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

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.

BSG Craft Brewing (https://Bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Want a natural and economical clarification aid? Then you need Kerry Biofine™ Eco—a plant-based fining agent that improves beer clarification by instant flocculation of yeast and trub. Available exclusively from BSG, visit BSGCraftbrewing.com to learn more.
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 contactus@probrew.com.
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.