Joevon Hatter from Rewind Beer Arcade and Bryan Donaldson from Lagunitas are here on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. This is the first time on Brew Ha Ha for each of them. Joevon is the Manager of Beverage and Events for Rewind Beer Arcade in Sebastopol, which features a great beer selection and many ’80s an ’90s arcade games. Bryan is the Brewing Innovation Manager at Lagunitas. He gets to make experimental beers for the brewery. Bryan Donaldson studied at UC Davis with Charlie Bamforth (who was on this show on this Feb. 28, 2018 episode) and then built a resumé with the biggest brands in the business including Sierra Nevada, Anheuser Busch and Heineken. He is also an open-water scuba instructor and a former university chemistry instructor at Santa Clara and UC Davis. Rewind Arcade features the arcade games but also 20 taps of all kinds of craft beers. They are measured and charged by the ounce, so it is easy to taste a lot of different brews in one visit. Joevan makes sure that the selection is always fresh and up-to-date, including the best flavors from the best local breweries. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Lagunitas Brewing Company does not do a lot of brewing collaborations but Old Caz is special. CAZUNITAS is a portmanteau of Old Caz and Lagunitas. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around! 🍕🍻

Adam Ray, founder of the Santa Rosa Beer City Festival, and Colin McDonald from HenHouse join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Also in the studio is Ryan Silva, winner of the golden growler. Colin was on Brew Ha Ha last June 13, 2024, when HenHouse was getting ready for the Freshtival. Adam Ray is the founder of Beer City Festival, Colin McDonald is here from HenHouse for the annual Big Chicken release, and Ryan Silva won the Golden Growler trophy, which he has broght. Beer City was born in Santa Rosa, THEE Beer City. There is a running event in the morning then a party in the afternoon. HenHouse is participating in Beer City and also in the Santa Rosa Beer Passport. They can’t have Big Chicken on Saturday, it will only be at the brewery that day. Big Chicken is HenHouse's once-a-year special IPA. After Saturday it will be available in all their retail locations. Racing and Drinking Beer, or Just Drinking Beer There is a series of four of races at all the four different Beer City locations. There are races for 5K, 10K and half marathon. Runners can gain points by running more races for longer distance at better times. They announce the overall men’s and women’s winners at the end of the last day of races. Ryan won the giant growler as the overall men’s winner last year. New this year is Race the Rex, a person in a dinosaur costume. You run a lap and take a drink. If the T Rex catches you, you’re out. If you lose your cookies, you’re out. It sounds very complicated, but they will have ushers and judges. Colin explains the mission of Big Chicken. Every year the recipe changes. Steve says it’s delicious. Colin says they try to bring to every Big Chicken all that they learned about making hoppy beer during the last year. They are using special hops which are cryogenically extracted so that the beer is “oily” with hop flavor. Big Chicken The Big Chicken they are tasting was tapped off the main tank about 15 minutes ago. They are celebrating 13 years at HenHouse. Colin realizes that places him in the generation of distinguished elder craft brewers. 95% of their beer is sold in the bay area. Mark Carpenter, “a living legend” former BHH co-host and Anchor brewer, loves HenHouse. Take the Smart Train, it’s sponsored and is there to help you get around while you enjoy Beer City Festival and while you fill out your Beer Passport. Visit Santa Rosa is a sponsor. Every Beer City attracts 60% visitors from out of county.

Herlinda Heras and Kevin McGee Kevin McGee from Anderson Valley Brewing Company joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. AVBC is the official brewery of the 2024 Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Kevin McGee has been on this show a few times, most recently this episode on May 2, 2024. Anderson Valley Brewing Company has been in business for 37 years. Their entire property is now licensed as a beer tasting room. There is a disc golf course on the site now. They like to offer an experience a little more memorable than just drinking a beer. His family bought the company in 2019 and they also relaunched the Healdsburg Beer Company. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap. Kevin tried making wine at home but without success. His wife suggested he try beer, so he changed his business plan in 2007. At the time it was hard to sell the beer, but Guy Fieri's restaurant was one of the first customers. AVBC was the first brewery to use only solar energy. They also have a completely self-contained water system that draws water from wells on the property and returns all their used water to the ground on site. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair This year AVBC is the official brewery of the Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, from November 23 through December 22, from 10am-6pm.

