packaging supervisor

maintenance technician

delivery driver

line cook/prep cook

maintenance supervisor

Quidi Vidi Brewery

Management is more concerned about maximizing output than increasing efficiency. Burnout is incredibly common among all production departments. Shifts are all over the place, workload is high and there's little to no guidance from management. No work-life balance: expect to have regular shift changes on short notice due to equipment failures, delays or just poor scheduling that has no regard for staff and their lives outside of work. I never knew what a week would bring outside from a rough schedule that felt like more of a suggestion. Plenty of times my shift would change on the day. When failing equipment is mentioned, it's usually met with "it's always been like that" or "we'll worry about it in slow season" which never happens because of production demands.

Everywhere but the production floor and brewhouse were given attention over the years. Neither even got a fresh coat of paint. The floors are damaged and pitted; rolled my ankle on more than one occasion. It's always wet and moldy (black) and seems to be little regard for it in terms of health and safety. It's either insufferably hot in the summer, or absolutely frigid in the winter to the point that you lose manual dexterity (like 6-8 degrees inside). Never thought we would be using buckets and wheelbarrows to haul grain in such a big brewery, nor did I know that nearly everything was manual when taking the job.

In my experience, management often turns a blind eye to major issues and are only focused on output. Been pegged as a complainer and "not a team player" for speaking up. Just a toxic work environment to work in that refuses to acknowledge shortcomings and core problems. They neglected to mention a lot of things when taking this job, which is really hard to cope with when people are moving across country to work here. Staff turnover has been brutal with most of the senior staff leaving over the last year, so there's no shortage of hours at least. Payment for services rendered is very lacking though. Don't expect pay to keep up with inflation.

Good place to get some experience, but long term it can be detrimental.

When they tell you the brewery is old, they neglect to mention the lack of necessary maintenance and upkeep that should have gone along with it. As far as craft brewing goes, this might be the least craft-brewery environment I have experienced. It is very much a factory free-for-all in the brewery and cellar. Tasks are given but to no specifically assigned workers, though there are implications here and there. The work flow very much comes and goes, having lengthy periods of standing around until a task becomes available. Most of the machinery is old and outdated and notably inefficient, leading to long days drawn out longer by the tedious protocol of arranging and waiting on the various devices such as the archaic filter, the under-sized water tanks, absolute fossil of a bottling line and 2-vessel Brewhouse. What makes this place enjoyable is the coworkers. However it is very much a "comrades in misery" sort of cameradery. The shifts typically change weekly too (but are known to often change mid-week) and even within that there is varying consistency. One week may be the same start time for all 5 days and the next will be an absolute dogs breakfast of a Schedule, as it's done up according to the requirements of the brewery. The result of this is a very absent work-life balance because QV is the constant focus. There is a maintenance team on site that is both a blessing and a curse, as it does keeps the place running, but with a series of Band-Aid fixes in order to minimize any down time. There's a lot of division between front of house and production/packaging as well. If you go upstairs for a coffee or post-shift pint, they either don't acknowledge you until it's become painfully obvious you're there or they look at you like a seagull that somehow got inside. 
All in all, it's fine enough if you just want to work and go home, but if you're passionate about beer and brewing, it's not the place to be. 

Quidi Vidi is the largest and one of the oldest craft breweries in NL. It has done a lot, especially in the last few years, to promote the craft community in NL. It has, unfortunately, become a difficult place to work in as of late. It has changed. 

Equipment failures are frequent, lack of maintenance has caught up with them. The packaging crew, due to downtime, are often waiting around for repairs to be made doing busy work or sent home. They then have long hours to make up the missed downtime, sometimes working late or on weekends, without their manager. Working part time can be difficult as hours can be cut. 
The brewing team has lost most of their senior brewers, all within the last 6 months. The brewers work early and leave late with a schedule all over the place. 

Safety culture has an interesting mix. The employees responsible for overseeing take it seriously but management don't seem to take things seriously even after incidents or issues are brought to their attention.

I wouldn't say that Quidi Vidi is particularly environmentally conscious, it seems to be an afterthought if thought about at all. There's a lot of waste. Things end up in the harbor frequently from the wind or sprayed from the parking area into the water.

