Wendy and Rob catch up in the new year and make some predictions for 2026. Predictions were about apples, the trend with IPAs, big releases, effects of consolidation, average ABV on shelves, and packaging formats.

We also talk about non-alcoholic versions of styles and what that means when you get into things like beer judging, Untappd, or as a consumer looking to purchase a beer.

Is Rob alone in having craft beer singles become rare to find around him?

What are some breweries you think could be legacy breweries and how are they changing with the times? (Segment inspired by Beervana)

Better on Draft is an independent podcast currently ad-free because the hosts have not gone looking for sponsors!

Wend and Rob talk to Jared Williamson, lead brewer at Schlafly of St. Louis. We talk about beer education, some historic styles, Schlafly's growth and role in the community, and the community of St Louis. This episode may cause you to want to visit St Louis!

Every year, like clockwork, we celebrate the winter solstice in December. Kuhnhenn Brewing is celebrating this year by releasing 13 heavyweight beers. They will be on draft and your preorder bottles are ready for pickup. Wendy and Rob catch up with Eric and Bret on the night before their festival which begins December 20th and they still have a lot of work ahead of them.

Kuhnhenn website with more information!

Wendy and Rob prepare for Christmas with a little beer news and a lot of Christmas beer discussion.

39 Affordable Towns With the Most Craft Breweries Per Capita -- With some suspicious math but could help with planning a move or vacation.

MLive's Analysis of the brewery scene in Michigan with parallels to the US.

The Michigan Craft Beer Community on Discord.

What Christmas beers are you looking forward to? Let us know!

Wendy and Rob talk with Carmen Amato, author of the Galliano Club book series. This series takes place in upstate New York (Rome, NY is the inspiration) during prohibition. Beginning as a murder mystery and continuing as a power struggle for different factions related to the distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages (such as beer, of course!). We ask Carmen about her research into this series and learn a few things about bootlegging during prohibition.

You can learn more about the Galliano Club books and Carmen Amato at her website.

Better on Draft is an independent production. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the show you can reach out to us at https://betterondraft.com

Wendy and Rob talk to Jeremy, founder and operator of Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative. We talk about what it means to run a business as a cooperative, Broken Clock's philosophy about where they fit in their world, and we get a little off topic here and there...

You can learn more about Broken Clock at https://www.brokenclockbrew.com/

Better on Draft is an independent production. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the show you can reach out to us at https://betterondraft.com

Wendy and Rob talk about the Great American Beer Festival's medal winners from Michigan, Indiana, and a few other places. We'd love to hear about your GABF experiences as an attendee, brewer, vendor, volunteer, judge, or concerned citizen! Reach out to us on any of our social media sites (we're betterondraft on all of them) and let us know what stuck in your memory from a GABF.

Article displayed in the video is from the Brewers Association

Better on Draft is an independent podcast and always looking for guests and sponsors.

Wendy and Rob are joined by Seth from Elm Street Brewing. Hear how Seth got into brewing at Elm Street and became the head brewer there, designing and brewing his own recipes on a commercial scale. Elm Street Brewing's main space is set up to accommodate large groups easily and serve them delicious food from an exciting kitchen. We also talk about the city on Muncie, IN and why a beer tourist might want to spend a day there.

You can learn more about Elm Street Brewing at their website!

Better on Draft is an independently produced podcast. If you have topics or guests that you would like to hear about on the show, let us know! We're BetterOnDraft on all the social media sites.

Audio file has been re-generated since first publishing to attempt to remove some of the audible lag.