Author Marty Nachel, author of Beer for Dummies, joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha, on the phone from Chicago. Marty has also written How to Judge Beer Like a Pro. In order begin to judge beer like a pro, the first prerequisite is practice. However that’s not all. You have to know beer styles and be familiar with different off aromas and flavors as well. Herlinda agrees and adds that the scientific names of things are important to know, to understand beer at this level. For example, Brett, or Brettanomyces. (The term Brettanomyces comes from the Greek for “British fungus.”) Marty has been in the craft brewing industry in many roles for more than thirty years. He first got interested in beer on a long weekend vacation to Toronto where he took a tour of the Molson brewing company. He had never tasted beer so fresh, and in so many styles in one sitting. The most interesting place he has judged beer is in South Africa. He was lucky to be working with a literary agent who knew the publishers of the for Dummies series. They had just done one on wine so they wanted one on beer too and Marty got the gig. There doesn’t seem to be one for Cider yet. Actually he self-published How to Judge Beer Like a Pro, on Amazon. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Marty is in Chicago which is home to some great lager style breweries. Goose Island is the local brewery with a brew pub on Clark St. Lagunitas has also opened a location in Chicago, which just reopened a few weeks ago. They made a big impression there when they opened, but since being acquired by Heineken, the novelty seems to have worn thin there. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info.

Herlinda and Fridge Nickolas Garson, AKA Fridge, sales rep from Cooperage Brewing joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Cooperage is just about to celebrate 8 years as one of the premiere locations to get a beer in Santa Rosa. They are located on Airway Court between Piner and Hopper. Their family-friendly location is open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 2 to 8 pm, Friday and Saturday from noon to 11 pm and Sunday from noon to 8 pm. Their website and socials have the updated daily food truck schedule. They went out of their way to make the location comfortable and beautiful. The bar is a long redwood tree trunk. Cooperage’s founder Tyler helped Nickolas get to know and to enjoy craft beer and that led to him working in the craft beer industry. Nicholas was inspired by his first taste of good craft beer back in the day. It may be hard to remember today, but at one time, average beer in America was not very good at all, with little or no attention to freshness or flavor. Well, we took care of that, didn’t we? Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Cooperage Brewing 8th Anniversary As part of their 8th anniversary, they have a band performing on June 10, Painted Waves, a local pop-rock band. The Coop Co-op is on the 11th with vendors and DJs. The anniversary party itself is Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th with a rock climbing wall, face painters and mechanical bull riding. The vendors include vintage clothes and shoes and they are adding more and more to the list. It is a nice opportunity to help small local businesses. They have beer and yoga sessions. The price includes a beer after yoga. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. They have been tasting Lazy Cat lager, which was originally a staff collaboration. The name is based on their brewery cat named Beyonce. It is made with Luminosa hops, which has no pine or resin character. It has a tiny citrus undertone. They are also tasting the Mexican lager. Nicholas brought Trimcoe, a new West Coast IPA. Cooperage Brewing beers are available in grocery stores as well as restaurants and bars all around Sonoma County.

Lo & Behold Crispy Pork Spareribs Laura Sanfilippo & Sean Raymond Kelley from Lo & Behold Bar Restaurant join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Lo and Behold has three partner owners, who met while working for others. They thought Healdsburg had space for a casual place, large and spacious, with a great bar. Almost a year and a half ago, they opened Lo and Behold. Sean Kelley grew up with his grandmother’s Sunday dinners. He ran kitchens in some prominent restaurants and then went to culinary school at Tante Marie’s in San Francisco. He wants his flavors to appear familiar and comfortable, but with extraordinary flavors. The Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience includes spirits for the first time. Tickets are still available for the event. It’s all Healdsburg bartenders, pairing “farm to glass.” Her partner Tara has a farm where they grow the herbs and flowers that they use, a nice long list of flavors. Sean has also brought a bunch of appetizers. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. They thought Healdsburg had space for a casual place, large and spacious, with a great bar. Lo and Behold has a nice selection of Italian Amaros, or Amari, either way, which are dark herbal liqueurs that vary between bitter and sweet. Every one of the bartenders has a special, original concoction for their Healdsburg event. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Global Comfort Food Sean describes the restaurant as Global Comfort Food. For example, fried chicken is a winner all over the world. Harry asks what it was like opening a restaurant at the end of a pandemic. Laura thinks it may have been an ideal time. Also, they have been in Healdsburg for a long time and they had a lot of customer loyalty. They also have a nice patio. When people were ready to come back out, there they were. It was hard, but they had already worked through the entire pandemic. This is the first restaurant that the partners have ever owned themselves, after running restaurants for others for a long time. Tomorrow, Friday May 18, from 4-7 PM at Lo and Behold, there is a Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience event. It is a stand-up meet and greet with Healdsburg’s best bartenders. The bartenders will be all at their own stations on the big patio.

