While some people are off becoming lawyers, doctors and other professions, three brothers from Illinois have chosen a different route and instead have been perfecting the greatest and quickest way to consume beer (and other types of beverages)!
“The Bier Bros.” also known as Ryan, Brandon and Justin Siriann are the joint creators/founders of The Bierstick (www.bierstick.com), a syringe-like revolutionary drinking device that has changed the way people can drink their favorite beverage. With no mess, no foam, and easy clean up, the brothers have turned this party gaga idea into a worldwide sensation, with parties all over wanting to give it a go.
With summer now here, The Levity Ball just had to sit down with the three “Bros” to find out more about the drinking industries latest trend and how it came to be…
1. You are all known as “The Bier Bros.”, how’d you all get that nickname?
“The Biersitck Brothers are here!” was yelled from the back of a party while we were walking into a college apartment. That is the day that the “Bier Bros” were born and we knew we would change the Bierstick from a gag gift joke for college kids, to a full-blown product.
2. How did you even think to come up with such a creation as the Bierstick?
In our college days we partied with the best of them. One day we had a party in the local college pool and there was a small pool toy that would suck up water and shoot it out. Us, being the ingenious college men that we were, decided to suck up a beer out of a red solo cup and shoot it across the pool deck into our mouths. That’s when we decided to just put our mouth up to the end and drink it down. It worked fairly well but needed some big changes. When sucking up the beer, it created a bunch of foam inside of the tube. That is why the Bierstick has the removable mouthpiece to pour the beer in. It also came out of the small hole very foamy when trying to drink from the nozzle. These are all key elements we knew that had to be changed to make this the best drinking device on the planet. Back then, it was just a joke to drink beer with our buds a little faster and in a different way than the old timers with a tube and funnel. Once we brought the device around to parties, people wanted to know where they could buy one. That’s when we knew we had something that could possibly change the drinking world.
3. What did your family first think about you all concentrating on this type of business/product?
Being a very family orientated set of brothers we knew that whatever we got ourselves into, our family would back us up. This is pretty much how it went… “Hey Mom and Dad, we want to create a product that allows someone to put a whole can or bottle of their favorite beverage into a syringe and finish it in under two seconds. Could you please help us?” Now when your family responds with, “Why not make it 2 cans?” you know you are talking to the right people. We couldn’t have asked for any more support by our family and we do not take it for granted any second along the way.
4. How long from coming up with the idea to getting it into the marketplace did it take?
Being that I (the middle brother, Brandon) was in a plastic engineering class at Illinois State University at the time of this entire adventure happening, I happened to go on a field trip to a plastic injection mold facility. Before leaving I asked if they could possibly help me out with something I was working on with my two brothers. Lone behold, parts of the Bierstick are still made at that facility to this day. Soon after that we put all of the money us three brothers had into the product we believed would revolutionize the way we drink.
5. What types of trial and errors did your brothers and you go through while perfecting the Bierstick?
Being who we are we always strive for perfection. We can be the first to admit that we are not perfect. But it is ok, because a successful company is always growing and adapting and cannot focus on the theoretical value of perfection. We have tried many trial and errors to get to where we are today. There is one quote that we learned growing up and we believe all businesses should live by and that is, “Its okay to try and fail and try and fail again, but it is not okay to try and fail and then fail to try again”.
6. What has the consumer feedback been so far upon launching the product?
After the launch of the Bierstick we have heard all kinds of crazy stories from our customers. Everything from “life of the party” to “the only American drinking Machinery that is needed”. Once people get past the intimidation of this beast and have their first go at the Bierstick it is non-stop. It only takes one person to crank this bad boy out a the party and shoot down an ice cold one for the fun to start. Like clockwork all the phones make it out and open to social media to share this beer drinking masterpiece. It’s quicker, cleaner, and smoother than anything in its class.
7. Why is your product better than beer bongs and other party/drinking products out there?
Like I said before, it is quicker, cleaner, and smoother then a beer bong or anything else like it. If you’re a “Bro” in a frat or out at a tailgate with your buddies, the Bierstick allows us guys to have a competition (which all of us love) to see who can do it the fastest!
If you are a girl and you want to down your strawberry daiquiri but you can’t quite go as fast as gravity wants to feed it down your throat, grab a Bierstick. It will allow you to go as fast or as slow as you would like to push, unlike the gravity-fed beer bong. When you finish your daiquiri you can just put the Bierstick down and walk away; you don’t have to have it pour all over your brand new white dress you just bought yesterday.
8. Is Bierstick just for beer, or can other liquids be put in?
The Bierstick is NOT for only beer. You can put whatever you would like into our device. We advertise “your favorite beverage” so when you need to get hydrated super quick, fill it with water. Need some electrolytes? Fill it with Gatorade. Anything your little heart desires can and probably already has been put in it.
9. Besides the Bierstick, are the “Bier Bros.” working on anything else product-wise?
At this time we are only working to make the Bierstick better. I guess you could say a Bierstick 2.0. Other then that, our motto has always been to keep to the three S’s: Simple, Stupid, and Sexy.
Three S’s:
Simple: One color, one product, one button to checkout on the website.
Stupid: Make it easy enough so that anyone can buy it, use it, and share it.
Sexy: Make it look as good as good as the beautiful people using it.
10. What is your advice to other young entrepreneurs and inventors out there who want to create their own unique products?
Look at what we have made into a profitable company. Now look at what all your friends are doing for work. Most likely they have a 9-5 job that pays decently well and is very dependable. These people have a set salary and know exactly what they are going to make for the next year. They can plan out their life so that they know exactly how many days they can take off and how much money they will have after they take that trip to Mexico. These types of people are not and will never be the type of person you must become to succeed in starting your own business. You will need to work hard, bust your butt, and survive on little to no money while working your way to your first sale. Read that again. Yes, FIRST SALE. Not even close to making your first dollar. That is much farther down the road. There is a special breed of people that will truly outlast the put downs and criticism by people close to you. All of them saying you can’t do it, why are you wasting your time and money on this product? The Bier Bros were just lucky enough to have family that believed in what we were trying to do. Some friends and people around us asked, “Do you really think you’re going to make a living off of that? You all have great college degrees, why are you wasting your time?” We simply put that behind us and saved it for when we make it big. You can’t make everyone happy, so as long as you are, you’re moving in the right direction.
11. And final question: What do you personally want people to remember after trying out the Bierstick?
It is not the times you remember that makes you have a good night, it’s the times you don’t remember that you will never forget!
Order a Bierstick for yourself at: https://bierstick.com
