Ask just about any beer drinker in the state and they will tell you their favorite Michigan brewery and craft beer. That's because our state has many high-quality breweries to choose from, often ranking high among all states for craft beer culture. But why? And how did it get like this? We break down Michigan's beer history.

Take our Michigan Beer Quiz to test your knowledge.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

Mickey Lyons, journalist, historian, and "barcheologist" 

Terry Rostic, founder of Black Calder Brewing Co.

Larry Bell, founder of Bell's Brewery

 

Got a home brewing story? Are you John Stroh? Have a question for On Hand? Submit here:
Online Submission Form
Call us: 734-764-7840
Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

Ask just about any beer drinker in the state and they will tell you their favorite Michigan brewery and craft beer. That's because our state has many high-quality breweries to choose from, often ranking high among all states for craft beer culture. But why? And how did it get like this? We break down Michigan's beer history.
Take our <a href="https://app.grovecms.org/cms/content/edit.jsp?typeId=b8089fbc-e097-3d30-b014-97a1ffc56056&amp;id=0000019d-0b5e-dfd5-a3bd-ffff22690000">Michigan Beer Quiz</a> to test your knowledge.
GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:
Mickey Lyons, journalist, historian, and "barcheologist"&nbsp;
Terry Rostic, founder of Black Calder Brewing Co.
Larry Bell, founder of Bell's Brewery
&nbsp;
Got a home brewing story? Are you John Stroh? Have a question for On Hand? Submit here:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand/2025-08-14/submit-your-questions">Online Submission Form</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Call us: 734-764-7840</li>
<li aria-level="1">Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org</li>
</ul>
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: <a href="http://michiganpublic.org/podfund">michiganpublic.org/podfund</a>

Ever wondered why we call ourselves “Michiganders”? Or why we say “pop” instead of “soda”? Or, seriously, how many people need to be rescued from Sleeping Bear Dunes every year? That’s why we’re bringing you a new podcast - On Hand - to answer all your questions about what makes our state so special.

To share a story or submit your questions, head to michiganpublic.org/onhand

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

Ever wondered why we call ourselves &ldquo;Michiganders&rdquo;? Or why we say &ldquo;pop&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;soda&rdquo;? Or, seriously, how many people need to be rescued from Sleeping Bear Dunes every year? That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re bringing you a new podcast - On Hand - to answer all your questions about what makes our state so special.
To share a story or submit your questions, head to <a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand">michiganpublic.org/onhand</a>
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider <a href="https://michiganpublic.org/podfund">supporting our work</a>: michiganpublic.org/podfund

On Hand

What made Michigan a craft beer powerhouse?

Is it really worth our time to haul returnables to the store for just 10 cents each? And is it worth it for Michigan's recycling industry to maintain a bottle deposit system when we already have curbside recycling?
See Shelie Miller's "Comprehensive Ealuation of MIchigan's Bottle Deposit System" here
Read more from the Container Recycling Institute here
See a Reloop and CRI study about the impact of bottle deposits on beverage sales here

GUESTS:

Susan Collins, president of the Container Recycling Institute
Shelie Miller, Jonathan W. Bulkley Collegiate Professor of Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan; co-director, Center for Sustainable Systems

Cover photo by April Van Buren

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:


Online Submission Form


Call us: 734-764-7840


Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

Is it really worth our time to haul returnables to the store for just 10 cents each? And is it worth it for Michigan's recycling industry to maintain a bottle deposit system when we already have curbside recycling?
<ul>
<li>See Shelie Miller's <a href="https://backend.production.deepblue-documents.lib.umich.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/ed82f581-6b9a-411d-b86a-041382fe81a0/content">"Comprehensive Ealuation of MIchigan's Bottle Deposit System" here</a></li>
<li>Read more from the <a href="https://www.container-recycling.org/">Container Recycling Institute here</a></li>
<li>See a Reloop and CRI <a href="https://www.reloopplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Reloop-Impact-of-DRS-Report.pdf">study about the impact of bottle deposits on beverage sales here</a></li>
</ul>
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Susan Collins, president of the Container Recycling Institute</li>
<li>Shelie Miller, Jonathan W. Bulkley Collegiate Professor of Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan; co-director, Center for Sustainable Systems</li>
</ul>
Cover photo by April Van Buren
<hr>
Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand/2025-08-14/submit-your-questions">Online Submission Form</a>
</li>
<li>
Call us: 734-764-7840
</li>
<li>
Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org
</li>
</ul>
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work:&nbsp;<a href="http://michiganpublic.org/podfund">michiganpublic.org/podfund</a>

Is Michigan’s 10-cent bottle deposit worth it?