Herlinda, Krzysztof and Marcin. Marcin Ostajewski from Browar Fortuna and Krzysztof Panek from Browar Grodzisk in Poland join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Krzsyztof and Marcin have just arrived from Nashville, where they attended the World Beer Cup. Both of their breweries are located in western Poland, not far from Posnan. Browar Grodzisk is based in Grodzisk Wielkopolski and Browar Fortuna is in Miłosław. The Grodziskie style is Poland’s own, originating in the town of Grodzisk. It is a unique beer, the only one in the world brewed with 100 % wheat malt, smoked with oak wood. The brewing process is difficult and long and it has to take its time. Grodziskie is light and refreshing, with a unique flavor among beers on the lighter side. Marcin tells about early 20th Century advertisements for this beer that refer to it as "Polish Champagne." There are samples of old Grodziskie ads here on Browar Grodzisk website. (This reminds me of Miller High Life, The Champagne of Bottled Beers, their old slogan. -cd) Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Grodziskie Krzsyztof is quite serious about making Grodziskie as well as possible. He did extensive research in order to replicate the old equipment and he collected information from many people. The brewery fell into disuse after communism. Beginning in the 1990s, investors came in and closed breweries that were not cost-effective. Since lagers were in demand, beer consumers demanded that. Only later they were able to bring Grodziskie back when they re-founded the brewery. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Marcin talks about their home brew competition. The only rule is that beers in competition can’t use wild yeast, which would interfere with their brewing operation. The brewery will produce the winning recipe at the next year’s festival. Krzsyztof describes how hard it was to find the right malt for Grodziskie. They found a malter just over the border in Czech Republic. The home brewing community developed in Poland during communism when there was not enough good beer available commercially. When they brought Grodziskie beer back into production, the home brewers society was an important source of recipes, yeast and information. Next they taste Komes, an idea that came from Krzysztof wondering what would happen if he took their award-winning Baltic Porter, and froze it. He kept it for 2 weeks in the deep freezer. Below the ice there was a condensed liquid, made of alcohol and all the flavor elements. They tasted it and decided it was extraordinary. Then they put it in whiskey barrels. After 4 or 5 years of the project, they have several hundred bottles. There isn't much of it, but now they do batches of about 1000 bottles.

Herlinda, Sayre & Mercedes Mercedes Hernandez founder of the SOCO Market and Sayre Piotrkowski from HenHouse, are our guests on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. The Freshtival is this Saturday, May 6 at Somo Village in Rohnert Park. Get tickets here, they are going fast! As the show begins they open a Moonlight Death and Taxes that is only a few days old. Brian Hunt from Moonlight and Vinny Cilurzo from Russian River were the pioneers of quality and freshness. Today the billboard outside Santa Rosa says Welcome to Fresh Beer Country. The Importance of Freshness Sayre talks about what they call second-half beer quality. The HenHouse company mission is to improve beer quality for the end consumer and to create wealth for our community. Freshness is the one quality metric that the consumer has access to. You can see if a beer is kept cold and you can see its date of production. These two factors are vital. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. The best place to get the freshest beer is this Saturday May 6 at Somo Village in Rohnert Park. The event is sponsored by the Bay Area Brewers Guild. Brian Hunt says, "Fresh beer is like live music. Stale beer is like listening from the parking lot." THE SOCO MARKET Mercedes Hernandez describes how the SOCO Market started during the pandemic. Many Sonoma County businesses didn’t have a physical location so she invited eleven local makers to exhibit and sell together. It grew to over 60 vendors and then the city of Santa Rosa invited them to a market space in Old Courthouse Square that can have as many as 90. They have a market every month from April to August. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. The SOCO Market with its panorama of jewelry, plants and clothing vendors lends a fun and colorful atmosphere for the Freshtival. The Art of Freshness Gallery will be showing artists who have created label art for local brewers. The first beer tasted was The Art of Freshness, which is the name of a beer and the theme of the festival. They also taste Matiné Idol. For the rest, go to the Freshtival! Today's tastings on BHH.

