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Meet Our Trivia Hosts

Rachel Wood • Sep 08, 2023

Get to Know Our Trivia Hosts!

You might already know, Cairn hosts trivia each Tuesday in our taproom. One of the liveliest nights of the week, our hosts keep the evening running smoothly and come up with a new set of questions to test our community's knowledge each week. Here's a introduction to the voices behind the mic!



Jay

What’s your favorite Cairn Beer?

Connie’s ESB. Part of it is because the beer’s namesake is a wonderful person and y’all should drink more of it. But also I like the flavor profile of the beer and the ABV is just low enough that I can avoid embarrassing myself on the microphone.

 


Why Beer?

Why not? To quote Plato: “He was a wise man who invented beer.” Good on ya, Bill Boyd.

 


Outside of hosting Trivia, what do you do out in the "real world"?

I personally hate when I am asked this question, and often default to saying that I am the trivia master at Cairn Brewing. But in the real world, I have a tech job where I boss engineers around because they know how to make software and I know how to run a business.

 


What do you do in your freetime?

If you have played trivia when I am hoisting a wild-haired toddler, that is my daughter Charlie; most of the fun things I do revolve around her. I’m a member of the Avants car club, read an absurd amount of fiction, and build model kits during tedious conference calls which don’t require me to be on camera. Every November, I participate in the Extra Life fundraising drive, a charity event around games which directly benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital.


Dinosaurs or Dragons?

As much as the answer should be “dinosaurs” (mainly because I have owned a series of gas-guzzling sports cars which wouldn’t exist without them), the answer is unequivocally “dragons…” specifically Western-style dragons (think LOTR versus Studio Ghibli). Western dragons are large and imposing and moody... I watched a terrible cartoon about St. George over 30 years ago and the only lesson I learned from it is that dragons are awesome. Also, dinosaurs couldn’t technically exist on today’s planet because the atmosphere is less oxygen-rich than it was millions of years ago, and they would asphyxiate rather quickly. Sorry, dinos, into the gas tank you go. 





Lee

What’s your favorite Cairn Beer?

Favorite Cairn beer:

Summer: Bill's Pils

Winter: Wee Heavy


Where is your favorite place (besides the Cairn Taproom) to drink beer?

Favorite other places to drink beer:

7 Seas in Gig Harbor

Fremont Brewing

At a Kraken game


What’s your favorite season for beer and why?

My favorite beer season in Winter, love the seasonal Christmas ales.


Name a song that no matter what, when you hear it you sing along.

I have to sing the Beatles "Drive My Car" if I hear it.


Dinosaurs or Dragons?

I'd have to go with Dragons, but it's close.





Katriina

What’s your favorite Cairn Beer?

I would have to say Bill’s Pils. Though that Grapefruit Kolsch Bill made a while ago was SO GOOD!

What’s your favorite season for beer and why?

Definitely summer. There is nothing like a nice cold beer on a hot day.

What do you do in your free time?

HAH, what’s that? Usually I’m chasing around my two little rascals, but I do love to read and do puzzles when I get the chance!

Do you have a pet at home?

We have two cats named Princess Peach and Ducati, a dog named Jack, and a leopard gecko named Dubs.

Dinosaurs or Dragons?

I’m going to have to go with dinosaurs. I love me a brachiosaurus, they are like prehistoric giraffes!





Brenden

What is your favorite Cairn beer?

Pucker Up is always my go-to (especially if it's infused) followed by Here comes the sun.


Where is your favorite place (Besides the Cairn Taproom) to drink beer?

Somewhere in the mountains camping with good friends! If I can sit by some water while camping and delete a couple beers, I am completely content.


Name a song that no matter what, when you hear it you sing along

Just about any emo/punk rock songs from the 90s and 00s.The entire cocktail hour playlist at my wedding was acoustic covers of emo/punk rock songs. See, it isn't a phase mom! 


What do you do in your free time?

If we aren't camping or hanging out with friends I am usually looking at cars or shoes. I grew up with my entire family in the automotive industry so cars have always been a huge hobby. I am also a nerd so video games, computers, and model kits are my jam, too.


Do you have a pet at home?

We have 3! Chocolate lab named Kona, black cat named Salem and our newest addition, a black lab puppy named Cash. Labs are the best dogs in the world and I will die on that hill!





Molly

What’s your favorite Cairn Beer?

Finnegans Red is my favorite but since it is seasonal I'll go with Black Dog! 


Outside of hosting Trivia, what do you do out in the "real world"?

I run multiple businesses geared towards making "mom-life" easier. I'm a business coach/consultant for entrepreneurs as well as social media manager and life coach to help mom's build and maintain routines.


What do you do in your freetime?

I have two kids under 5, there is no free time. Kidding!! I love watching movies, wine tasting and learning new business technologies.. nerdy I know!


Do you have a Secret Superpower?

I am actually a secret and unassuming Karaoke superstar.


Do you have a pet at home?

I have two dogs Watson (Corgi) and Sherlock (tiny white dog)


What would be your dream (as elaborate as you want) Halloween costume?

Madame Leotta from the Haunted Mansion in Disney!

OktoberFOREST 2023: Healthy Forests mean Great Beer

By Rachel Wood • 27 Sep, 2023
Friends of North Creek Forest and Cairn Celebrate OktoberForest

The Cairn Crew!

By Rachel Wood • 07 Apr, 2023
Get to know our Awesome Team! These are the folks behind the bar or behind the scenes, pouring pints, brewing beer, and keeping Cairn up and running! 