Management seem to isolate themselves and with each other. They don't seem to care much what their employees have to say. They seem out of touch with what's going on. Training is limited and rushed. There's lots of learning on your own or from other employees.

I don't know what I expected but I did expect more. It's fine if you want to just put your head down and work when things are running. 

I’m a relatively new employee with the company, employed for almost a year.  I cannot comment on the historical reviews here on Indeed, but I can comment on my tenure with the company to date.
I’ve both read on Indeed and heard through current employees of the many historical issues this company has faced in the past.  Which are likely due to growing pains as the company has grown significantly over the past years, growing pains that were compounded by the many challenges the recent pandemic threw at them.
In my opinion Management has made significant changes over the past several months which have really made a difference in the overall operations. Employee moral is high, management team is better structured, wages are competitive, and most importantly there has been significant investment into their operating equipment!
If you’re contemplating a career with Quidi Vidi Brewery, I truly think that this is an exciting time to join the team.  I absolutely love it here, and the people are great!!


I’ve worked here for a few years and the people are really what make the job what it is! Although stressful at times and sometimes overwhelming, it is a craft brewery with high demand for what I consider a great product. New management has made the beginning half of 2024 a breeze in comparison to previous years. I’ve seen many positive changes to the procedures and protocols within the company as-well. Sure this place isn’t for everyone but neither is this industry! If you have a passion for craft brewing or beer itself and want to learn more about the culture as well as work in a beautifully scenic St. John’s setting, than quidi vidi is the place to be. There are many positives about working here and they outweigh the negatives fairly easily in my personal opinion!

Almost everything from A-Z is a joke to these guys: product quality, employee safety, compensation, paying customers, community members, fellow businesses...the list goes on. The only thing they don't joke about is their own ego and profits. You better believe you are drinking a subpar product, no matter how great the brewers and bar staff are. The brand is what it is only because of what and who they burn down to get it there. Pouring pints at that place, you hear and see a lot, most of which I want to forget. Under the guise of friendship and "support local", they have been deceiving the entire province for years. If you know, you know. If you don't, hopefully you'll take off those bad beer goggles for long enough to see the truth.

I have never seen such a turnover of staff before in my life, with only 2 out of 16 original employees still being employed. Middle and upper management are unengaged, indifferent, and or just uncaring. Unfair work practices are common with staff sometimes being let go by ghosting them. People being hired with zero experience and receiving subpar rudimentary training, then running operations improperly risking both workers' safety and product quality. Subpar products are often released to the market even after being identified as such by quality control. 

Uphill battle working with management to maintain current equipment due to 'budget' or 
to avoid time loss. Would rather throw around cash for giveaway prizes, and suffer through long (unplanned) shut downs due to sudden failures of essential gear.

Multiple steam equipment failures met with "well how long can it keep leaking before it fails?" Or "it always leaked, it's not a problem". 

Poor compensation for work rendered, incompetent managers and absolute blindness with regards to toxicity in the workplace from supervisors.

As a current employee I love it there. All the staff are great and we’re like our own little family. The company is involved in a lot of community activities that they allow the staff to get involved with. Regatta, Folk Festival, Roots rants & roars, women’s film festival, new fermenters, local sports teams and many others. We’ve been rewarded numerous times with company events to reward us for our success. Management makes sure the job gets done and the customers leave happy. 

Been working here for about a year now . Extremely dirty brewery with worn out machinery that frequently breaks down due to lack of maintenance over the years.
The lead maintenance employee doesn’t really know what he’s doing in regards to mechanical aspects of things and has a bit of attitude problem and the rest of management is out of touch with this and reality.
The employees are good guys though and are what holds the place together .

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Packaging supervisor 2 salaries reported	$57,500 per year
Maintenance technician 8 salaries reported	$59,688 per year
Delivery driver 2 salaries reported	$21.75 per hour
Line cook/prep cook 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Maintenance supervisor 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year

Working at Quidi Vidi Brewery: company overview and reviews

Quidi Vidi Brewery

Quidi Vidi Brewery ratings

Popular jobs at Quidi Vidi Brewery

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected