Meet the Team | Filipe

Over the past 6 months we have rapidly grown and increased our capacity by more than double. With that has come a new a lot of new faces. 

Filipe was one of the first people to come and join our team this year and has slotted right into the team as if he's been here from the beginning. He's always busy, but always has a smile for you. 
When he first joined the team he came in under the role of Fermentation Management, since then he has swapped over to a Brewing role.

I got to know Filipe a little better with a quick Q&A. We'll definitely all be headed to the pub as soon as we can for a pint of Life & Death.

1. What is your job title within the team at Vocation?
- Shift Brewer (Fermentation Management for first 8 weeks, Brewhouse since the 26th of April)

2. What does your role involve? What do you do on the day to day in the brewery?
Fermentation Management:
- My day would start by checking the fermentation stage on all tanks - where relevant, I’d check the Gravity, Temperature, and collect samples for haze and diacetyl testing. I’d then move on to work on a daily list of tasks, dependent on the former tests and checks. To name a few: cropping yeast, adding fining adjuncts, and dry hopping our outside tanks - carrying all those hops upstairs is made almost effortlessly thanks to our gorgeous view (note, however, both the beer and my eyes get dry hopped in windy weather). Essentially, half the day would be spent in the lab, and half was done outside with physical tasks. A great balance between staying active and doing lab work, where attention to detail is key!
Brewhouse:
- I recently started working at the brewhouse, where I’m being trained by our experienced brewers. The day usually starts with a swift handover talk, where the previous shift talks us through the ongoing brewing stage. Then, we pick up where they left off and get brewing. A day at the brewhouse can be quite busy, as we aim to get 2 brews done per shift - thanks to our fast and efficient process. At the end of the day, we get ready to handover to the following team.

3. How did you get to where you are now and where have you previously worked?
- I started homebrewing when I was 18 years old, back in my hometown Lisbon. Since then, I’ve had a passion for craft brewing which only intensified when I came to the UK, to study at University. I’ve aimed to focus my degrees towards that subject: During my Chemistry bachelor’s, I did a Placement Project on Brewing Water Chemistry- spending 3 months at the Portuguese brewery “Dois Corvos”. I also wrote my master’s dissertation on Craft Beer Innovation.
- At Uni, I was President and Brewer of the Warwick University Real Ale Society, and ran a beer festival of 120+ casks & kegs, some of which were collaborations with local breweries. This was a great experience and insight into the industry - confirming it was where I wanted to pursue my career. The IBD General Certificate in Brewing, along with a few short internships, provided me the knowledge and experience to join Vocation.

4. Tell me a bit about you - what do you enjoy doing in your spare time/hobbies etc?
- In my spare time I love to cook for family and friends - everything from traditional Portuguese food, to Italian dishes and British roasts & pies. I also love to travel, playing and listening to music, and to watch Rugby and play sports.

5. How did you discover Vocation?
- I first discovered Vocation in 2016, during my first year in the UK. Since then, I’ve always kept a couple of Life & Death cans in my fridge.

6. What's your favourite Vocation beer?
- Life & Death has long been my go-to beer, and my favourite from the core range.  And I do love a cask pint of Bread and Butter. But of our limited releases, my favourite has probably been No.666 - a Russian Imperial Stout brewed in collaboration with Kirkstall, and with added coffee from Antonia & Panesar.