Don’t taunt the brewer until you’ve crossed the creek: Q&A with Kyle Lenane of Pateros Creek
When walking in for an interview with a brewer, one might expect to see the stereotypical bearded, bald-headed, husky man in a trucker hat and brewery-emblazoned tee. Instead, there sat Kyle Lenane: a clean-shaven, recent college grad sipping casually on a beer in his favorite bar— though his Odell tee might have been a giveaway.
Lenane graduated from Colorado State University in the spring of 2014 in the first graduating class of the university’s new fermentation science program. Lenane is now one of only two brewers at Pateros Creek Brewing Company.
The young brewer spilled the beans (or rather the hops) on his transition from the classroom to the taproom and shared some industry insight for fellow brew enthusiasts.
Q: What originally got you interested in the brewing industry?
A: I was homebrewing long before I got involved with the fermentation science program at CSU. I began brewing when I was 19. It kind of started out as a rebellious thing. Like, I couldn’t drink beer legally, but I could still make it. My grandma bought me some of my first equipment, and I would go to homebrew supply stores that sold kits with step-by-step instructions. Somewhere along the way, I really grew to appreciate the brewing process. I declared my fermentation science major the first semester of my senior year, and it’s all just come together from there.
Q. How did you get started working with Pateros Creek?
A. I came on with Pateros Creek in the fall of 2013. One of my buddy’s dads worked with Tivoli, a company that distributes kegs of Pateros Creek beer to Denver and surrounding areas. The job required a lot of heavy lifting, so when my friend’s dad asked if anyone would be interested in helping out, my friend suggested me. From there I started shadowing Nick, the head brewer at PCBC. I brewed with him probably five- to- seven times before I ever brewed on my own.
Q. What’s your favorite part about the brewing process?
A. Tasting the finished product at the end. You know, seeing if your hard work paid off and having the satisfaction of knowing you created a quality product. There’s a lot of physical labor and a lot of cleaning that goes into brewing. Everyone has this romantic idea of brewing up the ingredients in a kettle, and it is some of that, but it’s mostly a sanitary process. You continuously have to make sure everything is ready for the next step in the brewing process.
Q. How are new flavors of beer created? Can anyone in the company suggest new beer ideas?
A. People suggest ideas all the time. But working in a smaller brewery, there’s a finite amount of space for new recipes. We have our flagship beers and our seasonals, but all of the old recipes are Steve’s, the founder and former brewmaster. Nick and I get to make smaller batches of some of our own recipes, but most of the time our inspiration comes from other people. It’s all about knowing what ingredients would work well together and then making it happen.
Q. Where do the beers get their names?
A. Most of our beers’ names are inspired by local places, like our Old Town Ale or Grey Rock gluten-free beer. Even our name, Pateros Creek, was the original name of the Cache la Poudre river. Anyone from the company, or even the regulars, can submit names for future beers.
Q. What is your favorite beer you’ve ever created or that has been made at the brewery?
A. I’ve brewed a lot of homebrews or smaller batches of my own recipes, but I haven’t brewed any of my own for large-scale distribution at PCBC. My favorite beer that we brew is our fall seasonal, Owl Canyon. It’s a pumpkin beer that’s brewed with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. We also use whole pumpkins, which is why our seasonal tends to come out later than most of the other breweries.
Q. Are there any opportunities and/or challenges your company has faced considering the popularity of the brewing industry in Fort Collins?
A. It’s not cutthroat like some people think. It may be that way on the business side, but the brewers have a camaraderie. It’s refreshing to work in an industry like that. The problem is that there’s a finite amount of craft beer drinkers, and there’s two groups of people who have an opinion on the matter. One group that says there’s a bubble; that there’s only so many consumers that the industry can support. The other side say there’s 8,000 wineries and they manage to coexist, so why shouldn’t the craft brewing industry function in the same manner? I tend to fall in line with the first group, but I think Fort Collins is at a good number right now. Each brewery has their own niche. I think a lot of people like us because we’re mellow and they can get that “small brew” feel. They can come in and chat with the people in the taproom one-on-one, whereas in some of the bigger breweries that sort of relationship isn’t really possible.
Q. Do you have any advice for aspiring brewers, especially those coming out of CSU’s new fermentation science program?
You’re gonna have to pay your dues. This is an industry where you have to work your way up from the bottom, but don’t be afraid of a little hard work. Most brewers traditionally make their way up from packaging. Just because you have a degree doesn’t give you an immediate in, although it definitely gives you an advantage. The industry is very involved with CSU’s fermentation science program; professionals from New Belgium and Coors teach courses to provide students with real industry experience. Just take every opportunity you can to learn, and it will pay off in the end.
Fun Facts About Kyle Lenane:
He is from Golden, Colorado.
He loves to snowboard, especially at Cameron Pass.
His favorite bar in Fort Collins is Road 34.
Before becoming a brewer, he wanted to be a physician’s assistant.
