New Year, New Baby, New Contributors!

Happy New Year's Eve! So I know we've been a little light on the content on the blog for the last couple weeks. I have a good excuse though--as of Dec. 16, I'm a dad! My wife had our first baby girl on 12/16 at 5:35 am. As you might expect, I haven't had much time to think about anything between changing diapers, trying to catch naps at all hours of the day and night, and helping keep the house from turning into a disaster zone in the meanwhile. Also, it's hard to write blog posts that don't sound like incoherent babble at after sleeping 2 or 3 hours a night for days on end.

In addition to our new little sleep-bandit-bundle-of-joy, Kyle recently moved away to Austin, TX on us, leaving me to cover all the news and events that he had previously worked on. Between these two things I realized that we definitely needed reinforcements at KCBB. So we're excited to announce that we've enlisted three new contributors to add some fresh voices to the blog! I will still be writing, just not quite as much as I have been lately. So give a warm welcome to our three new contributors, Ryan Caldwell, Chris Stenger, and Lara Hale!

Have a great and safe New Year's Eve from all of us at KCBB!


Ryan Caldwell


Ryan was born and raised in St. Louis and moved to KC in July of this year. He previously helped write about upcoming craft beer events for the STL Hops blog. Ryan enjoys sharing beers with friends and trying all different styles of beers. Some of his favorite styles include saisons, lambics and stouts. Since moving to Kansas City, Ryan has spent his free time exploring the restaurants and bars in the area. Bier Station, Green Room and McCoy’s have quickly become favorites of his to enjoy a beer at. Ryan is excited for his new start in Kansas City and is looking forward to contributing to the continued growth of the craft beer community here.

Lara Hale


Writing is nothing new for Lara Hale, whose day job is chief editor of KC Magazine/thisiskc.com, but her obsession with craft beer began relatively recently when she tasted her first sour ale - Celina Tio's first blend with New Belgium, Julian NBB Love - three years ago. That experience set her off on a mission to expand her palate and discover new brews through beer vacations all over the country. Here in Kansas City, her favorite places to knock one back are The Belfry, Bier Station and Screenland Armour.

Chis Stenger


Chris is a Certified Cicerone and a BJCP Certified Judge who has written about beer for the last six years. Many of you may already know Chris from his extensive involvement in the homebrew circuit in KC. He is a long time homebrewer and a member of both the Kansas City Biermeisters and Lawrence Brewers Guild. In his time at the clubs, he has served as president of KCBM and is currently the Co-Bier Meister at LBG. He has also served as lead organizer or helped organize the KCBM competition for the last 8 years, and the HopFest homebrew competition for the last 3 years. In addition to brewing, judging, and sampling craft beer, Chris likes to cook, travel, play disc golf, and hang out with his wife, daughter, and dog.

Other Popular Posts on KC Beer Blog