Conrad Andrus
Culmination Brewing | Portland, OR
APRIL 2018
Salt Lake City native Conrad Andrus was introduced to craft beer by his sister when he moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2011. He wasn’t quite 21, but he was in Beertopia and quickly became enamored of craft lagers. When he finally hit legal drinking age, the city’s breweries became his playground.
Andrus joined Breakside Brewing as an intern in 2012, and went on to be one of the founders of Beer Store Milwaukie, a taproom and bottle shop. He also ran the packaging lines and contributed to recipe development at Craft Canning and Bottling. Next, Andrus joined Certified Master Brewer Tomas Sluiter, helping him with the buildout of Culmination Brewing.
In 2015, Andrus signed on as production manager at Culmination and was promoted to head brewer one year in. He now oversees the barrel-aging program and has influences almost all of the nearly 250 beers Culmination has released. Andrus loves German lagers, sour beers, and “food beer,” and he collaborates with chefs around town. Known for his eclecticism, his Kriek Mythology Flanders red ale (aged in Pinot Noir barrels and racked on cherries) is already in its second vintage. With cans joining the Culmination’s line-up and production ramping up to 3,000 barrels for 2018, Andrus has so much more beer left to brew.
