Grit & Grain Podcast

“I REMEMBER MY FIRST BEER!” shouts Ron to Matt over an open can of Foster’s Premium Lager.

This week on the Grit & Grain Podcast — it’s gateway beers! And who better to join us than the person responsible for introducing most of Tacoma to their gateway beers for the last 20 years — Donna Herren, beer, wine, and cheese manager at Tacoma Boys Markets.

Hang out while we relive trying our first craft beers from Widmer Hefe to Heady Topper, fawning over the beers that transported us from where we were to where we are today, and of course, enthusiastically shouting stories at each other over a graveyard of empty Carlsberg bottles.

Tune in to Episode 81 and let us know the gateway beers we missed.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and if you are making it a Lowenbrau tonight. 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 81: Gateway Beers with Donna Herren appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

It’s not uncommon to hear the Grit & Grain team gush about beer folks that stretch and skew the boundaries of tradition.  The future of craft beer lies in new ideas by brewers who aspire to fold the flavors of their culinary culture into this industry. You will find few better examples of this effort than Lucky Envelope Brewing.

We were thrilled to hang with Ray Kwan and Barry Chan from the famed Ballard brewery this week. We got into their newest beer projects, upcoming Lunar New Year’s events, their start in the industry, and their motivation to keep Asian-inspired ingredients at the forefront of their ventures while still maintaining a dialed scope on classic brewing technique and execution (See their award-winning German Helles). You could learn a lot about these guys by drinking the honest and beautifully expressive beers at Lucky Envelope, but if you’d like to get a little more of their story, don’t miss this week’s episode.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and Year of the Wooden Dragon celebration plans. 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 80: Lucky Envelope Brewing appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

This week we changed gears a bit and logged an episode 10,000 years in the making!

The team sat down, sans guests, to get extra nerdy on fermentation. Bethany, being an avid fan of all things funky (except draft lines, of course) has spent years studying fermentation in both beer and food. Matt and she went deep on the topic including different kinds of yeast, the impact of fermentation temperature, and the health benefits of all those good bacteria. We also foraged some of our favorite fermented foods to see how they paired with the funk-filled beverages we gathered to sample. (*cough* Bleu-cheese-beer *cough*). Don’t miss Episode 79 and be sure to let us know what fermented foods we must try next time.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and first favorable homebrew recipes. 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 79: Fermentation appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

New year, new hobby!

The new year feels like the fresh start we’ve all been waiting for, so why not start off by learning something new? Like how to make beer of course! This week we are checking back in with the Brown’s Point Homebrew Club; sitting down with members, and award-winning brewers, Michael and Tristan. Both brewing for over a decade, we discuss how they got started, and how you can too!

Listen in for the best local shops to buy equipment, the types of brewing setups you might come across, and how much money you can expect to spend starting your beer-making journey. Check out Michael and Tristan’s stories, explore some of the books they recommend, and of course, reach out to your local homebrew club!

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and first favorable homebrew recipes. 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 78: Brew Your Own appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Happy holidays Grit and Grainers!

What a wild year it’s been! Since it’s the last episode of 2023, we wanted to reel back a little, hang with the crew and be silly behind the mic for an hour. No fuss this week. Crack a beer and kick back with us while we wax about beer industry holiday trends, reminisce about our past guests, and discuss our love of Dave Matthews Band and vintage 40s of Old E.

Thank you to each and every one of you for listening to us garble our way through interviews each week with some of the most remarkable folks in our industry and community. We love you all. Cheers to 2023 and see you all in 2024!

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and New Year’s resolutions. 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 77: Year-end Hang appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

It’s not every day that the Grit and Grain chats with an industry veteran with a solid record of predicting the beer world’s future. The craft beer markets are so fluid and fickle at times in the Pacific Northwest that our crystal balls might as well just be snow globes. Tim Ensign’s crystal ball works well. For more than 25 years, Ensign has grown various successful beer projects from the ground up and continues to choose “just the right time, at just the right place” — including Oregon breweries Fort George Brewery and now the incredible up-and-coming Steeplejack Brewing. Hang out while we discuss Ensign’s career, our mutual love for lower ABV beers, the Fort George 3-Way IPA collaboration series, and even some shenanigans with the late, great Jim Parker.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and holiday beer escapades. 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, Instagram, and Twitter.

