Chris Van Vliet: Crafty Celebrity Stories

Television and radio personality Chris Van Vliet joins The Beer Connoisseur for the next installment of Crafty Celebrity Stories, which features the best tales of ale (and more) from leading actors, celebrities and persons of interest.

Chris is an Emmy-winning television host, actor and radio personality with a popular YouTube channel from Ontario, Canada. Chris worked as the backstage interviewer for AEW Dynamite Wrestling, and he interviewed actors Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann in a video that went viral.

Beer drinkers like to laugh. What’s the funniest drinking story you can share with us? 
I was on my way home from a road trip with my best friend Aaron and we made a wrong turn and ended up very lost, and it was quickly getting dark. This was back before GPS when you had to actually print out MapQuest directions. After driving around backroads for close to an hour, we finally spotted a building with some people standing outside of it so we stopped to see if they could point us in the right direction. Little did we know this was a wedding reception and we had inadvertently crashed their wedding! The bride and groom insisted that we have a drink with them before they sent us on our way. 

Who's the coolest person you've had a beer or drink with? 
I flew to Moscow, Russia to cover the world premiere of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. After we wrapped up the interviews, I went to the rooftop bar at our hotel to get a drink with one of my colleagues. As soon as we got off the elevator, two of the stars of the movie, John Duhamel and Patrick Dempsey recognized us from earlier in the day and invited us to join them at their table where we spent the rest of the night drinking Russian vodka!

What are a few of your favorite craft beers and why? 
I am such a sucker for Allagash White or Harpoon UFO White, so whenever I see those on tap, I have to have at least one pint. But I love nothing more than trying new beers all across the spectrum from light to dark and everything in between. I love getting pleasantly surprised by a beer that doesn’t look or sound very good on the menu that ends up being amazing when you taste it. 

Do you have a favorite (craft) brewery or breweries and why? 
I am a massive fan of the craft brewery scene in Cincinnati, which is where I lived before moving to California. There are so many incredible breweries and taprooms to choose from there, but my go-to spot was MadTree Brewing. They have a Kölsch-style beer called Lift that goes down so easy! 

Have you attended any beer events or festivals that you particularly enjoyed? What made them stand out?
There is an event in my hometown of Toronto called Toronto’s Festival of Beers. This is one of those things that no description could possibly do it any justice. You need to be there and experience it. Something like 40,000 people attend every year and it’s a combination of music, food, great people and most importantly, amazing beer! 

What types of beer do you like to have before/after hitting a red carpet or to celebrate an awesome interview you have done? 
It’s definitely always after the red carpet and not before. I’m not quite sure what an interview would look like if it was the other way around. Whenever I go to a brewery for the first time, I start with a flight of their most popular drafts and then narrow things down from there.

Being a successful investor of a fishing company too, what types of beer do you like to drink while out on the water?
Much like the red carpets events, I always wait until after I get off the water before cracking open a beer. I fish in a lot of bass tournaments so there is often a little wager with some of my fellow fishermen. The loser has to buy the first round. I have to say, when you win, those beers always feel just a little bit colder and taste just a little bit crisper. 

What upcoming projects do you have brewing? 
I see what you did there. I like it! I'm really excited for what's coming up on my podcast. It's called Insight with Chris Van Vliet and it's all about reverse engineering the habits and techniques of the world’s top athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs and more. If they are the best at what they do, I want to dive inside their minds and find out how we can apply those traits to our own lives. You can also check out my latest adventures on myYouTube channel! Recently I've been bungee jumping, skydiving and swimming with alligators!