Zach Kelly The 2023 Freshtival is today's subject, as Zach Kelly, the brewmaster at HenHouse Brewery joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Fal Allen also calls in from Booneville later in the show. The Freshtival takes place on May 6 at SOMO Village. Zach Kelly has been the brew master at HenHouse for about a year and a half now. The Freshtival, May 6, 2023 In addition to all the breweries, many artists will be at the Freshtival, who are responsible for the art work for the labels on many craft beer cans. The Freshtival also features live bands, which makes it a great music festival as well. There is also a community market. Visit HenHouse Brewing or Event Brite to get tickets and to see everything about the Freshtival. They are tasting a Petit Saison beer from HenHouse which is only 4.5% alcohol. The term Saison beer refers to a beer with a low alcohol content, which would allow someone to enjoy it while also doing something else. Zach tells about how he made this beer for his wife. He experimented with recipes and since they went to New Zealand on their honeymoon, this beer uses all New Zealand hops. She didn’t know he brewed it for her, so he put on a May Day party at the brewery and presented it there. This particular beer was canned about three hours ago, speaking of fresh beer. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Zach Kelly spent about five years at Russian River, previously worked at Left Hand Brewing in Colorado, and started at Keegan Ales in New York. This Beer Creates Opportunity They are tasting Sonoma Sunshine, a dry-hopped Kolsch beer. (See the title picture) Their artist, Blanca, who designed the label, has also painted a mural in the tasting room. The Brewers Guild is holding a mixer to promote The Inclusion Beer Project and the beer labeled This Beer Creates Opportunity. The project is dedicated to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and open access in the craft brewing industry. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. HenHouse is located at 322 Bellvue Ave. in Santa Rosa. They also have a location called the Palace of Barrels in Petaluma. They serve a beer called “Day Zero” which comes right off the production line. In the near future they will be opening a new location in Fairfax.

Fal Allen Fal Allen of Anderson Valley Brewing Co. joins Harry Duke and Herlinda to discuss the Booneville Beer Fest, this Saturday in Booneville. Fal Allen is the brewmaster at Anderson Valley Brewing Co. in Booneville, which is sponsoring the 25th Annual Booneville Beer Fest. There will be 80 breweries there with at least 180 different beers. All the proceeds go to local non-profits in the area. They have raised over $1.25 million dollars for local charities in the last quarter century. There are also 4 bands and 10 food vendors, along with the 80 breweries, and lots of crafts for sale. There will also be cider brewers there. You can learn all about it at the Booneville Beer Fest web page, here. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Anderson Valley just got named the most under-rated place to visit, for beer and wine. AVBC has been around for 45 years, but there are wineries in the area that are 100 years old. The hotels are booked for this event but there is no shortage of camping. Tickets are available at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company website, for this Saturday, April 29. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info.

