CL-141 Reverence for the Irreverent Brewing Magic at Brujos Brewing
Magic takes time, patience, and intention. So does brewing. The two concepts intertwine fantastically and theatrically in Jeff Alworth\u2019s Signifier for Good Beer Hunting, titled \u201cLong Live the Sorcery \u2014 Brujos Brewing in Portland, Oregon.\u201d In the piece, he delves into the magical world of Brujos, a business that officially opened in March 2024, but has been percolating for a decade under the creative vision of owner and brewer Sam Zerme\xf1o.
What started as a brand and hobby picked up steam on social media around 10 years ago, when Zerme\xf1o was still a homebrewer in Southern California with a penchant for making malty beers and an appreciation for what he calls \u201cwitchy shit\u201d and the occult. Once he got some professional brewing experience under his belt\u2014or, wizard robes, which seems more likely\u2014and moved to the Pacific Northwest, things began to settle into place. It wasn\u2019t an accident, and it wasn\u2019t magic, but it was definitely a journey that deserves its own story. When Alworth decided to write about it, he says it was that slippery concept of \u201cauthenticity\u201d that drew him to write about Zerme\xf1o\u2019s vision and the Brujos dream finally realized.
In this conversation, Alworth and I talk about how and why this story feels a lot different than much of the cynical, business-oriented beer writing that\u2019s pervasive in media today. He talks about how, despite being in a city proudly full of weirdos, Brujos takes it to a whole new level, and how it still just works. We talk about the dichotomy of the sacred and profane, the beauty of ritual, and magical realism that serves as a foundation for the brewery. As I say later in the episode, it\u2019s a nice story about good people doing cool things.
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