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Grit & Grain Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Matthew, Bethany, and Ron
Craft beer sales and brand manager — Matt McLaren, professional brewer and line cleaner — Bethany Carlsen, and bottle shop owner and operator — Ron Swarner explore and celebrate the craft beer industry, community, and history in Tacoma, Washington, and surrounding Pacific Northwest region.
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- 3 days ago29 min
Grit and Grain Episode 212 Boo Five Three
The ghosts were restless, the beer and cider were flowing, and somewhere inside Tacoma’s magnificent Armory, Grit & Grain was operating without adult supervision. Welcome to Boo Five Three, Tacoma Arts Live‘s wonderfully spooky reinvention of Brew Five Three, where Halloween costumes, haunted brewery booths and the seductive darkness of a smaller, more intimate festival proved that bigger isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes you just need better costumes and a microphone pointed toward the 7 Seas 1970s Hip-Hop hang. With Matt and Bethany absent, Ron grabbed the reins alongside Phaedra, producer Doug and videographer Chris for a shorter, looser, gloriously unpredictable festival edition. Forget the usual podcast machinery. Ron was shouting across the Armory for the next guests while the evening unfolded in all its beautifully weirdness. Tacoma Arts Live CEO Katie Stricker delivered an encouraging recap of the organization’s turbulent past year and its continuing commitment to Tacoma’s arts community. Spoiler: Tacoma Arts Live is very much alive. Kirk Nordhougen revisited the Yakima harvest madness behind Bale Breaker and Formula Brewing’s Sticky Situation Fresh Hop IPA, while Peter Koessl guided us through Great Notion‘s delightfully deranged Halloween beer lineup. Hauntingly good company. Spectacularly questionable broadcasting. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Boo Five Three costume. 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 Youtube, 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 Grit and Grain Episode 212 Boo Five Three appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- 1 weeks ago59 min
Episode 211: Zombie Pirates, Hot Cheetos, and Blood Red Beer
We are just over a week away from Halloween! With everyone prepping their costumes, candy shopping, and hanging SO MUCH FAKE SPIDER WEBBING all over their houses, we thought this would be a perfect time to crack a few of our favorite spooky season beers and see what beers pair with all the candy you’ll be eating after your kiddos fall asleep. Who’s making the best Halloween-y beers right now? And why is it always Great Notion? Why does German Weissbier pair perfectly with a Twix? And why does Tacoma’s Lincoln District have the best trick-or-treating? Get answers to all of these questions and more on this week’s episode! AND! Don’t forget to grab your last-minute tickets for Boo Five Three Beer Festival tonight at the Armory in Tacoma. Music, beers, costumes, and the Grit & Grain crew, of course! See you there! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Halloween themed 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 211: Zombie Pirates, Hot Cheetos, and Blood Red Beer appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- 2 weeks ago59 min
Episode 210: Author and Longtime Advocate of Beer Ben Keene
Here comes a special one! This week we are joined by prolific beer journalist, author, beer sales rep, and former editor of Beer Advocate Magazine, Ben Keene. After spending the beginning of his beer career on the East Coast writing about breweries, authoring a beer tourism book, and helping to run one of the most popular beer websites and magazines of the 2010s, Ben made his way to Washington to settle down and enjoy a quiet, simple life of beer marketing and sales at Triceratops Brewing & Reuben’s Brews. Tune in to hear about some of the challenges of editing the most iconic craft beer magazine, what sparked the move to the Northwest, and how the Oxford Companion to Beer came to be (hint: it was Ben). Do not miss this one! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite beer books. 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 210: Author and Longtime Advocate of Beer Ben Keene appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- 3 weeks ago52 min
Episode 209: Who Needs a Ladder When You have Hops? with Tristan McCoy
It’s time for homebrewing world update! There are some rumors going around that a few local homebrew supply shops may be nearing their respective finish lines (unless any listeners with a little investment capital and an eagerness to answer beer nerd questions all day have any to say about out it? Hmmm?). And it is, of course, fresh hop season! For which the Brown’s Point Homebrew Club tends to be especially well-known. This week Tristan McCoy hopped on the mic to discuss the potential of these local shop closures. Where might an eager home brewer get their supplies and ingredients? How can a local homebrew club help connect home brewers with commercial brewers who might be able to help? And what might the discipline look like when we don’t have local business owners to shepherd the nerds. On top of that, we get to try some fantastic homebrewed fresh hop beers including Tristan’s award-winning Dolcita fresh hop, some Logan collabs, and more. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and where to find a sparge pot. 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 209: Who Needs a Ladder When You have Hops? with Tristan McCoy appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- Oct 2, 202657 min