Herlinda & Ted. Ted Vivatson from Eel River Brewing Company is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. He is the owner and co-founder of the brewery, which is located in Humboldt, California. They opened in 1995. About two years after that, they were pioneers in organic practices. Ted grew up in Danville, California and was deployed in Germany in the US Army and there he got to know high quality beer. After he left the service, he noticed that there was no good local beer, so he and some friends set about to make some. Today Eel River is one of the oldest craft breweries in America. He took a temporary job in the US Forest Service while studying engineering and home brewing. It wasn’t always easy to find ingredients and equipment back then before home brewing became popular. He took classes at UC Davis and the Siebel Institute. Now, he and the other craft brewing pioneers are seeing their children move into the same business. They are tasting a beer called Climax which is named after a locomotive train. He made it to order for a friend who asked for a “naked” beer, meaning something plain and simple with no altered ingredients. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. It was really hard to find organic hops and grain back then. They found organic hops in New Zealand and they had to send someone down there to secure the first supply. This is a very simple beer with a low ABV and only 100 calories per serving. The next beer tasted is a California Blonde Ale which has won 5 medals at the Great American Beer Fest. They also have opened their Amber Ale. Their first organic beers were limited by what ingredients were available. Ted Vivatson was also a pioneer in hard selzer, and Herlinda and Harry agree that his hard selzer the best tasting one around. They worked on it for about two years, to develop the right recipe. Finally they got it right. It’s the only one naturally fermented.   Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.

Herlinda, Jenny and Bryan. Bryan Donaldson from Lagunitas and Jenny Griffo from Griffo Distillery join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Bryan Donaldson is the Brewing Innovation Manager at Lagunitas and Jenny Griffo is a co-founder of Griffo Distillery. Lagunitas and Griffo Distillery have collaborated on a single malt whiskey accented with hops. The two companies are located a half a block away from each other. Jenny and Bryan describe the process of distilling the mashed beer with hops and then they barrel age it for three years. They will only release 600 bottles of it. People who attend the party on Thursday the 27th of April will get some. The event will feature food and a selection of beers, at Lagunitas. Then, guests will take busses across the way to visit Griffo, for the continuation, following the creation of this whiskey. Guests will get a bottle of Still Waldos single malt whiskey. There will also be live music and specially made chocolates. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Tickets are available on the Griffo website. Tickets are going fast to the first eating at 5:30, and there will be a second seating at 7:30. There will only be 25 total tickets to each seating. There will also be tastings of the Waldos beer, which Lagunitas makes every year. Lagunitas Waldos Special Ale Triple IPA Bryan describes his career path, which includes a Masters in Brewing from Charlie Bamforth at UC Davis, and jobs at Lagunitas soon after. He has also developed a tea-based beverage for Lagunitas, which is completely alcohol-free. Bryan says he is most proud of Hoppy Refresher, which is a dry-hopped sparkling water. Griffo Distillery is also constantly innovating. Their last new product was a cold-brewed coffee liqueur. Griffo also has pop-ups coming to the distillery. On April 28, Second Staff, a local catering company, will be serving Korean Fried Chicken. They are on Scott Street in Petaluma. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. This year’s Freshtival is scheduled for May 6 Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park. All of the beer there will be less than 7 days old. Information is available at the dedicated page on the Hen House website.

Indian Valley Brewing co-founders Joe and Matt Tachis visit Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Their story begins in the 1950s when their father came back from Korea and went to work for Hamm’s brewery in San Francisco. He was their west coast sales manager, there was beer around the house. From the back room to the taproom. They started Indian Valley in 2017. They were home brewing with their father and brothers. People liked their beer, so they started the brewery in back of Joe’s electrical shop and started distributing to bars and restaurants. Now they have a taproom in Novato, near the Novato smart train station. The whole family was there to help along the way, to work on everything. The taproom is open every day. There are some food trucks that park nearby. They have Mexican food on Friday nights, which gets a great turnout, and pizza and trivia on Thursday nights. It is open 3-8pm Mon.-Thurs., 3-9pm on Friday, 2-8pm on Saturday and 12-5pm on Sunday. Kids and dogs are welcome. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Joe likes the lighter beers, blondes, lagers and pilsners, and Matt likes “the maltier stuff” so ales and porters. They are tasting the Hazy Blonde Ale, it’s refreshing and light. This recipe came from their original home brewing activity. Next they taste the Hopalong, their flagship IPA. This is the brainchild of their brewer Sean Cochrane. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Why they say "Keep your day job" Joe and Matt still work their day jobs and Sean makes beer full time. The brothers still do a lot of work, since they have pro construction skills. They just finished installing a conventional system. They bought a used system that came with no information about how to operate it apart from the burners. Their brewing capacity is three barrels. Their beer is on tap for now at the taproom and they have a one-at-a-time 16-oz. canning machine. They usually have 12 or 13 taps at a time available, with some rotating in and out roughly monthly. Some of their beers, like their father's favorite Scotch Ale, are always there, since the customers demand them. It is malty and dry. It's called Grumpa's which is a grandchild's variation on Grandpa. It won Battle of the Brews for best ale, and best in show too, the year before. At the most recent edition of the competition, they were on the new equipment which was not quite perfectly set up, and they didn't win. The taproom has wood panelling which keeps the room quiet, compared to rooms with concrete walls which make a noisier locale. This is a choice, so people can hear each other's conversation.

