Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you and your current job?
My name is David Salinas and I am the cofounder of Pamplona Brewing (there are 3 of us). I am the head of commercial and marketing areas.
What was the inspiration behind your brewery?
I am 33 years old and I have been living in the UK for 4 years. I and my colleagues have also lived and traveled around the world because of our jobs (We are engineers and we have been working in the aerospace industry. We started brewing beer because we couldn’t find this type of product in our city! We loved hoppy beers and the Spanish market was dominated by industrial beers.That is the reason why we say in our web page: www.morlacobeer.com
“In 2011 three crazy engineers, Asier, Borja and David, began experimenting with their first beer in the heart of the Festival. Morlaco beer was born by the passion of these three Friends to Pamplona, San Fermin Festival, bull-running, and of course craft beer.Until 2014 they didn’t manage to capture the essence of the San Fermín Festival and add tons of hops and yeast to make it ferment.They began marketing the product and the result was this brew that, far from quenching your thirst of party, injected enough adrenaline to join the race and challenge the strength of the Bulls in Estafeta StreetMorlaco Beer began in the craft beer market made by gypsy brewers, the beer was produced in Navarra, Burgos, and Toledo before gathering the resources needed to create its own Factory, Pamplona Brewing. Currently, Morlaco has 250 square meters of facilities, a brewhouse with capacity for 500/1000 liters, 3000-liter fermentors and we recently have incorporated to our team an Italian Brew Master that has improved our process and stabilized our products.
Brewing beer is not only a science, it requires patience and good taste. In Morlaco we are committed to the artisan elaboration, creativity and difference, so we use only natural and high-quality ingredients. That combined with our own recipes, give a unique taste to our products. Our beer has no additives or preservatives and some of the hops we use are from our own plantation”.Morlaco means strong bull in Spanish, also we can use to mention a strong person. We liked the idea of linking our product to our tradition, the running of the bulls… and our festival: SAN FERMIN.
Can you give us a tour of your beer scene?
The craft beer market in Spain is growing every month. Especially in our region, the Basque Country and Catalonia (Barcelona area).For example, this is a good article for explaining the current situation: taptrail.com/spains-craft-beer-boom/
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a brewery?
Patience and check the market before making capital investments. Start as a gypsy brewer is always a good start. We are now brewing beer for other brewers, other gypsy brewers, the cycle begins again!