In last week's episode, we dug into the history of euchre and whether the quintessential Michigan game was actually created in the mitten. Turns out, not quite. The trick-taking game came to the Midwest — including Michigan — through farmers who visited New Orleans and Pennsylvania and came in contact with Alsatian immigrants, from a region along the Rhine River where France and Germany meet. The Civil War also helped spread the game across the country.

 

From the 1700s to today, the way we play euchre has evolved in countless ways and we heard from some of you on how you've managed to make the game your own.

Today, we’re sharing your euchre stories.

GUESTS:


Keith Kim, an Ann Arbor resident who in college managed to skip doing the dishes countless of times by winning a few rounds of euchre


Eric Farnum from Grand Ledge is one of the masterminds behind what he and his friends liked to call "Bastard Euchre"

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

Online Submission Form

Call us: 734-764-7840

Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

In last week's episode, we dug into the <a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand/2026-04-17/where-does-euchre-come-from">history of euchre</a> and whether the quintessential Michigan game was actually created in the mitten. Turns out, not quite. The trick-taking game came to the Midwest &mdash; including Michigan &mdash; through farmers who visited New Orleans and Pennsylvania and came in contact with Alsatian immigrants, from a region along the Rhine River where France and Germany meet. The Civil War also helped spread the game across the country.
&nbsp;
From the 1700s to today, the way we play euchre has evolved in countless ways and we heard from some of you on how you've managed to make the game your own.
Today, we&rsquo;re sharing your euchre stories.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Keith Kim, an Ann Arbor resident who in college managed to skip doing the dishes countless of times by winning a few rounds of euchre
</li>
<li>
Eric Farnum from Grand Ledge is one of the masterminds behind what he and his friends liked to call "Bastard Euchre"
</li>
</ul>
Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:
<a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand/2025-08-14/submit-your-questions">Online Submission Form</a> Call us: 734-764-7840
Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work:&nbsp;<a href="http://michiganpublic.org/podfund">michiganpublic.org/podfund</a>

Your Stories: Euchre for dishes

For many Michiganders, euchre (pronounced yoo-kur) feels like a quintessentially Michigan game—but was it actually created here? Long story short, no. But the story of how the trick-taking game made its way to the Mitten state and became one of its most popular card game is an interesting one.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

Jamie and Becky DeVries, hosts of monthly euchre tournament at Oakestown Brewery in Grandville, Michigan
Steven Zink, retired IT professor at the University of Nevada and unofficial euchre historian

Want to submit a question to On Hand or a story about a game of euchre? Here’s how:


Online Submission Form


Call us: 734-764-7840


Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

For many Michiganders, euchre (pronounced yoo-kur) feels like a quintessentially Michigan game&mdash;but was it actually created here? Long story short, no. But the story of how the trick-taking game made its way to the Mitten state and became one of its most popular card game is an interesting one.
GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:
Jamie and Becky DeVries, hosts of monthly euchre tournament at <a href="https://oakestownbrewery.com/">Oakestown Brewery</a> in Grandville, Michigan Steven Zink, retired IT professor at the University of Nevada and unofficial euchre historian
Want to submit a question to On Hand or a story about a game of euchre? Here&rsquo;s how:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/on-hand/2025-08-14/submit-your-questions">Online Submission Form</a>
</li>
<li>
Call us: 734-764-7840
</li>
<li>
Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org
</li>
</ul>
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work:<a href="http://michiganpublic.org/podfund"> michiganpublic.org/podfund</a>

What made Michigan a craft beer powerhouse?

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