Jeffery House and Herlinda Heras Jeffery House is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, with news about the company he founded and is back managing now. Jeffery has been on Brew Ha Ha before. His most recent visit was this episode last May, after his book was released. He sold Ace Cider to Vintage Wine Estates which burned through money and declared bankruptcy. He and his sons attempted to buy the brand back. They went to an auction in New York for the assets. They “got pipped at the post” as a third-generation Budweiser distributor had the winning bid. But Jeffery approached them offering his services and they accepted it. Jeffery is confident that in a year or two they should be back to where they were. Jeffery mentions that they had been debt free for five years and their distribution was getting really strong. The consumers have been very loyal. Awareness of the brand is strong and they are happy with the compliments they are receiving now. The Cider King Jeffery House’s book The Cider King came out in May. It is his autobiography, tracing his life from England, in the advertising business, coming to America, starting to import British beer into America. He encountered cider while in the beer business. The book goes through all the events from his discovery of the Sebastopol apple orchards to the founding and growth of Ace Cider. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap. Their ciders range from 5% to 8% ABV but the alcohol is not as prominent in the flavor profile, compared to beer. They discovered a strong demand in the Hispanic market, for example there are about 500 taps of Ace Cider in El Paso, TX. Herlinda mentions that cider is a great choice for holiday meals and also for toasts. Jeffery says you could pour his Joker cider and it will pass for California sparkling wine. Jeffery’s wife was in the cantina scene of Star Wars, she was an intergalactic spy smoking a hookah pipe in the bar. In the western part of Britain, cider is a more popular drink than beer. Bretagne, in northwest France, is also the home of cider in France. That is also the land of crepes and their classic combination is any kind of crepes with a glass of cider. Cider is gluten free, low calorie and refreshing. It is also versatile, so you can drink it alone or with anything. Cider is actually made more like wine than beer and is taxed as wine too. You make it in a couple of weeks. You can vintage age it but it doesn’t have to undergo all that. It is growing in popularity as people gain awareness of it. That is a different than the trajectory of some of those seltzer drinks. They shot up in popularity then down again (kind of like shaking a can, opening it, getting a big splash, then just a wet mess).

Anchor Brewing San Pancho Mexican lager Dane Volek from Anchor Brewing calls in to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras to talk about their new San Pancho Mexican lager. Dane is the new Brewmaster at Anchor Brewing, so he has the job that used to belong to Brew Ha Ha founding father Mark Carpenter. Joe and Matt Tachis from Indian Valley Brewing in Novato are also in the studio today during Dane’s call. Their full interview with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras is available on their own podcast page, here. San Pancho is a Mexican style lager with natural lime flavors. They did some test releases in the brew house which went well, and the folks around the brew house liked it too. The label on the can is inspired by Mexican mural art. The recipe begins with pale malt and some flaked corn and makes a refreshing dry beer. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Anchor Brewing is also where Herlinda’s guests from Poland did a collaboration brew last January, mentioned in this Brew Ha Ha episode. Dane describes the Baltic Porter they made that day, using Anchor’s yeast. Marcin Malecki and Artur Napuripski of Maryensztadt Brewery in Poland have invited Dane to Poland to do another collaboration there. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. For this baseball season, Anchor Brewing is working with the San Francisco Giants. Their beer is at the ballpark and they might do an Anchor Day promotion this year. We also hear about the artist who did the San Pancho Mexican Lager beer label who is from Mexico City. The label is also inspired by the kind of mural art in the Mission district of San Francisco. They may also do this kind of artwork on their IPA. Anchor is getting ready for the busy summer season. The public taproom is open Wednesdays through Sundays. They have 24 taps which are about half their usual commercial beers and the others serve many other smaller batches and experiments that they also produce.

