What happens when you bring together decades of Detroit beverage industry experience, underground install stories, and the kind of jobsite chaos you can only learn the hard way?

On this episode of Thirsty Business Podcast, Jen is joined by her brother Phil Thomas, her husband Drew Hauke, and guest Jim Bonnell, owner of World Beverage and a veteran beverage technician who spent his entire career in the Detroit industry.

From crawling through old theaters and finding time capsules… to dangerous installs in abandoned buildings… to overloaded trucks, electrocutions, and beer systems gone wrong, this episode is packed with real stories from people who lived it firsthand.

But beyond the chaos, there’s a deeper conversation about craftsmanship, work ethic, and how the beverage industry has evolved over time in Detroit and beyond.

This is what it really looks like behind the scenes of an industry most people never think about… until something goes wrong.

00:00 Detroit neighborhoods & dangerous old days

03:12 Why Detroit is making a comeback

06:08 Discovering hidden time capsules in old theaters

10:02 Dangerous installs in historic buildings

14:28 Crazy underground beer line jobs

18:11 Beverage companies running on no resources

21:47 The “Barnstormers” snowstorm story

26:35 Bartering jobs for dinners & entertainment

30:04 Detroit New Year’s stories & bullet holes

33:15 How beer systems changed over the years

37:40 Why AI can’t replace skilled trades

42:18 Detroit work ethic & craftsmanship

46:55 The best installers in the business

50:33 Electrocution stories & overloaded trucks

56:41 How restaurant installs changed over time

1:01:12 The beginning of Michigan’s craft beer boom

1:06:08 Why massive tap systems became a problem

1:10:42 The disgusting reality of dirty beer lines

1:15:26 Why proper line cleaning matters

1:19:34 Final thoughts & listener story submissions

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🔔 Subscribe for more real conversations from inside the beverage industry where the stories don’t come from press releases… they come from the people who built it.

Share this with someone who thinks beer systems are simple. They’re not.

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