Harpoon Brewery Gives Newbies a Chance in the Beer Biz

While there are hundreds of craft breweries out there, it can be difficult to land a job at one with little or no beer biz experience. All too often, eager and willing potential employees are turned away for seasoned brewery vets. While many breweries prefer to hire established brewery professionals, others like Harpoon Brewery offer jobs to eager newbies, giving them the chance to become properly trained experts.

Harpoon Brewery, of Boston and Vermont, began its professional development program in 1996. The “Six-Pack Program,” as the folks at Harpoon call it, is “a way to attract and train highly accomplished people with one or more years of professional experience but with little or no beer industry exposure.” This opportunity gives individuals really wanting to get into the beer business a hard-earned foot in the door.

The program is a full-time, paid position that teaches the lucky trainees all aspects of the brewing business. “The program is six to eight weeks long and exposes trainees on a rotating basis to the following areas: sales, merchandising, crew driving and promotions, event management, tour-giving, draft beer maintenance, brewing and packaging, beer tasting and appreciation.”

So even though this opportunity seems too good to be true, it doesn’t just benefit the individuals in the program. After the completion of the program, Harpoon finds the right functional and geographical fit for each candidate for a number of different roles in the company. But it’s no guarantee—the candidates do have to earn these roles during the program—so there’s no slacking off.

Even though this is a great chance for beginners, not just anyone is eligible. Harpoon has a list of qualifications necessary to apply to the program, not limited to: willingness to relocate, honesty and infectious enthusiasm for craft beer and craft beer sales.

Harpoon knows that even the most masterful brewers and successful salespeople had to start somewhere. So why not start with proper training at Harpoon? Learn more about the “Six-Pack Program” and apply!

Tiffany Lutke

Tiffany Lutke is a former Craft Beer Program intern at the Brewers Association. She spent her days as a kid in the small craft brewery her father owned on the east coast, which led to her love for small and independent breweries. When she’s not pouring beer at Upslope Brewing Company taproom in Boulder, she’s sharing pints with old friends at her favorite beer bars like The Mayor of Old Town in Fort Collins, Colo.

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