Taster Policy at Cairn Brewing

By Rachel Wood • 13 Jul, 2022
Donations for Samples at Cairn Brewing

OktoberFOREST 2022: Healthy Forests mean Great Beer

By Rachel Wood • 01 Oct, 2021
Friends of North Creek Forest and Cairn Celebrate OktoberForest

KHS's Fun Photo Contest!

By Rachel Wood • 14 Sep, 2021
Cairn Brewing is proud to sponsor the 7th Annual Kenmore Heritage Society's Fun Photo Contest ! The contest runs from September 12-20th, photographers of all ages can enter their shots of our beautiful Northshore home. From the KMH website: You will have 9 days to create photographic entries based on the subject categories. The contest is all about creative interpretation for each category. Prizes will be awarded for the most original, appealing, and creative entry in each of 7 mystery categories. The categories will be revealed at the VIRTUAL kick-off on Sunday, Sept 12th and will also be available on the Kenmore Heritage Society website and Facebook page. Winners will be announced at an awards event at on Sunday, October 17th at 2:00pm. Location to be determined. Prizes are awarded in each category, with a special Kenmore Camera “Best of Show” award which is chosen from all of the first-place winners from each category.

Goodbye Plastic Cups!

By Rachel Wood • 11 May, 2021
We are pleased to announce that we will be reintroducing a few “before times” elements back to the Taproom at Cairn Brewing: Glassware is back! We are still trying to get a feel for the flow of busing stations in the brewery. Please help us out by clearing your own table to the appropriate receptacle (trash, recycle, bus tub) We will resume filling outside growlers. This includes stainless steel growlers as well. We will only fill cleaned and rinsed growlers as normal. You may now open a tab at the bar! We will require a credit card on file to hold the tab , so cardless payments will continue to be pay-as-you-go. Our Beer To-Go fridge is now self service. Grab the cans you would like and bring them up to the register where a beertender will snap them into a can holder for you. This is a step to normal, but still not “all the way” normal. These things will not change : Face masks are still required to be worn when not seated at your table. We are still following WA State guidelines for reopening. Party size at a table can’t be more than 10. For our taproom, we ask that only groups of 6+ move no more than two tables together. Please ask a beertender for help. We will still not be taking cash at this time. Beverages and food need to be consumed at your table. No drinking at the bar, or wandering around the taproom and beer garden while drinking. Things are looking up! A journalist I admire recently wrote in an op-ed that it feels like this point in our “Pandemic Life” is the five minutes before the dismissal bell. We all just need to hold it together for five more metaphorical minutes, and then we'll all enjoy summer break together. Now that’s a reason to Cheers!

Springing in the New

By Rachel Wood • 12 Apr, 2021
Change is in the Air! It’s here. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are climbing, and nature is starting to bloom again. It felt like an endless winter, but folks: we made it! Happy Spring! On the horizon at Cairn Brewing is a return, maybe not to “normal” but at least to a few familiar things. We want to share with you all some of the steps we will be taking in the near future as we continue to open up. First and foremost, the health and safety of our team and customers is our top priority. We will continue to uphold the current regulations and guidelines outlined by Healthy Washington’s reopening plan. We’re all feeling the Covid-fatigue more than ever, but we hope you’ll continue to enjoy your pints at Cairn responsibly and safely. A nd please, just remember your mask. As a team, we have agreed upon a few things that we are going to phase back in around the taproom. Before any of these changes take place, we want our full team to be vaccinated if they choose to do so. When our team is comfortable , here are a few things that will be returning to the Cairn taproom: Glassware - Goodbye plastic! We will be returning to glass pints and mugs! We are also planning to set up self bussing stations for glassware in the taproom and beer garden. Growler fills - Dust off your stainless growlers! We will soon be accepting outside growlers for refill. Thank you for being flexible with our current exchange system. Tabs - You can still choose to be contactless, but we will resume holding open tabs at the bar. Just don’t forget to close out! We are excited to take these steps back towards normal. Thank you always for your continued support and patience. We are a small team and many of the changes we have made over the past year were for our safety as much as yours. Unfortunately, if we’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s that the steps toward reopening make an irregular staircase. Sometimes it’s a bit further between strides forward.

Community at Cairn Brewing

By Rachel Wood • 04 Mar, 2021
One of the most important things for our brewery--maybe surpassed only by making great beer--is to support our community. We continue to be incredibly lucky with our extended Cairn family. Even through the utter stress-storm of 2020, you continued to show up for our beer, and to share a bit of your lives with us. In the first few years of Cairn Brewing, we were quick to say “Yes!” hosting community pints nights for a wide range of causes. Through these Pint Nights, we got to know our neighborhood better, but felt like we could do more. In addition to Pint Nights, we decided to expand our outreach for three main causes. We chose to actively support local nonprofits with a priority to human and animal quality of life as well as outdoor recreation and the environment.

For the Love of Beer

By Rachel Wood • 11 Feb, 2021
Looking over our blog posts from this past year, I was surprised to see how very few mention beer. Shocking, considering this is a brewery blog! Let’s kick-off our second year of Cairn blogs with a post dedicated to some of our newer beers on tap (and in cans) this month.

We're Giving 2020 The Big Bird

By Rachel Wood • 30 Nov, 2020
With the heaviness that 2020 has brought to many of our lives this year, we can all use something fun. As a big thanks to our wonderful community for their endless support to Cairn Brewing, we're bringing out a fun-loving beer. The whole Cairn Team invites you to join us while we give 2020 The Big Bird! Join us on Tuesday, December 1st for the release on draft and in cans to-go.
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