November 24, 2023

331: Jacob Sembrano of Cruz Blanca Makes Technically Challenging Beers with Beautiful Ingredients and Stories to Tell

1 hour 33 minutes

Jacob Sembrano loves ingredients, and his background as a chef instilled in him a deep love of connecting ingredients and their stories with the dishes he presented to customers. Now, at the helm of the brewhouse at Chicago’s Cruz Blanca, he’s forged a similar identity for his beers—connecting through ingredients with stories, and making beers with unusual methods. Their customers may not realize the technical prowess it takes to brew a 100 percent malted-corn grisette with French saison yeast, Brettanomyces, and a Lactobacillus strain cultured from the corn itself ... but they don’t have to—Cruz Blanca’s reverence for corn as an ingredient is apparent and welcome.

In this episode, Sembrano discusses how they brew a range of beers. Along the way, he covers:

making your own luck in the food and brewing worlds

applying a minimal-intervention yet highly technical approach to making a 100 percent corn grisette

pushing fermentation temperatures to reduce esters

brewing a red corn lager with 70 percent corn malt

using significant amounts of black and heavily roasted malts in barrel-aged stouts

building body without excessive sweetness

working with partner breweries to grow the brand

matching brewing profiles between locations across states

And more.

“I want my stout to fight me back a bit,” Sembrano says. “I want to feel it when I drink it.”

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For years G&D Chillers has chilled the beers you love, partnering with 3,000+ breweries across the country along the way. Reach out for a quote today at gdchillers.com or call to discuss your next project.

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Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies flavored craft juice concentrate blends to beverage brands for the production of beer, cider, seltzer, wine, spirits, kombucha, and more. Flavor your lineup and streamline your sourcing by heading to oldorchard.com/brewer

ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) The ProFill series of rotary can fillers from ProBrew are accelerating plant production everywhere. For more information, visit www.probrew.com or email [email protected].

Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Thiolized yeast are a new tool for brewers to bring intense guava and passionfruit aromas out of your malt and hops. And wait, there’s more! Omega Yeast makes yeast-to-order with a consistent one week lead time ensuring peak freshness and reliability.

The American Homebrewers Association (https://HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod): Join the American Homebrewers Association to unlock the 2023 National Homebrew Competition medal-winning recipes! Learn more at HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod

Lotus Beverage Alliance (https://lotusbevalliance.com): Need an ally for your brewing venture? Lotus Beverage Alliance simplifies the process. Their team of engineers, brewery consultants, and financial advisors are here to help. Lotus Beverage Alliance.

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