Grit & Grain Podcast

Stop #2 of the Grit & Grain roadshow is in the books!  Our best buddy and director of events for the Washington Brewers Guild, Shawna Cormier, invited us to record live from the showroom floor at one of the best craft beer conferences in the country., Washington Craft Beer Summit.

Tune in while we catch up with Shawna for the first half of the episode — talking about what it takes to run a professional beer conference and her surprise hidden talent.  We were also lucky enough to get some beer ingredient insights from our friends Colin Harvin of Omega Yeast and Jon Mendrick of Country Malt Group.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your secret beer title. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 121: Live at Washington Craft Beer Summit appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

We’re on location for Episode 120 — hanging out at Brewallup Craft Beer Festival in Puyallup! The crew trekked over to the birthplace of the Pacific Northwest hop industry to sit down with a few fantastic speed round guests and try some wonderful beers being poured at one of the best beer fests in Washington.

Crack a local beer for this one and tune in to hear about the hop history of Puyallup, Ron’s new house beer made by Vancouver’s award-winning Loowit Brewing, and we catch up with our buddy AJ Wiltrout from Caskcades who announces some big changes for their beer business.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your suggestion for a new GABF theme area. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 120: Do the Brewallup! appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

That’s right!  One hundred forty!  But it wasn’t us; it was the two most diligent fresh hop hounds in Tacoma: Michael McCourt and Austin Patjens.  Our good buddies hung out with us on Episode 119 to relive their 2024 fresh hop journey including heavy hitters, surprise home runs, and a few that got away.  We discuss this year’s fresh hop beer award winners. We also debate McCourt and Patjens’ top 10 fresh hop beers for 2024.

Crack any leftover fresh hops you have, join us for this awesome recap, and be sure to take notes so you know the breweries to keep an eye out for next year.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your favorite fresh hop beers. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 119: We Tried 140 Fresh Hop Beers! appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

The Great American Beer Festival just wrapped up and after nearly a year of speculation on the changes being rumored at the biggest craft beer awards show and festival, we were eager to grab a local friend and long-time beer industry professional, Urban Family Brewing Sales Manager David Maravilla, to hop on the mic this week. First — to introduce himself to you all, and second — to catch us up on the vibes at this year’s GABF.

Crack a beer, preferably a delicious Urban Family sour, and tune in for stories about life as a young beer rep, convenience store sabotage, and using balloons to attract fellow youths to craft beer festivals.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your suggestion for a new GABF theme area. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 118: The Beer Rep’s Journey to GABF with David Maravilla appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

That’s right!  Our good friend and social media savant Rachyl Fojtik is back on the mic again! Sometimes better known by her popular online alias, @beersandbedtime, Rachyl has been newly appointed as the social media manager for the viral new Thorntail Hard Agave beverage. She dives into her strategies for marketing, promoting, and education customers on a brand-new category of beer-adjacent goodness.  She also gives us some updates on new mechanics you should be using on each social media platform to optimize your beer content.

Crack a beer, or a hard agave, and tune in for your social media education.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and how you meet like-minded people. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 117: Hard Agave, Beers, and Bedtime with Rachyl Fojtik appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

That’s right!  We’re back with another beefy episode filled with beer industry pet peeves!  Ron explains why he has beef with his entire beer cooler, unmarked samples, sticky cans, and plastic kegs — Bethany slams cans without dates — and Matt and Ron damn near throw hands over the necessity of tap handles.

Crack a beer, hang out, and let us know what your beer beef is!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and favorite tap handle ever. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 116: Beer Beef, Part 2 appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Time for school!  This week we invited our good friend and long-time beer industry professional Lyra Penoyer to sit down for a few beers and a few great stories.  Lyra is one of those seasoned behind-the-scenes industry folks that has influenced much more than most would know.  From starting her journey at a small local craft brewery, to helping to open the now world famous Flatstick Pub, to becoming one of the first women in Washington to pass the Certified Cicerone exam, to owning her own small but impactful beer and wine business, and now to becoming the first person in Washington to qualify as a WSET Beer instructor, and believe it or not, much, much more.

Lyra has done quite a lot and has met some pretty awesome people along the way and we get to hear all about it.  If you’re the type that likes to know how the sausage is made in the beer world and really get to know the folks that make it, this one’s for you.  Crack a beer, sharpen your pencils, and tune in!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and another beer exam that Lyra can tackle. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 115: Lyra Teaches Beer appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Ron has returned!  And he’s brought fresh hops and f*ck ups from his time in Yakima, where he and Phaedra picked hops, toured farms, and drank all the wine. The two barely overlapped with Bethany, who was invited to speak at the Master Brewers Association about the importance of clean lines and the safety of N/A beer served on draft.

Crack a fresh hop and tune in to hear about everyone’s adventures in hop country and a little bit about the illustrious fresh hop collaboration project Ron was invited to be a part of this year!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your favorite fresh hop beer this season. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 114: Adventures in Hop Country! appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

That’s right!  Our best bud R.J. is back on the mic this week! Ron and Phaedra were busy picking some fresh hops in over in Yakima, but R.J. hung out and caught us up on his wonderful and spontaneous trip to the motherland of crispy boys — the Czech Republic!

Tune in to hear about his amazing, guided tour at Pilsner Urquell (including the cave-dwelling beer sage that serves guests unfiltered pours from the barrel), the impact Urquell has on the local beer scene around Prague, and which American beer trends are finding their way to places like Poland.

Crack a pilsner if you’ve one and hang out with us!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and the last time you Czech yourself. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 113: The Birthplace of Pilsner with R.J. Adler appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Happy Friday, Grit and Grainers!

We’re back with a banger this week. There’s been tons of talk around town about the new creole-concept bar and restaurant, Chez Lafayette, in downtown Tacoma. We figured it was a great time to bring in owner and operator, Mikey De Alwis, to discuss his project, his time in the industry, and his nerdy love of all things liquid — including beer!

Mikey walks us through how he connects with customers, creates a captivating restaurant space, and why he chooses high quality options across the board — from his food menu to his tap list. If you just want some background on some of the newest hotness in Tacoma’s food and drink scene or just want to hear him gush out loud about Matt, we have you covered.  Crack a beer, check the vibes, and tune in!

Tap, tap, tap

Alright, Grit & Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and your reviews of Chez Lafayette. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!

The post Episode 112: Vibe Checks with Mikey De Alwis of Chez Lafayette appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.