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 p...

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, R...

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 1...

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...

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 good...

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! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit...

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 beco...

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 adventure...

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...

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 throu...

Happy September, Grit and Grainers! Fresh Hop season is upon us, we’ve recovered from all the Tacoma Beer Week festivities, and Ron is out of town this week on a west coast adventure … so we figure it’s a perfect time to talk about our beer beef! Everyone has pet peeves in the industry so let’s talk about ’em!  What bugs us and what bugs you!  We get into why some pet peeve...

It’s that time of year, folks!  Fresh Hop season is upon us, so the Grit & Grain thought it was a perfect time to bring back our good buddy Kirby Redman, director at Wyckoff Farms .  But, this time, we wanted to get extra nerdy so Kirby trucked over Wyckoff’s chief agronomist Gracen Gonzalez; an absolute powerhouse of encyclopedic hop knowledge. We get into wild hops, fresh hops, hop harvest,...

Welcome back to part 2 pairing beer and Tacoma iconic bites with Kris Hay of Tacoma Aroma Flavor . The journey continues with three new bites this week:  Pao’s Glazed donuts, potato perogies from Zaya Cafe , and the classic sea salt caramel chocolates from Johnson Candy Co . We get into which beers pair with them and why. Between bites, Kris expands on a few of her favorite Tacoma food spots, and...

That’s right!  It’s about time we had ourselves a proper food episode, and it’s a double-header. And, who better to join us than Kris Hay of Tacoma Aroma Flavor .  Kris has been collaborating with local chefs for years on her fabulous book project and helped us choose six iconic bites of food from around our city.  And, of course, we let Grit & Grain co-host Matt McLaren pair each...

It’s a special midweek episode!  The Grit & Grain team had the privilege of recording a live show from the grass of the fantastic Brew Five Three Beer & Music Festival . If you missed the festivities, we give shout-outs to the breweries and ciders that poured on the sunny Saturday at Chambers Creek Regional Park , the highlight beers of the day, and a big sloppy info dump of all the wonder...

Chris Chappell digs sustainability, Arizona Wilderness Brewery, social media, and Pacific Northwest watersheds. Brian Antonio Muegge digs Gonzaga, wildlife conservation, Nickelback, and keeping salmon safe. Chappell works to protect wild lands and rivers in our state via Washington Wild and directs their Brewshed Alliance . Muegge is the Farm Program manager with Salmon-Safe , which works to keep...

Year 3 is off and running!  And what better way to get it rolling than catching up with our best buddy, Sean Jackson. Producer Doug let us commandeer his super-secret studio for an hour to hang out, pop a few fancy beers, and get a little silly.  We chatted Tacoma Beer Week festivities including the live “Um … Actually” game show Sean will host at the historic Blue Mouse Theatre.  We dive into a f...

Welp!  We did it guys.  Episode #104 marks 2 years in the books for us at the Grit & Grain Podcast.  We figured there was no better way to put a bow on year 2 than to hang out with our friends at Ilk Beer in their new taproom, The Ilk Lodge , and share a few pints of our amazing collaboration beer, Alter Your Expectations IPA , and a few special bottles from Ilk Beer partner, Rob Booher. Getti...

Welcome to the second to last episode of year 2! For the occasion, we wanted to put a few episodes together with some of our best buds and to kick things off we had our friend Michael Perozzo back on the Grit & Grain mic. If you heard Michael on Episode 70, you know this dude is busier than all of us put together, and sure enough he’s on to a new adventure with his own fantastic podcast, Overt...

This week, we decided to kick back, crack a few fantastic beers, and just hang out.  We haven’t had a chance to hear about Producer Doug Mackey’s adventures throughout England or much about co-host Matt McLaren’s misadventures at this year’s Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival so this was a great time to catch up. We get into Doug’s ethereal experiences drinking real ale...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July! This week, we were joined by the minds behind sweetheart brewery and South Puget Sound staple, Triceratops Brewing .  Rob and Kelli have been slinging delicious beer to Washington state for a decade now and in that time have cemented themselves as local legends.  From fighting fires, to raising money for local non-profits, promoting a culture of commun...

Grit & Grain presents Part 2 of our conversation with The Masonry and Fast Fashion folks: the infallible Sam Morin, the unbreakable Sarah Moorman, and, of course, the master of pizza, beer, and stone … Matt Storm. The tremendously talented team behind Seattle’s Fast Fashion Brewing hung out with the Grit & Grain crew for two whole incredible hours of origin stories, dad jokes, gateway beer...

You’ll never guess who we sweet talked into driving down from Seattle to hang with us for our milestone 99th and 100th episodes: the infallible Sam Morin, the unbreakable Sarah Moorman, and, of course, the master of pizza, beer, and stone … Matt Storm. The tremendously talented team behind Seattle’s Fast Fashion Brewing hung out with the Grit & Grain crew for two whole incredible hours of orig...

Welcome Grit & Grainers! We’re back and kicking off the countdown to our anniversary episode with an absolute banger — Paul Reiter, founder and CEO of the world-famous Great Notion Brewing. Barely 10 years since the notion of starting a brewery even entered their heads, Paul and his partners have turned their beer into something truly iconic taking advantage of digital marketing, creative path...

This week, the Grit & Grain Podcast welcomes back our good friend Brian Strumke of the world-famous Stillwater Artisanal Ales. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve caught up with Strumke and as in his nature, things are always evolving. Strumke is headed out on another adventure — a cross-country move with a new book deal —and a newfound focus on telling his story via well-made social media cont...