Santiago Ampudia Vasquez, Brewer at Blackburn Brewhouse and Assistant Professor at Niagara College, Delving into the Craft of Beer Making | That’s a Food Job! Podcast #113

Santiago Ampudia Vasquez is a brewer at Blackburn Brewhouse and Assistant Professor at Niagara College. Blackburn Brewhouse, based in Niagara Falls, produces a wide range of craft beers—from lagers and pale ales to specialty brews, seltzers, and ciders.

Santiago holds a Master of Science and previously taught at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. After immigrating to Canada, he changed paths by enrolling in Niagara College’s Brewmaster program. Since then, he has helped the college secure first place at the 2023 U.S. Open College Beer Championship and earned a Silver medal for his Belgian Tripel, Te Tous et Bois, named after the French film that inspired it.

We dive into what a brewer really does day-to-day in an independent brewery—why yeast care and cleaning can take up to 80% of the job—and the science that transforms grains into beer. Santiago also shares the skills that make a great brewer, the joy of creating new beers, and a bit of beer history along the way.

In this episode:

Chapters

00:00 – Intro & what a brewer really does
00:35 – Daily work in the brewery
02:42 – Brewing equipment & scale
04:56 – The beer-making process explained
09:47 – Fermentation & yeast behaviour
12:11 – Filtration & finishing the beer
13:55 – Creating flavour in beer
20:34 – Brewing in Canada & unique recipes
22:42 – The realities of the job
27:03 – Skills for success as a brewer
28:48 – Santiago’s background in chemistry
33:36 – Teaching brewing at Niagara College
37:59 – Advice for future brewers
40:23 – Experimenting with new flavours
42:25 – Closing thoughts

Recommended next episode

 #86 – William (Billy) Dietz, Co-Founder and Consultant at BDH Consultants and Author

Resources

• Santiago Ampudia Vasquez’s : LinkedIn
• Blackburn Brewery: Website/ Instagram/
• Niagara College: Website/ Instagram / YouTube / Twitter / Facebook