Herlinda & Suzanne Suzanne Hagins from Horse and Plow Cider in Graton is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Horse and Plow makes cider and also wine. All of their cider comes from Sebastopol-grown apples. They are dry and naturally carbonated and they show the quality of the Sonoma County fruit. They are based on the famous Gravenstein apples that are mostly grown in Sebastopol. It is a blend of 12 different apple varieties and is very dry. Horse and Plow started as a winery. The tasting room is off Hwy 116 between Graton and Sebastopol. Cider and Mead are both good alternatives to wine and beer, for festive occasions and meals. They are tasting the Horse and Plow Farmhouse Cider. It is mostly Gravenstein apples and very dry. Visit Horse and Plow Horse and Plow ciders are at Bottle Barn and Whole Foods, Willibees, Pacific Market and Andy’s. Hwy 116, Gravenstein Hwy, close to Andy’s, open 12-5 Thursday through Monday. They accept reservations online or by phone. There are art shows and music performances. They do tasting flights of wines, ciders, and mixed flights. It is family and dog friendly. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Horse and Plow uses many unusual varieties of apples in their ciders, more than 30 varieties. Cider is made like wine, which made it easy for them to add cider to their operation which was already licensed for wine. Fully half of their business at the tasting room is cider. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They also taste their Rosé made from 100-year-old dry-farmed Carignane vines located in Mendocino County. They pick the fruit early to preserve the acidity. There are strawberry flavors in the wine. They have one-liter refillable growlers that can be refilled with red or white wine or cider. Finally they taste their Pinot Noir, known for being fruit forward with a silky texture.

Gordon Hull Gordon Hull from Heidrun Meadery in Pt. Reyes Station joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Heidrun Meadery is a 26-year-old company. They are open 7 days a week, from 5 to 11. They specialize in Mead, which is wine made with honey instead of grapes. Their mead is unique because it is sparkling, made the same way as champagne. They also make different flavors of mead from different varieties of honey. They also have beehives and make honey that they use to make mead. Their meadery is a converted dairy farm. A Unique Style of Mead They are the only producer of champagne-style mead in the world. They make a base wine that is still, in stainless steel tanks. Before bottling they add sugar and get a secondary fermentation to create a natural effervescence. Mead is the oldest fermented beverage in the world. It predates beer and wine by thousands of years. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. In the studio they are tasting a mead that Gordon sent them, made from honey that comes from Tanzania, which has a very distinct flavor. The honey comes from the African bees which are very aggressive. Because of that, the people who extract the honey use smoke to distract the bees, and the smoke plays a part in the flavor of the honey. It has a distinct, peaty, pine-resin flavor. He describes it as a cross between a fine champagne and a peaty Scotch whiskey. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Heidrun Meads are available at Bottle Barn. In Norse mythology, Odin is the highest god and lives in Valhalla. He lives by drinking mead which comes from his mythological goat called Heidrun.

