Hemingway’s Brewery — Cairns, Far North Queensland

September 29, 2026

Own the brew deck. Keep 1,400 seats pouring. The winterless north.

Most Head Brewer ads ask you to babysit someone else’s flagship range in a warehouse on the urban fringe. This is not that job.

Hemingway’s is an independent, locally owned craft brewery and hospitality group in Far North Queensland. We brew award-winning beer on the Cairns waterfront and pour it through four of our own venues: Port Douglas marina, Cairns Wharf, Trinity Beach Tap House and Sails on the Esplanade, more than 1,400 seats and growing. We also keg and pack for regional wholesale. The beers that built this brand have taken gold at the Australian International Beer Awards, and The Prospector has twice taken the Best Pilsner trophy.

We need a Head Brewer who wants the whole thing: the science, the grit, the recipes, the team, and the supply line that gets beer, wine and spirits from our cellar to every tap and every account that depends on us.

If you are tired of Melbourne drizzle and Sydney rent but love brewing great quality beer, then this is the role for you.

THE PROSPECT

You will take complete ownership of brewing operations at our Cairns Wharf production brewery. That means the core range that keeps our venues honest: 7th Heaven, Pitchfork Betty’s, Tunnel 10, The Prospector, Wharf St, Mr Wong, Canecutter and the Inner Sanctum program where nano-batches and limited releases actually get to push the glass.

You will also own the piece most Head Brewers never get near, that is the logistics and distribution function that moves our beer, and the group’s centralised wine and spirit purchases,



into our four venues and out to other accounts across the region. This is not a desk job bolted onto a brew deck. It is a production leader who understands that empty taps at a 600-seat waterfront brewpub is a quality failure as much as an operations failure.

You will lead a small, capable brewing team. You will be on the tools. You will also be the person who sets the standard yeast health, water chemistry, documentation, CIP discipline, and packaging integrity so the beer that leaves Shed 2 tastes like the beer that won the medals.

- Plan and execute production from grain to glass on a 35 HL four-vessel brewhouse into 70 HL fermenters plus keg and pack.
- Protect and tighten the core range so every pour in Port Douglas, Cairns, Trinity Beach and Sails is consistent, fresh and commercially tight.
- Build and run an Inner Sanctum seasonal and limited program that gives the brew team a reason to stay curious and gives our venues something to talk about.
- Lead raw material selection and supplier relationships.
- Run QA/QC like it matters, because it does. Sensory, fermentation tracking, packaging specs, traceability.
- Mentor the brewing team. Small crew, high output with safety and cleanliness a priority.
- Own inventory,



production planning and the logistics/distribution workflow that keeps beer and the group liquor program moving to venues and regional accounts.
- Work with venue and events teams on Brand Your Own Beer, collaborations and the occasional VIP brewery tour, our guests can see the tanks from the bar.

THE BREWHOUSE

- System: 35 HL four-vessel DME brewhouse
- Packaging: Keg and pack
- Site: Heritage-listed Shed 2, Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, brewing in view of Trinity Inlet
- Output: Production brewery supplying four group venues (1,400+ seats and expanding) plus regional wholesale
- Range: Award-winning core + Inner Sanctum limited + Brand Your Own

If you have been running a 10 HL brewpub and want a bigger deck without disappearing into a 100,000 HL factory, this is the scale that still lets you taste every tank.

WHAT YOU BRING

- Proven time as Head Brewer or Senior/Lead Brewer in a commercial facility. You have run a brew deck, not just worked on one.
- IBD qualifications: minimum General Certificate in Brewing (GCB). Diploma or higher is a genuine advantage.
- Deep, practical command of yeast health, water chemistry, fermentation control and sensory analysis. You can explain a fault and fix it.
- Experience across brewing, cellaring and packaging keg and pack. You know what happens after the FV.
- The operational head for inventory, planning and a logistics/distribution function. Comfortable owning the path from cellar to venue.
- Leadership that holds a small team to a high standard without killing the culture. Safety, documentation and a clean cellar are non-negotiable.
- The grit. Grain bags, hot CIP, tropical humidity, early starts.

📌 Head Brewer (Cairns Regional)
🏢 Hemingway's Brewery FNQ
📍 Cairns Regional