Episode 194: Washington Brewers Fest 2026

Episode 194: Washington Brewers Fest 2026

This week, we’re on location at Washington Brewers Fest [https://washingtonbrewersguild.org/events/washington-brewers-fest]. Held each year smack dab in the middle of Seattle Center [https://www.seattlecenter.com/], with dozens of Washington breweries and cideries, local food, and all the funk music you can handle.  We scoured the festival floor, found a few familiar faces, and made some new friends. The folks at Capitol Hill’s Outer Planet Brewing [https://www.outerplanetbrewing.com/] joined us for a few minutes to talk about ownership changes, unique recipes, and their brewer’s long history in the Washington beer scene.  Our best buddy Barry from Lucky Envelope [https://www.luckyenvelopebrewing.com/] hopped on to talk about their festival beers, including the amazing Karakuchi lager, currently taking Seattle by storm.  And finally, we were joined by Rob from Friends and Neighbors Brewing [https://friendsandneighborsbrewing.com/], who fills us in on all things Kingston and getting his start in Washington’s incredibly welcoming beer world. If you missed the festival this year, tune in for the highlights. And be sure to catch us on our next festival field trip to Grainmaker in Spokane in August. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com [cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com] with your comments, opinions, and favorite flavor from the 2026 Washington Brewers Fest. 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 [https://www.facebook.com/gritandgrainpodcast/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/peaksandpints/]. 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 194: Washington Brewers Fest 2026 [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-194-washington-brewers-fest-2026/] appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com].

Episode 193: Checking In with Logan Brewing

A little over a year ago, we had the fantastic folks behind Burien’s own Logan Brewing [https://www.logan.beer/] on the podcast to celebrate our amazing collab with them and Lander Coffee [https://www.landercoffee.com/] for Tacoma Beer Week 2025 [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-134-tacoma-beer-week-with-lander-coffee/].  Since then, they’ve opened a new space, acquired some new toys, and made the leap into beer distribution (with someone we know! [https://www.orcasdistributing.com/]). Michael and Chris are back this week to fill us in on all the changes they’ve gone through in the past year. The beer business is a little crazy these days, and seeing our friends grow through it all is so exciting. Tune in to find out what makes their new brewery space so amazing, details on the tremendous beers Michael has been able to brew in their new space, and get some extra details on what a small brewery should consider before moving over to distribution. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com [cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com] with your comments, opinions, and favorite Logan blonde ale. 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 [https://www.facebook.com/gritandgrainpodcast/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/peaksandpints/]. 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 193: Checking In with Logan Brewing [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-193-checking-in-with-logan-brewing/] appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com].

Episode 192: Firestone Invitational Recap with Melissa Urquhart

The 2026 Firestone Invitational Beerfest was amazing.  Matt, Ron, and Phaedra had all planned to meet up for the festival, but Ron had to rain check this one as he had a staff emergency and hung back to cover the bar, because he is an absolute saint of a business owner.   BUT! with our long-time industry friend Melissa having gone for the first time this year, we wanted to hang out for a beer and recap the shenanigans. Tune in to discover which California beers Matt smuggled back for tastings, why the Yoho Brewing team from Japan loves American, and which Seattle brewery made the most amazing splash for their first invite to the festival. Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com [cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com] with your comments, opinions, and favorite Firestone Walker 2026 Invitational moments. 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 [https://www.facebook.com/gritandgrainpodcast/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/peaksandpints/]. 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 192: Firestone Invitational Recap with Melissa Urquhart [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-192-firestone-invitational-recap-with-melissa-urquhart/] appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com].

Episode 191: What’s so Japanese About Rice Lagers?

The World Beer Cup [https://www.worldbeercup.org/] added a “Rice Lager” [https://www.worldbeercup.org/winners/award-winners/] category for the first time in 2026, and two Northwest breweries promptly earned medals in it — which is pretty amazing. Much like Mexican lager, rice lager, or Japanese rice lager, as some folks call it, seems to remain relatively ill-defined outside of the newly instituted guidelines.  This week, we sat down with a flight of five iterations of this wonderful but potentially misunderstood style to see how our favorite breweries are approaching this beer. Tune in to find out what makes different versions unique from one another, what some Japanese breweries are doing to help develop their own lager distinctions, and get some bonus spicy takes from our best buddy, Barry [https://www.luckyenvelopebrewing.com/]! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com [cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com] with your comments, opinions, and favorite rice lager. 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 [https://www.facebook.com/gritandgrainpodcast/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/peaksandpints/]. 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 191: What’s so Japanese About Rice Lagers? [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-191-whats-so-japanese-about-rice-lagers/] appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com].

Episode 190: Shouldering the Weight of Limitless Talent with Grains of Wrath

Way back when our episodes were still in the double digits, the stellar brewing talent Mike Hunsaker sat down to tell us about his journey setting up shop in Washington and winning every award in the book brewing at Grains of Wrath [https://gowbeer.com/]. We’ve been long overdue in getting the rest of the Grains of Wrath team behind the mic and thankfully they were in town and made it a point to swing by and hang for a beer!  Owner and operator Brendan Greenan, Production Manager Owen Lamb, and Sales Manager Kira Harris joined us this week to talk about everything they’ve been doing to push the brewery to the next level. Tune in to find out how the GoW team is maintaining demand in a tough market, how a few new key team members will help level up their brewery, and why Mike is mysteriously absent for this episode! Tap, tap, tap Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com [cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com] with your comments and opinions. 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 [https://www.facebook.com/gritandgrainpodcast/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/peaksandpints/]. 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 190: Shouldering the Weight of Limitless Talent with Grains of Wrath [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com/episode-190-shouldering-the-weight-of-limitless-talent-with-grains-of-wrath/] appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast [https://gritandgrainpodcast.com].