Better on Draft | Craft Beer Podcast

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! With Dan in New Zealand, Ken and Wendy welcome Jeff back to the show to talk about craft beer news and stories from the past weeks. Recapping the UP Beer Festival Jeff asks if there is a decline in the beer festivals of the country from pre-covid with the increase costs of labor and ingredients. Wendy tasks us to think about what breweries do to reduce, reuse, and...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! Wendy starts the show telling us about fresh hop season and Ken continues the show talking about on premise sales vs. keg sales and if you are still going to craft beer bars in 2023. Brenden asks us what our favorite brewpubs are as the top 10 were ranked by USA Today readers which included two from Michigan, and Gary finishes the show talking about New Jersey laws...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: With a vast knowledge of architecture, and a love of craft beverages, Harold Remlinger combines his love into a career of building craft breweries. Harold talks about his other ventures including religious and medical buildings, his love for building everything he uses including his boat, and what he likes to do when he relaxes. If you're looking to start or buy a bre...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! Ken starts off the episode with a lengthy breakdown of how Modelo took over the number one spot in beer in the US and ponders if they will be there for the long haul.  Wendy talks about the possibility for new alcohol consumption suggestions by the US Government.   Rob gives us a rundown on how we can help the folks in Maui, and we go around trying to figure out if...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Alex Puchner joins us on this episode to help us understand more the world of corporate brewing. He explains his beginnings of homebrewing in the 80s in California, to his ties to our state. BJ’s Brewhouse may have many locations, but Alex helps us talk about how he manages the multiple brewhouses, the use of reverse osmosis to help with the water chemistry, and we get a s...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! We think Dan has had it up to his limit with IPA's and how they are still king in 2023 with Sierra Nevada going hard into the world of IPA's, Wendy talks about Treehouse opening up a massive tap house with a golf course and what other type of venues we'd love to see a tap house or brewery, and Ken talks about the re-consolidation of craft beer from t...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Live from the 49th State, Geoff and Marcy Larson join us to talk about being the first modern craft brewery in Alaska, the reason why Alaskan Amber is their flagship, and discuss all the ways that Alaskan Brewing is the leaders in sustainability from what they do with their CO2, spent grain, and more. We learn about some Alaskan laws and wildlife that they've encounte...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Recorded live on site, Jef and Jen Smith of Loaded Dice join Dan, Ken, Wendy, and special guest host Matt Bush to chat about craft beer, The Fat King, and what is going to be new and fun for their upcoming second site. We follow up on some questions we asked the last time they were on the show including if they still believe in Open Source Brewing, and we learned how they...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! The next special guest host Dennis joins us as we talk about the craft beer news for the week. We start with Wendy talking about the craft beer laws in South Carolina changing to allow for consumers to be able to buy kegs from their favorite breweries. Then the team discusses the labor strike at Leinenkugel and what labor movements could occur in the industry with...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Special guest host for the show Jeff joins us as we bring in Jim McCune to be on the show, and boy did we get a deep dive lesson in marketing. Explaining his belief on social media, QR Codes, working with WWE, and Post Malone, Jim talks about his time in marketing, The Craft Beer Marketing Awards, and why he loves doing what he's doing! For every business out there th...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Before our guest arrives, we talk about the recent closure of Anchor brewing and ponder if the writing may be on the wall for one of the many outside-owned breweries in Michigan. Cam from Trumer then joins us to chat about the new taproom, what brewing for Trumer is like under the Gambrinus brand, and what we can expect to see in the near future. Cam talks about his histor...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! Ken starts off the news segment making his case for the new king of craft beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon. Dan asks us if there is space in the FMB world for higher octane FMB's like Twisted Tea Extreme and White Claw Surge. Wendy gives us a lesson on italian grape ales and we talk about the few we have had, and Nick ends the show talking about how Buzz Ballz has beco...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! Ken tries to start off the show with a game but it doesn't go as well as he plans, so he passes it to Wendy who discussed the latest Tik Tok Trend, Beer Tanning. Dan embarks on a quest to find out our favorite drinking holidays, and Nick ends the show talking about a new law in Oklahoma which will allow you to buy more than two beers at once. We record the new...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Clay Gentry brings decades of experience in building out breweries and brewing beer to his newest creation, Hello Monty and Dynamo Brewing in Chattanooga Tennessee. Clay talks about his brewing and sales philosphy, what him and his brother have accomplished with the restaurant side of things, and spoke on the imporatnce of consistency while maintaining independence. Listen...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Plenty of interviews coming up so this may be the last solo-pod for a while! Join Dan, Nick, and Ken as they talk about the impact of social media on craft beer and the changes of the community from 2015 to today, as well as they discuss some of the things they’ve learned that have shocked them, changed their mind, or the way they have changed how they approach craft beer....

