Better on Draft | Craft Beer Podcast

Dan Kiplinger, formerly of Olde Peninsula and Bell's, tells us his story of 30 years of brewing in Michigan.  Not much more I can say without the podcast telling you more!  Join us won't you?!? Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you can join us every Friday at 7pm EST at www.facebook.com/betterondraft Support MI Brewing - http:/...

Russ and Jan from Support MI Brewing stop by to talk to us about their goal to help the brewers during their time in need.  We chat with them about their approaches when they go to a brewery, we talk about the new vs old guard in breweries, and we go over a little bit of news.   Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you can join us every Fri...

We are still home at week but we are catching you up on the beer news, we discuss the new normal of restaurants and bars as they slowly begin to open, we talk about no good deed going unpunished for free beer, and we finish the show with a little bit of beer news. Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you can join us every Friday at 7pm EST...

We are still home at week but we are catching you up on the beer news, what we are doing to kill the time, and we make the argument for Christopher Walken to play Tony Monatana in remake of Scarface. Listen to that and more of us as we chat this Friday and Every Friday at 7pm EST. Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you can join us every F...

Another week and another remote show. We talk about everything from what will happen when things re-open, how will restaurants serve customers, how will sports venues serve beer, and how our lives will change dramatically over the next year. Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you can join us every Friday at 7pm EST at www.facebook.com/bet...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Talking trademark disputes, covering food, Cleveland beer, and the future of the restaurant industry, Eric of Tap That AZ sits down with us to talk about running the best beer related media org out in Arizona. 00:00 ​ - Introductions 09:20 ​ - Ken tries to use The DraftTop 12:20 ​ - Cleveland Beer, Football, and Breweries 16:58 ​ - Stone Brewing Trademark Against MillerCoo...

Staying safe and staying at home, Wendy, Rob, Nick, Ken, and Dan are back to chat about the local news, how a brewery actually is opening during this time, and how sales are up for the industry but we may see a 40% reduction in breweries.  All of that and more on this episode of Better on Draft.   Please note Segment 3 is video only!  Head over to our Youtube or Facebook page to see it, and you ca...

We are still at home but we are still gonna keep pushing out content!  We talk about the effect of COVID19 on the industry both in regards to production and local breweries.  We talk about the grant funded by Sam Adams and we talk about what we've been doing to pass the time at home.  Why not crack open a beer and listen!  You're stuck at home too, might as well join us for our weekly re...

And in one week we have been told to shelter at home, so what do we do?  We crack open a beer and talk about all the good things happening in the world of beer and alcohol.  We promote all of the businesses we can that are doing their part, we give tips on how to traverse the food and brewery world, and we talk about the upcoming crowler shortage while getting ourselves excited with the amount of...

We were promised a deep cleaned studio and were the first ones in it, so we trekked to Royal Oak where Ken, Rob, and Wendy chat about what is going on in the industry.  Ken makes his pleas to those who are wondering how they can help, and we talk about how we are all doing during this weird time in hospitality.  We bring in some local beers and toast to some of the great beer makers as they are wo...

It feels like it has been forever since we had the opportunity to sit down with John Leone from ROAK, and it was four years ago on Episode 22. No longer the new guy on the block as they enter their fifth year, we take the opportunity to catch up. He brings in new President of ROAK and Dark Horse (now named Michigan Brewers Union) and we get a historical look on his journey through craft beer at Do...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: It's been nearly four years since Cary has come onto the show and he comes back to give us the details we wanted to know!  Talking to us about the new brewery in Ferndale, the differences between the two, and we get to try his Lumberjack Off Wee Heavy that is highly sought after!  Ken gives his true feelings about beer rating websites and we end the show with a game!...

Liz and Dani of the Detroit chapter of Girls Pint Out join us to talk about female fans of craft beer, and we learn that all beer is girl beer! We go over some news including some Michigan government updates about token laws and distro, and we try to map out how many beers you would need to drink to be one of Rate Beer's top beer reviewers. We end the show bringing back our favorite Cameo gam...

