Way back in 1978, craft beer legends Charles and Rose Ann Finkel founded a small importing business and began shipping classic European beers into the US, effectively changing the American craft beer landscape for generations. Nearly five decades later, and they’re still setting the standard.

Aaron Cohn, regional sales manager at Merchant du Vin, joins us this week. After many years in the beer industry working with local breweries, Aaron found his calling slinging the absolute best beer in the world to American consumers looking to deepen their knowledge and appreciation for the classics.

Tune in to hear about Aaron’s history in the beer world, his affinity for the funk, and that one time he ghosted the rep for one of the most sought-after breweries on the planet!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and your best import-beer 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 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 173: Merchant du Vin with Aaron Cohn appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

It’s 2026! After a short holiday break, we are back to bring you an absolute banger of an episode to kick off the new year.

We are joined this week by fermentation expert and beer education icon, Shanleigh Thomson. A longtime industry professional and creator of extra-crispy beer-focused content, Shanleigh has amassed an insane amount of beer experience and expertise. We dive into her history in the beer world, her diverse background and education, and her insights on the future of beer as the industry looks to utilize vintage hops and regional ingredients.

Tune in for shenanigans, fantastic nuggets of knowledge, and to hear about how Shanleigh may have accidentally gotten one of her professors arrested.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite Bad Weather Tour locations. 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 172: The Future of Beer is “What, When, and Where” with Shanleigh Thomson appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

We’re less than a week from Christmas, which means it was the perfect time to sneak away with our best buddy and former co-host Sean Jackson for a secret Sunday podcast.

Tucked away in Doug’s studio, we popped a few fancy bottles to celebrate Sean’s 50th birthday and caught up with him as much as we could in an hour (it’s never enough time). Tune in to hear about Sean’s birthday surprise and, considering the recent news of Rogue’s closure, catch a few of his favorite stories from the Issaquah taproom and even some Dead Guy hat lore.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday, y’all. Thank you a million times over for listening to us every week. We’re going to take a couple of weeks off to reset for the new year, but stay tuned for some great upcoming episodes. Much love!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and the Rogue beer you’ll miss most. 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, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 171: Pre-Christmas Special with Sean Jackson appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

As odd as it may sound, there really is an art behind making smoothie sours taste good. Like anything else, there are good and bad examples, and often the difference is the thoughtfulness of the ingredients. That’s why we wanted to bring in our buddy, Odd Otter head brewer, to help answer the age-old question: “How much soft serve ice cream is too much to add to your beer?”

In all seriousness, Shelby is doing great work at Tacoma’s own Odd Otter Brewing Company, with a thoughtful emphasis on the “odd.” Everything from graf co-ferments with a Belgian dubbel base to peppermint white chocolate sour with winter spices.

Tune in to hear the details and inspiration behind these well-executed beers and to catch up on how the brewery is doing after reopening under new ownership with a new direction.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and hopefully Odd Otter holiday gift ideas. 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, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 170: The Art of Smoothie Sours with Shelby Bible appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

We think it’s high time we took this interview gig a little more seriously, so we figured we might as well get some high-quality interview questions locked and loaded for future episodes, but we need to make sure they’re up to snuff first.

This week, we are joined by the effortlessly dashing Erik Dahlin of The Odom Corp. to field test some of our new, totally professional interview questions. After years in the beer distribution game, Erik has tasted droves of world-class pints and traveled to many historic breweries, making wonderful memories and collecting excellent stories along the way.

Tune in to find out which beers he holds in the highest regard and which ones he might encourage extraterrestrial visitors to consume “bottoms up” style.

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

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 169: Inside the Brewer’s Studio with Erik Dahlin appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Less than a week out from everyone’s favorite chaotic family holiday—the annual turkey-fueled collision of joy, gravy, and emotional turbulence—we decided it was the perfect time to sit down with our buddy R.J. Adler, from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., to discuss pairing beer with Thanksgiving dinner.

Naturally, we lasted about 253 seconds before veering completely off the rails and dedicating the entire conversation to one of our mutual obsessions: the glorious, tart, ruby-kissed wonder that is a Flanders red ale. Why is it the perfect beer to bring to any family gathering? Why does it soothe generational trauma? Why does it pair so beautifully with turkey, stuffing, awkward political comments, and the profound desire to take a walk around the block for “fresh air”?

We go deep. Maybe too deep. Maybe just deep enough.

Tune in for laughs, actual usable beer pairing tips, and our unapologetic campaign to make Rodenbach the unofficial beer of Thanksgiving 2025.

Thank you for listening, for supporting the podcast, and for bringing good beer to the table—no matter what your family throws at you. Have a beautiful turkey day, friends.

See you all in December!

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and your best theories on what. 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, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 168: Who Brought the Rodenbach to Thanksgiving Dinner? appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

Time for a good old-fashioned debate. This week, we dive into the now-infamous New York Times opinion piece by famed journalist Mark Robichaux, “Wacky Labels and Silly Names are Killing Craft Beer”.

With a few prominent craft beer industry leaders already having responded, we figured we should throw our expert opinions out there as well, just in case. With Bethany being a professional brewer for much of her career, Ron and Phaedra coming at it from the retail perspective, Matt as a distributor, and Doug as an avid consumer, we share our takes and see where things make sense and what parts fall flat, like those half-cans of Rainier you used to save for breakfast.

Crack a fresh one, tune in, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Are silly names and wacky labels really killing craft beer?

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and Comic-Con merch. 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, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 167: Wacky Podcasts Are Killing the Craft Beer Industry appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.

We’re back, baby! The Washington Brewers Guild‘s 2025 Washington Craft Beer Summit took place this week in SeaTac, Washington, bringing nearly 100 Washington breweries together under one roof to meet with vendors, attend expert lectures, and crown the first-ever Washington Craft Beer Hall of Fame inductees. We posted up for a live recording on the showroom floor again this year and had the chance to hang with a few friends.

First was Bryson Foster, a fellow Tacoman who owns and operates Foster’s Creative, a local digital marketing business. Bryson filled us in on his Summit lecture regarding the future of marketing in the craft beer world.

We were also joined by Larry Rock again. Since we last talked, this local craft beer legend retired from Reuben’s Brews for all of one month before joining forces with his long-time buddy Mike Sutherland to help sell the award-winning White Bluffs beer.

Tune in for some tips on marketing in the world of AI, and catch up with Larry to see what has him excited about his recent work.

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Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and what Washington beer legends should be inducted next year. 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, Instagram, and YouTube.

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 166: Live from the 2025 Washington Craft Beer Summit appeared first on Grit & Grain Podcast.