Omar Castrellon’s the envy of nearly every man in America. He spends all day perfecting and brewing beer. Lights, wheats, stouts, reds, and so on. Castrellon is Alcatraz Brewing Company’s Craft Brewer of all its original beers. He’s been with the company since mid-2002, but has been brewing beer since 1991. What’s the secret of this glamorous job that makes him the envy of every man?
“Cleaning,” he said, humbly. “About 85 percent of my time is spent cleaning the kegs and the equipment because even a small amount of bacteria can give the beer a bad taste.”
Born and raised in Panama, Castrellon came to the United States when he was 14 years old. After high school, he attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, where he earned a degree in philosophy.
How did Castrellon come to being a craft brewer? Was it a calling? In his blood?
“I answered an ad in the paper,” he said with a smile.
In 1991, while attending graduate school in North Carolina, Castrellon spotted a classified ad looking for a brewer; no experience necessary. So he took a chance and landed in a labor of love. From that chance event, he has brewed beer in North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, California, and now Indiana.
Brewing beer, Castrellon says, requires precision, patience, attention to detail and meticulous cleaning. Hardly a glamorous job, he admits.
“Knowing that there’s going to be a final product after all the work in brewing beer is what keeps me going,” Castrellon said. “And knowing that, two months after I started brewing a certain beer, people are going to sit at the restaurant, order the beer I created and enjoy it. That’s why I do it.”
When he’s not brewing beer for Alcatraz, Castrellon enjoys sports and walking his three dogs.
