If the American Dream is dead, don’t tell Augustine Iacopelli.

Iacopelli, director of the WSU West campus, is an old hat when it comes to beer.

Now he’s in the process of opening his own brewery.

“Brewing has been a hobby of mine for nearly 20 years now and I’ve provided assistance to other local craft breweries and the home brewing community over the past two decades in the Wichita area,” Iacopelli said.

Between his administrative position at Wichita State, the online course he teaches, and opening a small business, Iacopelli sounds like he should have his hands full.

But the sign outside of Augustino Brewing Company keeps a fresh stream of light-hearted banter. The Twitter and Facebook accounts of his business are riddled with pictures of dining room pieces being installed and kitchen equipment beginning to fill up the space of the brewery.

Iacopelli says his time at WSU has been invaluable.

“The lessons and skills I learned while earning my Master of Business degree at Wichita State have been critical to my success and have also allowed me to build a team at Augustino Brewing Company who can keep the coffee hot and the beer cold,” Iacopelli said.

“A mistake many students and many adults make is failing to set goals and wasting time on too much television, internet, video games and the other time-sucking activities that distract us.”

Starting a brewery wasn’t an idea that came from nowhere. Twenty years of brewing beer has given him the knowledge and the grit to strike out and take the risk of opening a small business.

“Over the years, I have won several homebrewing awards and have served as president for two non-successive terms of the local homebrewing club. One of our partners, Geoff Finn, has produced multiple successful specialty beers for Walnut River Brewing Company,” Iacopelli said.

“It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of many previous successful entrepreneurs and innovators who have graduated Wichita State University.”

Iacopelli plans to fully open Augustino Brewing Company by Nov. 15.