A Musician and a Dancer walk into a bar…

Sam and Sara’s story begins in the early 90s as two Generation X rebellion minds falling in love in the island of São Miguel, Azores, the birthplace of VULCANA. Sam being a rock musician and Sara a modern dancer, they shared a passion for the arts at the core of it all. In 1998, they moved to the United States to expand their creative pursuits, get married, and conquer the next chapter of their lives together.

Sam Cabral – co-founder of Vulcana craft brewery in São Miguel, Azores.
Sara Cabral – co-founder of Vulcana craft brewery in São Miguel, Azores.

Not just a Brewery.

A Home for the Arts.

Along with raising two kids, Sam & Sara have always done a little bit of everything. Literally. They even spent some time in the circus! Sam honed his graphic design skills and became a lead creative and design director for various major advertising agencies and projects. Sara juggled work in finance, also for an ad agency, while maintaining a dance career and branching out to the yoga, Pilates, circus and belly dance universe.

Sara Cabral performing as dancer in São Miguel – co-founder of Vulcana craft brewery.
Sam Cabral playing guitar – musician and co-founder of Vulcana craft brewery in the Azores.
Sam Cabral homebrewing craft beer in the United States before founding Vulcana Brewery in the Azores.

It wasn’t until they lived beside a brewery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that something clicked and it all came together. In a crowded environment with likeminded people and artisanal beer flowing, a new passion brewed. Sam started making his own beer at home, which led to hosting parties and sharing his creations. It wasn’t long before word spread about what was coming, and from that initial flame, the heart and soul of VULCANA roared into life.

Quality ingredients

Our aim will be to use primarily ingredients of Azorean origin, thus making our beer more authentic. We intend to be an innovative space where you can enjoy unique and flavorful beers as well as discover their origins.

We want to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the regional growers, to have access to ingredients such as Passion Fruit, Honey, Pimenta da Terra, Pineapple and Fennel, among others.

Electric Brewing custom-built homebrew control panel used by Sam Cabral in the U.S.
electric-brewing-control-panel-homebrew.
Erlenmeyer flasks used for preparing yeast starters at Vulcana craft brewery.
Hydrometer measuring beer gravity during brewing at Vulcana craft brewery.
Blichmann BrewMometer temperature gauge on electric homebrewing system used by Sam Cabral
Sam Cabral’s mother and son harvesting hops grown in the family garden in the United States.
Close-up of stainless steel valve and temperature probe connection on homebrewing equipment.
Pipette drawing a beer sample for quality control testing.

Vulcana aims to create a space where the world can get a front row seat to great craft beer and a first hand experience in all the Azorean culture has to offer.

– Sam Cabral –