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: No guest in studio today so Ken, Dan, and Wendy look over a list of the 25 most important American Craft Beers (According to Food and Wine - https://www.foodandwine.com/beer/craft-beer/25-most-important-american-craft-beers-ever-brewed ), discuss the use of Untappd in 2023 and why the gamification of Untappd ruined beer reviews, Ken chats about craft beer flights needing t...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Two and a half years ago we brought Arctic Circle into our online studio as one of our first guests to the Michigan Beer Series, a series promoting the local craft beer community that has supported us for so many years. Since then, Eric and Deven have been crushing it in Chesterfield, so we wanted to catch up to see what they have been up to. The highs and lows of opening...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! The news this week brings an article discussing brewers yeast being found in paintings along with what a beer festival at a local art site composing both brewer culture with their own personal culture. Nick chats up about Perdue teaming up with a brewery to make an official beer for beer can chicken. Dan talks about running into weird beer laws in Utah and has us p...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Festival season is in full gear so Ken and Wendy give some updates on the most recent festivals they’ve attended, and then the crew talks about what they do and don’t like in festivals, what they want to see some more of in festivals, and what are some future festivals they’d like to attend. From beer choices to games, vendors and options, they think about what makes a bee...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: It’s been seven years and more than three hundred episodes since we last spoke with Adam at Ascension, and a lot has changed since then. From his explosive opening in 2015 to now, they’ve added their THICC seltzer line, countless amazing variants of Gorilla Juice, their famous hazy beers, but Adam in this episode talks about the importance of his business which includes em...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! A slow news week but Ken starts off the show with the official statement from Better on Draft regarding the Founders situation at hand. We then go into the news talking about how Not Your Fathers and Henry’s were a little ahead of their time as net sales of Monster branded booze is continuing to grow. Nick talks about bread made from Naan and asks us to think about...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Brad and Kerri started B. Nektar as a side gig to take Brad’s passion of meadmaking and turn it into something fun and different.  But since 2008 the ebbs and flows of life have caused them to constantly have to audible their lives, their business plans, and what will happen in the future.  Brad talks about historical ingredient supply issues, changing his business plan fr...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! The BA announced the top 50 this year and there are some big jumps. We see more merger organizations joining the top 50, Athletic is inching close to the top 10, and we say goodbye to Bell’s in the list officially. Wendy talks about more than 2000 cans of High Life being destroyed in Europe, and Dan talks about refreshers from Smirnoff and we look into beer refresh...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: We ask the question that every brewery in progress asks themselves. What will make their brewery unique, special, and stand out against a crowd of nearly 10,000 other breweries in the country. We ponder the same question by asking what we as the consumer wants? Ken, Wendy, and Dan talk about what they look for in their favorite breweries, what can be turn offs to them, and...

CRAFT BEER PODCAST NEWS EPISODE! This weeks craft beer news talks about the changes in serving rules at sports venues and how with updated public transportation and the ability to take Uber and Lyft, why the rules of last calls before the game is over is past due for a change. Ken solidifies his commentary that craft beer bubble theories are all dead, and Wendy talks about how hydroponics can chan...