Interviewing for non brewing roles at a beer company

The second question is always about the product

The first part of a non brewing interview looks like any other: your skills, your projects, a competency question or two. Then comes some version of "Why beer?" or "What do you know about how we make it?" A candidate who answers with "I like beer" has wasted the question.

Interviewers ask because people who understand the product make better decisions. A finance analyst who knows that a lager may sit three to five weeks in tanks will read working capital differently. An IT lead who knows the packaging line is the plant's busiest asset will plan downtime with care. A marketer who knows the rules on alcohol advertising in India will not pitch a TV campaign in the first meeting.

Learn the process in one page

You need one page of notes, not a textbook. Malt is barley that has been soaked, sprouted and dried. At the brewery it is milled and mashed in hot water, usually around 62 to 72 °C, so its enzymes turn starch into sugar. The sweet liquid, called wort, is boiled with hops for bitterness and aroma, cooled and fermented by yeast. Ales ferment warmer and faster. Lagers ferment cooler, commonly around 8 to 13 °C, then mature cold.

After that the beer is filtered or not, packaged into bottles, cans or kegs and often pasteurised. Each step creates a cost, a quality check and a place where things go wrong. Being able to walk an interviewer through this in two minutes is worth more than any line on your CV.

Connect your role to the floor

Prepare one example for each of these, tied to your function:

• Finance: how excise works at state level, why stock in tanks is cash tied up and why packaging materials are a large share of cost.
• IT and data: the systems a plant runs, such as ERP for orders and stock or plant control systems for brewhouse and packaging.
• HR: shift patterns in production, safety training and the skills shortage for experienced brewers.
• Supply chain: seasonal peaks, imported malt and hops, glass bottle returns.

Our guide on moving from IT into a beer company goes deeper on the technology side.

Know the Indian rules at the right depth

You are not expected to be a lawyer. You are expected to know that alcohol in India is regulated mostly by states, that excise duty, pricing, licences and even permitted pack sizes vary between them and that rules change through state notifications. In some states a government corporation sits between the brewer and the retailer.

Saying "I know the rules differ by state and I would check the current position with our regulatory team" is a strong answer. Quoting a duty rate you half remember is a weak one.

Questions you should ask them

Good questions show you have thought about the business. Try these:

• Which plants or markets does this role support most?
• How does the summer peak change the work in this team?
• Will I get time on a plant floor in the first few months?
• How does this team work with production and quality?

The third one matters. Companies that put new joiners on the floor, even for a day, tend to produce people who understand the numbers they handle. If the answer is yes, say you would welcome it. If it is no, ask whether you could arrange a visit yourself.

Responsible drinking comes up more than you think

Beer companies take responsible drinking seriously in public and many do in private too. Expect a question on it in marketing, sales and HR roles. Do not joke about drinking in the interview. Do not assume everyone on the panel drinks. If you do not drink, say so plainly: plenty of people in the industry do not and it is no barrier to doing the job well.

Your first step: write the one page process summary from section two in your own words tonight. Read it aloud. If you cannot explain why lager takes longer than ale, start there. Our guide on case study interviews helps if your round includes a case.