We go over the life and death of Black Lotus and the last five years with him as the head brewer, what changed, and why the sudden closing.  We learn where the hardware from Black Lotus went (hint, previous guest on Better on Draft), and Nick updates us on his other fermentation work he's been doing as he looks for a new home to brew. We try his gin he made with Detroit City Distillery and we...

We may have managed to cram in the most gambling puns into this episode, but Loaded Dice is a gamble that Jef Smith is willing to take.  Setting up in Troy, MI this will be the first (not national chain) brewery the city has seen, and the city is more than excited for it to open up.  Jef talks about home brewing, working in the tech industry, and maxing out information to his guests with the Open...

The final part of our Dry January series, we bring in Eric, former owner of Ellison Brewery to talk about his adventure post brewing, Reputation Beverage, based out of Lansing/DeWitt, Eric has cultivated some of the best tasting NA drinks out there including Citra Hopped Kombucha, Rocky Road Nitro Coffee, and Sparkling Tea.  Many of his products are keto and paleo friendly with many of them coming...

Part 2 of our 3 Part Dry January series brings us guests from all over the industry spectrum. We welcome Shannon Long of Brew Export to talk about the NA Trend in the USA and how Europe is already light years ahead of us. Jack of Zetouna Liquor discusses what is moving and what is not over at Zetouna Liquor. And Nick Britsky of Nick Drinks discusses how bars and the industry is moving to almost ma...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: We came back into the studio with a goal, and that goal was not to drink, and after episode one of the year, we have kept that promise!  That doesn't mean we didn't dive into spirits, cocktails, and other near beers, so why not join us as did Jason, owner of Casamara Club, to talk about soda, cocktails, and alternatives to booze including zero proof Gin and Whisk...

We end the year with our two main sponsors, Jack of Zetouna Liquor and Kevin of North Center Brewing.  Ed joins us for another episode and we talk about lowering the drinking age, some of the bigger news that hit this year, and recap with what 2020 may bring us!  All that and more!  You can join us every Friday night at www.facebook.com/betterondraft at 7pm EST!  We will be back January 3rd with o...

Our writer Ed just can't seem to get enough of the spotlight as he joins us for this episode of Better on Draft.  Ken brings the beer he would chase in studio as he found it while in Oakland California, and special guest Kristi comes in to ask us about some of our favorite hidden gems, and we go off the beaten path with some interesting topics and finally end the show asking how many brewerie...

As special guest hosts Ed and Wendy come on the show, Jack Zetouna of the (mentioned many times) Zetouna Liquor store in Rochester Hills comes on the show to share some bourbon, some Bourbon County, and his thoughts on the business of pour houses, chasing beers, and the industry as a whole.  We discuss how far you'd go to chase a beer and we break down the time to beer ratio.   When Wendy inv...

Eric from DeHops joins the show to chat about brewing in Michigan vs. Chicago, what types of beers to order at a bar, and Rob takes us through the news including the New Belgium buyout.  All that and more on this episode of Better on Draft Subscribe to Better on Draft - https://plnk.to/BOD Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0rofqU5VHPmEjcGLwJbocm iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Doug takes the long trip down I-75 from Gaylord Michigan to bring us some tasty beers!  He wins bonus points for bringing an altbier for Ken, while they discuss traveling in Michigan during the winter, deer season, and self distribution.  Talks about the journey from home brewing to production brewing and re-opening a Michigan staple that at one point had 4 breweries including one in Texas.  The c...

We brought back the guests from episode 100 to chat and give us some updates on the industry.  We talk about the issues with Michigan laws, the kind of party it would be if all the alcoholic guilds of the state got together and threw one big festival, and we discuss some serious solutions the problems we may forsee in the future. 200 episodes ago I would not have imagined having the following we h...