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Quebradillas.- When Maribelisse Nazario Muñoz and her husband Juan Carlos Alejandro Negrón came up with Cold Blood Brewery, a business that creates and sells craft beers, they decided that the names of their products should honor the emblematic sites of Quebradillas.

In this way, they would spread word about the most important tourist spots in town, using beer as a pretext to tour the so-called ‘pirate’s lair’, in addition to raising awareness among citizens about the protection of endemic endangered species.

However, producing 186 gallons of craft beer a week, as well as around twenty refreshing alternatives, was not under this couple’s radar. They started brewing at home, with the sole purpose of having fun and sharing with friends.

It all started in 2012, when Maribelisse gifted her husband a beer brewing starter kit.

“You can’t keep going out forever, so we tried finding a hobby to do while at home, and we started brewing homemade beer. We kept going until 2017; there was a home brewers competition happening, and we decided to participate. We took a beer of our own and, to our surprise, we won first place,” said the 48-year-old woman.

“They basically let us know that we were doing something right; back then, we would always take our beer with us when we hung out with friends, and everyone would laugh as they said it was really good. It was all laughs until we won that first place,” recalled Juan Carlos.

Thus, this couple’s path, with both being electronic engineering specialists, took a total turn; until then, they only made beer as a hobby.

In fact, for years they worked on developing businesses such as a bicycle shop, a gas station, and even the distribution of animal food.

“Since we’re always thinking business, we planned to take this to another level. At her job (at a manufacturing company), there were job cuts happening at the time so we decided to try it, in case something happened, we could already have this running and, well, it happened,” he mentioned.

This family business, which now has eight employees, was born in 2018 with the incorporation of the company. However, when they obtained the permits to operate, the 2020 earthquakes struck, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It was around that time that bars closed. But since we had a manufacturing permit, we could sell the product in closed containers for takeaway. We took advantage of the opportunity and began bottling the beers in 32-ounce bottles,” added Nazario Muñiz, a native of San Juan.

The success achieved forced them to hire more staff as they had to increase production.

“Business has been very good, better than we expected. The demand was so great that we were running out of beer, so we decided to buy larger equipment. From 20 gallons, we now have three barrels, which is equivalent to 100 gallons. Now we have a total of eight employees, including ourselves,” said Juan Carlos, who is from Naranjito.

Our beer catalog contains 18 varieties; five of these are seasonal and the others are made throughout the year. However, the most eye-catching detail is the names they chose for each product.

“Most of the names of our beers are related to Quebradillas somehow. One is called 00678, which is the town’s zip code, and it is very refreshing. We have another one called Puente La Bellaca, it sells very well. We also have others called Puente Blanco, Pirata, and la Caracolera, which is the name of a beach,” Maribelisse explained.

“They have a festival here, in the Guajataca picnic area, called Atlantea Tulita. That’s why we named one of the beers Tulita, after the endangered butterfly. Likewise, we have the Matabuey, an endangered endemic tree,” she said.

According to Maribelisse, “we’d like that, little by little, people continue to get to know Quebradillas through beer.”

“We are also raising awareness about endangered endemic species. We want to spread the word about these species. Aside from creating a space where people come to have a good time and talk, we are part of the Quebradillas community,” he noted.

Likewise, the place offers an appetizer menu, with options such as grouper ceviche or shredded chicken breast, served with chips or tortillas.

On weekends, the couple lends their space to entrepreneurs through the concept ‘pop up kitchens’, which is defined as “a restaurant that can emerge anywhere quickly, for a limited period.” There they offer options such as sushi, ramen, tacos, hamburgers, and more.

Finally, they both agreed that one of their goals is “to help others grow. That is why we started helping other brewers make their own beers.”