Who Are Your Hosts?

Denny Luce - AKA LuceScrew

Founder/Host

Started podcasting in 2011 when asked to guest host on a Memorial Day special with the 40cast podcast. He was asked to return as a full time host shortly after and brought the love of craft beer to his fellow hosts. A segment was started called “Denny’s Brew Buzz” where he brought short craft beer education sessions. Before he knew it, all the hosts started their own craft beer journeys and the listeners enjoyed learning about the hobby.

Denny continued on the 40cast for 3 years and 150 weekly episodes before he stepped away due to the strain of recording and producing a weekly show. Immediately some listeners urged him to start his own craft beer podcast. Denny was hesitant to commit to a weekly show, but he still had a passion to educate and spread the good word of craft beer. So he came up with a plan to release a 30-45 minute bi-weekly show where he could more easily manage the time commitment.

Doing a show solo is more difficult than some may think…it is always easier to carry on a conversation with a like-minded friend. Luckily for him he had such a friend with John Ream…a loyal listener and friend from his 40cast days.

John joined the show as a full-time co-host and the show really came into it’s own.

Denny is a US Navy veteran, serving 8 years from the late 80’s to the mid-90’s. He is a submariner, who served on-board a nuclear submarine for 4 years before finishing out his career as an advanced electronics instructor. It was during this time when Denny discovered craft beer while visiting a local brewery just outside the Navy base. He would meet weekly at Thomas Kemper Brewing with his fellow sailors and instructors, drinking some great flavorful beer and socializing around darts and horseshoes. It was the entire experience that captured his heart and drew him into the whole craft beer movement.

John Ream

Co-Host/Home-brewer

John Ream discovered the 40cast podcast. He was a silent listener, interacting with the podcasts he listened to was not his thing. That all changed when during one of Denny’s Brew Buzz segments he misspoke and provided some misleading information. John decided he needed to write into the show and let him know he was incorrect.

Now most people might get defensive with such criticism, but Denny embraced it and started a conversation with John so he could understand the issue and learn from someone who had more knowledge. This began an Internet friendship that quickly worked into meeting in person and enjoying beers together in Seattle where John lived.

Denny started making semi-annual trips to Seattle where they attended various beer festivals together. It was during one of these trips that John approached Denny with some concern about the first two episodes of Tap the Craft Podcast. Denny floated the line out and John bit…Tap the Craft now had it’s second chair when John agreed to help him out and make the show better.

John continued to co-host with Denny until 2018 when the commercial brewery he was opening in Newark, OH needed to take priority of his time. Denny agreed it would be best to focus on Trek Brewing and John would record as time permitted. So Denny needed to find another full-time cohost

Kris McKenzie

Co-host

Sometime around the first year of the show we had a listener that loved the show and wanted to help promote it. He thought it would help spread the word if we had a Facebook page. Neither Denny nor John were active on Facebook. Denny didn’t even have an account. Kris offered his help by agreeing to manage the page if we created it. So thus began our partnership.

When John was stepping away from the show it was a no brainer to ask Kris to jump into the co-host seat. He had already guested on the show a few times and had a great personality with a lot of energy. Plus he was able to bring some east coast beer experience to the podcast.