Here’s the story Nathan Poulos ’00 tells of how he became master brewer for Camino Brewing in San José.
It’s 2006, he’s working for a law firm that contracts with Placer County to provide public defenders for the indigent. The firm loses the contract, he finds another post—with a month to spare. Where to go?
He recalls the pilgrim routes he learned in a course in medieval history at Santa Clara. He decides on the Camino de Santiago—a journey many make by foot or bike, a place where strangers meet on the road. He convinces friend Allen Korenstein to join him.
They savor the days, return home—but the road is not done with them. They return a few years later, revel in meeting strangers across Italy and Spain and France, talking over a beer—nothing in common until that moment. But work calls. For Poulos, so does home brewing.
Then one night … “Those memories, that feeling, that spirituality, that ethic we feel we want to live in our own personal lives,” Poulos enthuses to Korenstein over the phone. “We can create that for ourselves. We can do that through beer.” Togetherness—like on the Camino.
The copper kettle dream comes true in 2018: In a sleek taproom, savor a glass of Saint James Star—a rye IPA. Or a Cafe con Leche—a coffee milk stout. Beside you: strangers and companions on the journey of life.