerning palate
- Valid, clean UK forklift licence
- A good, kind heart Our ESG Practices & Goals
- Re-using packaging wherever possible
- Sourcing seasonal ingredients produced locally
- Prioritising sustainable packaging materials (cardboard, paper tape, glass bottles etc)
- Delivering to local customers using an electric vehicle
- Composting our food waste for use by local growers
- Providing excess cardboard to local growers
- Re-using waste products wherever possible
Perks & Benefits
- Company Pension
- Free Parking
- 'IFKYK' Zak's Kombucha branded t-shirt
- Weekly free booch allowance
- Budget for brewery uniform
- CPD allowance
- Industry networking events
- Discounts in partner restaurants/bars across Kent and East Sussex (currently 20% off Pomus, more coming soon)
- Foraging opportunities
- Connections to many nice and interesting people
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