The Foamy Underground teamed up once again. This time it's at the Common John Beer Fest in Manchester, TN.

We continue talking with Michael Williams of Great Lakes Brewery. He's focusing on brand development these days.

Steve and Scott had to find out the big question. Can we get Great Lakes Beer to Tennessee? Is there hope for us?

The Brewers Association recently released data regarding tariffs and breweries. Has Great Lakes Brewing Company seen any impact?

Christmas is still a few months away. At Great Lakes Brewing, a long-standing tradition is happening soon! Michael shares with us why this specialty beer is so popular. Soon, people will be lined up, awaiting its arrival

Speaking of tradition. Oktoberfest season is in full swing right now. Great Lakes Brewing has its own version of this delicious offering.

Prost!

Our effort to bring Great Lakes beer to Tennessee continues.

It's no secret! If you listen to the podcast, then you know, Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio is one of our favorites. We visited the location in May.

Michael Williams returns after joining us a year ago. He's been a part of the team going on 13 years! These days, his focus is on brand development.

This year, Great Lakes Brewing Company has been doing a lot of limited releases. Michael tells us the strategy behind it. Plus, some new beer on the tap menu. Including the addition of a very popular Vibacious IPA.

Many breweries across the country have added light lagers to the tap menu. Great Lakes included! It's already award -winning.

Pat and Dan Conway started Great Lakes Brewing before breweries became a big deal. Way back to 1988. We asked Michael what he has learned from them.

The craft beer market is always changing. Michael weighs in on appealing to regular customers and new ones.

Cheers!

This was originally Episode 39 of our Podcast, and since it's Oktoberfest season and it officially starts on September 20th, we decided to re-release it.

We recorded this episode at Blackstone Brewing Co. in Nashville, TN and we were joined by the person who might know the most about Oktoberfest - Scott Mertie.

Scott is the owner of Nashville Brewing Co. in Nashville, TN and all of their beers are made with all German ingredients and brewed in the style of German beers.

Their Festbier is one of the best you'll find in this country or even in Germany.

Think I'm kidding? The outro song to this episode was written and performed by a German Metal band (BKC - Beer Killing Company) who wrote that very song called "Nashville Brewing Company", because they love Nashville Brewing Co.'s beer so much. They said it's the closest beer they've found in the U.S. - that rivaled German beer. I'd say that's a solid selling point.

Enjoy this episode (again)

Prost!

The Brewers Association is a nonprofit trade organization based in the U.S. that supports and promotes small and independent American craft brewers.

In this episode of Brewery Underground, Steve and Scott sit down with Matt Gacioch, staff economist at the Brewers Association, to dig into the numbers, trends, and future of craft beer.

Matt breaks down the Brewers Association’s role in supporting independent breweries, shares insights from the 2025 mid-year production survey, and explains how consumer shifts, tariffs, and “beyond beer” products are shaping the industry.

From the rise of non-alcoholic options to breweries experimenting with ciders, seltzers, and even pickleball courts, this conversation highlights the creativity and challenges facing today’s craft brewers.

We also dive into beer style trends (IPAs, lagers, and even nostalgic throwbacks), industry consolidation, and what defines a “craft brewery” in 2025.

Whether you’re a brewer, a beer lover, or just curious about where craft beer is headed, this episode is packed with stats, stories, and plenty of laughs over a pint.

We had a lot of fun with Matt and learned quite a bit. We love stats and appreciate that Matt does too. To quote him in this episode "An ideal world would be all numbers and beer". We love that!

Thank you Matt for joining us and spending so much time with us.

Prost!

- Steve and Scott

The Brewery Underground Podcast

Welcome to Episode 90 of The Brewery Underground Podcast!

Since it's Oktoberfest season, we thought we'd comprise a montage of clips from previous episodes, where we talked specifically about Oktoberfest beers and the season.

In this episode we feature clips from our conversations with The Hilltappers, Esoteric Brewing Company, Johnson City Brewing Company, Hoppin' Frog Brewery and Steve and Scott have their own discussion about it.

This is our favorite time of the year for beer, hence wanting to do a little something different for this episode.

What are your thoughts on Oktoberfest season and Oktoberfest beers?

Cheers!

2 of Nashville's craft beer podcast teams come together once again. The Foamy Heads and The Brewery Underground Podcast team up to talk about a HUGE acquisition in the Nashville craft beer scene.

Xul Beer Company has purchased Southern Grist Brewing Company, and it's something we all wanted to get together and discuss.

This was more or less an impromptu episode (hence dropping it on a different day than we normally do) as the news had just broken, and Rich had the great idea of us all getting on the mics to talk about it.

We are all fans of both breweries, and as much as we don't want Southern Grist to go away - we are extremely excited to have Xul in Nashville, in hopes that they brew their beer here, as well as in Knoxville.

Not only do we have an in depth conversation about Xul and Grist, we discuss a few other things as well (as we always like to do) .

Things like Rich switching back to an Android phone from iOS after 3 years, how Oktoberfest basically starts in March now, Mitch finishing his Cantillon that he wasn't able to share with breweries in Nashville - which lead to a deeper conversation about sharing outside drinks in breweries.

Sticky Keys was born as a new beer name, will Steve get a tattoo,? Rich has a new addiction called Tavour and he doesn't know this - but he almost has Scott convinced to join as well, did Mitch work on Labor Day?, how many Oktoberfest beers did Steve buy?

BTW, when the Foamies and BUP get together, we actually call ourselves The Foamy Underground.

This won't be the last you hear us doing an episode with The Foamy Heads, as we have something planned at Common John 's Beerfest on 9/20 together.

We welcome Xul Beer Company to Nashville, and we are officially rolling out the red carpet to them.

Stay tuned for more from us and, make sure to check out The Foamy Heads Podcast.

Cheers!

Steve and Scott

There are a lot of great places in Tennessee to drink craft beer. Among them, is Johnson City Brewing Company, in Johnson City, Tennessee.

We caught up with Owner Eric Latham, and Head Brewer Anna McKay to talk about what they do. Eric has been brewing the beer for a long time. Anna, was recently promoted to her position after having spent years working her way up the ladder.

Oktoberfest season has arrived. Johnson City Brewing has several variations of this annual beer. We wanted to find out about each one, including the option with Butterscotch.

Steve recently paid a visit to the brewery and shared his fun experience of going there for the first time.

Anna, talks about being a female head brewer and what that means to her.

Eric is a really busy guy. Brewery owner. President of the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild. And he recently walked through an entire state to raise money for a great charity.

We really appreciated the time they set aside to speak with us.

Cheers!