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 76: Tim Ensign appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

All right Grit and Grainers! Whip out your corkscrews, pop your antacids, and unlace your #tacomalambicbasket because this week we’re discussing our favorite fancy funky fermented Belgian beverage, lambic, and with our good friend and local legend Scott Travis no less. Scott has been in and out of the local beer industry for over a decade holding multiple positions on the sales and retail side including repping for the world-famous pFriem Family Brewers and stints at some of the most popular local bottle shops like Brouwers Cafe and Tacoma’s own Pint Defiance. Scott’s famous work ethic and unmatched enthusiasm for the craft beer world have been a beautiful contagion in the Pacific Northwest beer industry; breaking down walls between competing sales teams and inspiring a culture of collaboration and community that remains strong today. Listen while we drink through a few rare bottles from Scott’s collection and wax about the beauty and history of lambic beer and the Tall Tales of the Hopnificent 7 on Episode 75 of the Grit and Grain Podcast.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and what Scott should chug next. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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 75: Scott Travis and Lambics appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Barely 30 minutes outside of Yakima, but still well within Eastern Washington’s hop country, the town of Sunnyside houses what’s been called one of the best-kept secrets in Washington craft beer, Varietal Beer Company, and has built quite an impactful reputation since its inception in 2018. Co-owner and head brewer Chris Baum sat down with the Grit & Grain to tell all in Episode 74. From his humble beginnings as a homebrewer/wildlife biologist, his first brewing job with Snipes Mountain, a small stint with our friend Kevin Quinn at Bale Breaker, and a happenstance offer from the Port of Sunnyside, Baum and his four partners took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and brought suds and smiles to Sunnyside. Despite this fantastic resume and a long history in the science and brewing world, plus tons of awards in the past five years with Varietal, it becomes clear in our chat that Baum has two simple goals in his work — do justice to the incredible ingredients he has access to and serve the community that has so graciously welcomed his business.

It is that simple (if you have access to good water, that is).

Do not miss this episode with Baum and be sure to grab a can of Varietal Beer next time you see it.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments and opinions and if you agree with Baum that Buzz and Genie malts are the bombs. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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 74: Chris Baum of Varietal Beer appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

What’s better than one Lee? You guessed it … a pour from a magnum bottle of 2012 vintage St. Bernardus Belgian Dark Strong Ale. BUT a close second is TWO Lees! This week the Grit & Grain podcast sat down with Lee Cizek and Lee McGlothlen from XBP Limited Liquids and formerly of the famed Brower Polska distribution company. We got the scoop on this new grassroots distribution project and some insight into how that side of the craft beer industry operates. We also dive into the Lee’s local music roots and how the beer and music industry overlap, for better or worse, from predatory distribution practices to the cooperative garage band ethos of small breweries that help to lift new exciting beer projects from all over the Pacific Northwest. Also, Happy National Bartenders Day from G&G!

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

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 73: XBP Limited Liquids appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Here are a few things you might not know Sean Jackson: He eats Belgian waffles every morning with a side of barleywine syrup; a statue of Manneken Pis of Brussels, the Belgian national symbol depicting a peeing boy, waters Jackson’s home backyard hop plants; he named his first homebrewed “Much to my Chimay.” What you most likely do know about the man beneath the Dead Guy cap is that he was raised in Arizona, worked at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza in Tacoma, homebrewed with Matt Coughlin before Matt left to brew at Double Mountain, brewed with E9 Head Brewer Shane Johns at the old Engine House No. 9 brewery, ran the Parkway Tavern for years before he became head bartender at E9 Brewing. The Grit & Grain skips that podcast gold as we catch up with our former co-host Sean Jackson over cellared beers on Episode 72 recorded in Producer Doug’s Mackey’s backyard Barleywine Shack.

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Alright, Grit and Grainers! Email us at [email protected] with your comments, opinions, and better F-up stories than Sean Jackson’s crazy tales (good luck). You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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 72: Sean Jackson appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.