Episode 208: Fresh Hop Check-In
We are rounding the corner to the fresh hop finale of 2026. Some of the year’s best and most anticipated releases are hitting shelves, and Ron just got back from making his own collab fresh hop beers — the perfect time to crack a few cans of our favorites and catch up! While sipping on a few incredible beers from Grains of Wrath, Single Hill, Lumberbeard, and more, Ron fills us in on some of his Yakima adventures: morning coffee at Single Hill, farm tours, and getting lost with his doppelgänger and Astoria legend Dwayne Smallwood from the world-famous Bridge and Tunnel Bottleshop. Tune in for fresh hop recommendations, some audience questions, and, of course, Matt’s tipsy speculations on the future of fresh hop season. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite 2026 fresh hop beers. 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 208: Fresh Hop Check-In appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- Sep 25, 20261h 4m
Episode 207: Grit and Grain and Pages and Pints
We’re keeping it Odd for one more week with local beer-fluencer, event organizer, and bartender, Cecelia Grogan! When she’s not serving up your Odd Otter Brewing pints, Cecelia is curating some of the best local beer-focused content you can find on Instagram. While doing stints at some of our favorite local craft beer spots, she leveled up her understanding of algorithms, trends, and content creation. These days she uses her platform to help beer businesses thrive and highlight local spots she loves. Tune in to get to know our favorite book and beer nerd, get some hints on leveling up your own social media game, and catch a few details on her book club events around Tacoma. Be sure to follow @_pagesandpints and @pagesandpintsevents! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite book. 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 207: Grit and Grain and Pages and Pints appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- Sep 18, 202653 min
Episode 206: Food Prep to Beer Rep with Max Beckstrom
We’re keeping it Tacoma this week with a fresh face to the show and one of the newer faces in the local beer industry. Odd Otter Brewing sales rep/general manager/all-around hype machine Max Beckstrom joins us this week to talk everything from his Army days to kitchen management to jumping over to the sales side of the craft beer world — representing Odd Otter all over Western Washington. This is a perfect episode to get to know one of the friendliest beer industry folks we know, and one you’re definitely gonna see around town pretty often. Plus, get the scoop on some new Odd Otter beers and even some business development news! Odd Otter has some pretty big plans in the works. We love seeing a small local beer business grow. Support your local beer folks and make sure to say hi when you see them in the wild. Cheers, y’all! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, favorite Odd Otter 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 206: Food Prep to Beer Rep with Max Beckstrom appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
- Sep 11, 20261h 18m
Episode 205: Let’s Talk About E9
This week’s episode will be a little different than usual. As many of you may know, this has been a complicated few weeks for our friends at E9 Brewing. Since the reveal of some rather unsavory political contributions by members of the ownership team, we’ve heard quite a bit from local politicians, upset community members, and wealthy property owners. But, we haven’t had the opportunity to hear much from the actual employees — the people making the beer, pouring your pints, and delivering your kegs; people who are, undoubtedly, the most affected by this entire situation. This week our best buddy and Grit & Grain co-founder Sean Jackson and long-time beer industry professional Grace Zigweid sat down for a beer and walked us through their experience these last few weeks as employees of E9. Tune in to get an extra perspective from inside E9’s walls from members of the team that have worked for years to make that space as welcoming and inclusive as possible, which begs the question: Who does a brewery really belong to? This is a real conversation with folks still processing a heartbreaking incident that has turned their world’s upside down. Please keep comments respectful. Vote with your wallets. Support trans rights. ‘Stand with ALL community members who might be negatively affected by business owner’s actions. The post Episode 205: Let’s Talk About E9 appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.
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About Grit & Grain Podcast
Craft beer sales and brand manager — Matt McLaren, professional brewer and line cleaner — Bethany Carlsen, and bottle shop owner and operator — Ron Swarner explore and celebrate the craft beer industry, community, and history in Tacoma, Washington, and surrounding Pacific Northwest region.
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