You've probably seen them in the brewhouse on weekday evenings… They are the mighty duo crushing through those evening shifts… They are... Kyle Kahn and Chris Birker!! (*insert dramatic piano music*)
These guys are normally so busy that our guests don’t often get the chance to talk to them, but don’t worry, we're pulling back the veil of mystery to meet two of our mighty brew staff today!
What game have you spent the most time playing?
CHRIS- Overwatch. It reminds me of Team Fortress. I like all the storylines. All the special events and plots are cool. I’ve put too much money into those loot boxes. I have two stars, so I am on the 3rd star now.
KYLE- World of Warcraft. In approximately 11.5 years, I've clocked about 420+ days. I've dedicated almost a year of my life to that game. Did you know Brandon Buckner is in WOW? He's Brandon Buckbeard. He's in a beer bar in Dalaran and talks about how much he wants coffee in his beer.
You have a front-row seat to everything in the brewhouse -- what is your favorite BLB beer?
KYLE- I love Hanamachi -- we're working on a fresh batch currently!
CHRIS- Probably Haze Shift. It reminds me of The Alchemist's Heady Topper, which doesn't really seem to be on people's radars anymore.
We are all nerds here, so what is your favorite television show?
CHRIS- The Venture Brothers, it's an Adult Swim old-school one. That’s probably my favorite. My wife and I bonded over that show- we would watch it all the time in college. It has a lot of TV, movie, and comic references. You have to watch episodes again and again to get all the references.
KYLE- Eh, I would say South Park. Again, it's one of those shows with subtle nuances. You’ll watch it and think “Huh, that's a very clever personification of that concept.”
What is your biggest contribution to BLB?
KYLE- That’s a tough question... like one of Steve’s interview questions... It'd have to be wrangling the Maheen.
CHRIS- That's definitely one of the best ones for Kyle -- he's the main reason our bottling runs have improved so dramatically. For me, I would say... knowledge from my previous work experiences. Siebel helped a lot. I did the 6 week program.
The aliens have descended and you can only keep one beer with you to survive on before they discover your hiding spot and steal your brain. What is it?
KYLE- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale pale ale. Simple. Awesome quality. It’s basically what got me into brewing.
CHRIS- So many options. I want something drinkable, but if it can be anything…. I’ll do Russian River’s Blind Pig IPA.
What's in your fridge right now?
CHRIS- Might & Magic, mostly Bottle Logic stuff, I think. I have a Christmas Bomb in there from Prairie. I will have some Other Half in there soon (insert maniacal Austin Powers finger jitters).
KYLE- Right now my fridge is split. I have either heavy doubles and triples or PBR. I opened a few PBRs last night. You know those times where you just wanna drink something light?
How has beer industry influenced your life?
CHRIS- I decided I wanted a career in beer when I had an internship in DC (I was a PolySci major). I went to the biggest beer bar out there- Church Key. They poured Cantillon’s Rosé de Gambrinus, their raspberry sour. Just to experiencing the beer culture there made it so memorable. I was more excited about the beer than my internship.
And here is what the fans have to say…
“I would know more if Chris spoke in public, but he is a great person. And Kyle has as much energy as I do.” -Greg Suchland, Lead Brewer (the one in the supremely practical Red Coveralls)
“Chris gets things done. He’s reliable, he's Chris! He's awesome.” - Kyle Kahn, Maheen Wrangler
“Kyle and I communicate well and work well together. Kyle is the only one for me.” - Chris Birker, Assistant Brewer + proud papa to Pupper Kevin