In the last 10 years, Jaz Wearin, Co-founder of Modus Operandi Brewing and Founder of NORT Brewing, has enjoyed many career milestones. While her craft beer journey has focused on building the Modus and NORT brands, she has also committed herself to creating avenues for empowering women in their liquor industry careers.
From an early age, Wearin had an appreciation for the social role of beer, and feels that brewing is a natural career choice for her.
“Growing up in the Riverina on a 11,000-acre wheat and sheep farm, beer was always an important refreshment post mustering, shearing, harvesting, and brought everyone together. I am not surprised I found myself making beer as an adult,” she said.
Since founding Modus Brewing 10 years ago alongside her husband, Grant, Wearin has supported the brewery through significant expansion, both with NORT non-alcoholic beer and a Mexican-inspired range of brewed beverages.
Modus was awarded early on, first receiving Champion Small Brewery at the 2014 Indies, as well as three other major awards, only three months after opening. Wearin is also proud of launching NORT in 2020 after the birth of her son, with the non-alcoholic beer brand inspired by her beer cravings throughout her pregnancy.
Another important moment in Wearin’s career was opening Modus’ state-of-the-art brewery in Merewether in 2021, which was build from the ground up and received the Australian Institute of Architects Newcastle Medal, the region’s highest architectural honour.
“I feel like I have jampacked a lot into the last decade and there have been so many highlights, along with challenges,” Wearin said.
As a business owner, Wearin has been provided with a different perspective on the position of women in the brewing industry.
“Through my lens, as an employer, the biggest issue we have is the ratio gap, particularly in sales and brewing. This is by no way intentional, but the truth of the matter is that the brewing industry attracts a lot more males than females. I would love to have more females apply for these roles, because we certainly don’t have this issue in the hospitality side of our business,” she said.
Additionally, as a mother, Wearin is conscious of the difficulties working mothers face in advancing their career.
“I also believe being a mother in the modern-day environment, in any sector, is still really challenging. It’s not possible to do everything, and you end up doing everything not at your best. I would love to see a world where the government works with business owners to come up with a more fulsome offer for working mums, so they do not fall behind in their career, salary and super contributions,” she said.
Wearin spoke of the importance of highlighting influential women in the industry, to show the diversity of career opportunities available for women in the liquor sector. Wearin seeks to empower her employees by providing time to discuss their career goals, and to help continue their careers in the brewing industry.
“If there is a hunger to develop your skills, and you have a clear plan of where you want to head, please share this with your employer or manager. If they can’t make the time, then you are not in the right place,” she said.
“I always have an open door policy when it comes to people’s aspirations in the business and if I can find a way to develop those dreams, I do. But unless they are communicated it’s very hard to read minds.”