Matt’s back from Berlin! He was gone so long and missed so much that we figured we might as well just crack a few beers and catch up a bit.

Ron’s been busy traveling all over the PNW trying to hire as many breweries as he possibly can to wrap up his 10th year of the Tournament of Beers. Matt fills us in on his Berlin trip. And Bethany and The Funk Busters have some updates of their own! Plus, we get into the recent Brewer’s Association Annual Craft Beer Production report and what it says about where things might be headed in the industry.

Tune in for all the updates, some of Matt’s Germany stories, and to get a few highlights and early upsets in the Tournament of Beer!

Tap, tap, tap

Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Pacific Northwest brewery. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, 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 187: Berlin, Ron’s Road Trip, and American Beer Economics appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Matt’s still in Germany, and Ron, Bethany, Phaedra, and Doug held down the fort beautifully for this week’s super special episode.

We are joined this week by one of the strongest brewing duos working the state right now — Dan Cady and Meghan Michels of Holy Mountain Brewing. Dan, having recently moved back up to Washington after years of brewing some of San Diego’s best beer, got rolling at Holy Mountain just a few months ago, where Meghan has been holding down the fort for the last few years, producing some of Seattle’s best beer.

Tune in to find out a little about Dan’s unexpected hometown, his work down in California, which Seattle brewery Meghan cut her teeth at before Holy Mountain, and what it takes to become a certified LUKR tapster.

Tap, tap, tap

Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Danish beer.

You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, 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 186: Dan Cady and Meghan Michels from Holy Mountain Brewing appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

There are brewers who arrive with a résumé, and then there are brewers who arrive with a landscape. Kulshan Brewing Head Brewer Wes Finger brings the latter — a stretch of Bellingham terrain shaping how he brews and how he thinks. In this episode of the Grit & Grain Podcast, Wes traces his roots to the Nooksack River Valley and a life built around weather, water, and patience. That ethos shows up clearly in his love for Helles lager — a style that demands precision, restraint, and a willingness to let the process speak without shouting.

Kulshan reflects that same grounded approach — community-first, quietly confident, and growing without losing its center, from its early days to the open, trail-connected energy of Trackside. The conversation also touches on today’s realities, including distribution shifts and the move from NW Beverages/Odom to Columbia, all handled with steady pragmatism. At its core, this is a conversation about beer as a reflection of place — honest, patient, and built to last.

Tap, tap, tap

Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Bellingham bike trails. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, 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 185: Trails, Tanks, and the Long Game — Wes Finger of Kulshan Brewing appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.