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Grandma’s Hooch, Exploding Bottles, And The Beer That Made A Man Fall Off A Desk
Manage episode 520090944 series 3257309
A quiet Monday at a local brewery turns electric when a homebrew guild pulls up chairs and starts pouring stories. We begin with two teachers who fell for British cask ales, came home to stovetops and driveway boils, and helped fuel a club where curiosity ferments into craft. The thread runs through every glass we raise: the right community turns “someday” into batches, medals, and the kind of know-how you can taste.
Live from Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. https://kbrewery.com/
We ride the arc from origin tales to technique. Water chemistry becomes a secret weapon, revealing why southeast Michigan’s tap water is a dream for brewing and how salts and profiles shape style. Then the pours arrive: a wild, 18-year-old cherry farmhouse ale that over-carbonated itself into legend; a meticulous Belgian golden strong dry enough to pair with food, yet sneaky at 9.5%; and a velvet American barleywine hopped with El Dorado, all malt depth and quiet power. The mead table steals a scene, too: a fire cider sizer crafted from cider reduced over 18 hours and dosed with fireweed honey, plus a macadamia blossom bochet kissed by Amburana wood that delivers natural baking spice without a single clove. Along the way we unpack staves vs chips, surface area, aging time, and the real economics of scaling niche styles.
What ties it all together is the guild itself. First-Monday meetings mix social flights with pro-caliber education, from hops and IPAs to yeast behavior and carbonation targets. Members bring clean American lagers that chase consistency, herb-lifted basil wits that perfume the room from a half ounce of leaves, and fresh-hopped pale ales picked one day and brewed the next. Some alumni go pro, others just brew better, but everyone learns faster through honest feedback and shared palates.
Pour a glass and come hang with us as we celebrate the science, bravery, and joy inside every fermenter. If you love craft beer, mead, cider, or just a great story that starts with a hand-pulled pint, this one’s for you. Hit follow, share with a friend who brews or wants to, and leave a review telling us the one style you’re craving next. Cheers.
https://linktr.ee/ManCaveHappyHour
www.ManCaveHappyHour.com
Jamie Flanagan @DJJamieDetroit
Matt Fox @fox_beazlefox
August Gitschlag @rawgusto
Merch www.WearingFunny.com
Chapters
1. Opening Banter And Setup (00:00:00)
2. At The Brewery: Club Gathering (00:00:56)
3. Teachers To Brewers: Origin Story (00:02:03)
4. Naming Saucy Minx And First Batches (00:05:33)
5. Finding The Homebrew Club (00:06:49)
6. Grandma’s Hooch Tradition (00:09:45)
7. Club Culture, Education, And Water (00:12:42)
8. Alumni Who Went Pro (00:16:36)
9. Nate’s 18-Year Farmhouse Ale (00:18:34)
10. Bill’s Awarded Meads And Fire Cider (00:23:06)
11. Wood, Honey, And Mead Techniques (00:31:45)
12. Steve’s Belgian Golden Strong (00:37:14)
13. Barleywine Deep Dive (00:41:36)
14. Doug’s Path And Oktoberfest (00:47:06)
15. Club Leadership Joins (00:54:16)
16. Brewing An American Lager Cleanly (00:58:16)
17. Basil Wit And Recipe Play (01:01:35)
18. Why Clubs Make You Better (01:06:12)
19. Father–Son Brewing And Fresh Hops (01:09:20)
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