Wendy and Rob talk to Greig of Brewaucracy with Bill and Michelle of the Detroit area about beer judging. We get some of our burning questions answered about how to get started and see a bit behind the curtain of what a beer judging session looks like at a competition. If this show piques your interest in getting involved in beer judging or sheds some light on what a style is and why it's important, let us know!

Some organizations and events discussed on the show:

BJCP

Brewer's Association (BA)

Cider Association

Mead Makers Association

Michigan Homebrewers Festival

Kristen Radaich joins Wendy and Rob to talk about her recent book, Beer Hiking Minnesota, Wisconsin & the Upper Peninsula. We talk about hiking with dogs, finding breweries near trails, finding trails near breweries, beer flights, and so much more.

Wendy and Rob get caught up on various pieces of beer news. Some new laws, TTB stuff, mergers, grocery store beer, harbingers of spring, celebrities doing celebrity things, and some cool new technology useful to the beer industry.

March Draftness is coming to May. If you are a brewery in Michigan who wants to be involved, email us!

We had some real-world difficulties this week so cut the show very short.

Episode 386 will be on March 27 and will most likely be a news show.

April 10 we will talk to Kristen Radaich about her book: Beer Hiking Minnesota, Wisconsin & the Upper Peninsula: Great Hikes and Breweries from the Twin Cities to the Northwoods

May 8 we have Nick Lesogor of Exit 12 Homebrew to learn about BrewTubers, an online homebrew club.

Wendy and Rob catch up on some beer news and important lists!

Vinepair's highest rated beer in each state (and DC) using BeerAdvocate's ratings

Vinepair's article about cheersing with a list of equivalent sayings in other languages.

Portland, OR's Shebrew beer festival

USA Today's multiple articles - the final 20 that will be voted on for rankings:

• Best Beer Garden
• Best Beer City
• Best Beer Festival
• Best Beer Label
• Best Brewery Tour
• Best Brewpub
• Best New Brewery

Wendy and Rob talk to Stephen of OPA Design Studio about designing breweries, taprooms, and fun places to visit.

OPA Design Studio's blog with more looks at their projects and related topics: https://www.breweryarchitect.com/blog

The Obituary card game Stephen designed: https://obituarygame.com/

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!