Matt, James & Cassius. Herlinda Heras visits Ghost Town Brewing in Oakland, plus we have three other guests on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Matt Inlow from Flagship Taproom, Cassius Camus from Battle of the Brews and James Holt, owner of Civilization Brewing are also in the studio. The Battle of the Brews is Saturday April 1, from 1 to 5 pm. It is the 26th annual beer event hosted by the Active 20-30 of Santa Rosa. In addition to a fund raising event it is a BJCP Judged beer event. It has also evolved into a barbeque competition. It is held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. In the Grace Pavillion Building there will be 65 different breweries and a large stage with a succession of bands. There will be food and drink galore, too. Flagship Taproom Matt Inlow from Flagship Taproom will also be at Battle of the Brews. This will be the brewery's third time there. At the Flagship Taproom they have a great menu, and since the Battle of the Brews needs 500 servings of an item, they chose their rosemary smoked pork tenderloin sandwich, for the competition. Picture smoked pork tenderloin, with freshly made aioli sauce, melted brie and arugula all on a soft brioche bun. They have a wood-fired smoker for tri-tip, chicken thighs and pork ribs. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. There are three locations of Flagship Taproom. A group of friends opened the first one opened in Cotati in 2016. There are  20 rotating beer taps and they do barbeque. They also like events, so they have trivia nights, tap takeovers, comedy shows, with indoor and outdoor events. They are also in downtown Santa Rosa, at 446 B Street. Then at the end of April 2022 they opened a location on the Windsor Town Green. They are at 1001 McClelland Drive. Ghost Town Brewing Herlinda Heras calls in from Oakland where she is visiting Ghost Town Brewing. It is near the Oakland Coliseum where the A’s play. Ghost Town has been around for about 10 years but became famous during the pandemic after they started canning their beer. Herlinda will be a judge at the Battle of the Brews. Herlinda has been a beer judge at several international competitions and it is fun for her to be judging in her own backyard for once. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. The next beer they taste is called Super Lemon Haze. Their different hazy beers are named after different bud strains, like Pineapple Express and Moon Rocks. It’s a simple beer with great aroma and fruity flavor from 100% Citra hops. It is always a top seller. Civilization Brewing Civilization Brewing is located at 490 Mendocino Ave. at the corner of Ross St. (where the old Local Barrel used to be). They have decorated it with a lot of "weird stuff" from junk shops and antique dealers. They have arcade games and big statues, and an old cathode ray tv tube for playing the really old video games. The last beer is the Peach Rhubarb Sour.

Harry & Natalie. Natalie Cilurzo brings the 2023 Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing Co. to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. This is the 19th presentation of the new Pliny the Younger. This version is a little bit different than the one that premiered in February. The Pliny the Younger base recipe is fairly stable, at about 10.25% ABV, but there is a tweak to the hops and this year that is a new hop from New Zealand called Nectaron. Vinny decided to put a little more bittering hops into the second mix. The hop aroma is brilliant and beautiful and the flavors really shine through. The New Release Schedule In February they did a limited release. The first Friday in February used to be the launch date. Last year they had to postpone distribution due to a Covid outbreak, and what they found out was that their accounts appreciated the rollout this way, so they will continue to release for wholesale, draft only, in February and then in person, on draft and in bottles, for their brewpubs only, in late March. Natalie describes about a four-month process they have to manage for the release event. There is merchandise galore to design and order, the label, packaging, timing and logistics for all that, wristbands, et cetera. There are 28,000 unique wristbands, marked with date and location, with four pull tabs. The first three tabs are redeemable for one 10-ounce pour. The fourth, or B tab, allows the bearer to purchase two bottles to go. A lot of people enjoy the social event, including meeting people in line. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. There are usually 20 beers on tap at Russian River Brewing Co. in addition to Pliny the Younger. They are releasing Hopfather IPA and a sour peach beer, tomorrow. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Herlinda and Natalie were at the California Craft Brewers Association conference this week. On the last day, the final talk had Natalie, Vinny and Ken Grossman on stage talking about the beer business and then they served a taste of Pliny for everyone, which was a big hit. There is a cheese tasting too, for people waiting in line. The California Artisan Cheese Festival is at the Fairgrounds, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove and others will be there.

Herlinda and Bee. Kapu Bar house manager Bee Baker is our in-studio guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Kapu Bar has taken over the Tuttle’s Drug Store location in downtown Petaluma. They have done extensive redecoration and it is a marvel to see. The first weekend they were open in January they had over 1000 people through the front door. Business has been brisk and there is a line out the door almost every day. The first use of Tiki décor was Don the Beachcomber’s, which opened in Los Angeles in 1934, after Prohibition ended but well before the beginning of WWII. Tiki designs became popular in California after the War, when returning servicemen brought back more and more Polynesian-inspired designs. There have been many famous Tiki-styled restaurants and bars, which Bee describes as “escapism.” At the bar they make all of their syrups in-house from scratch. From the kitchen, they have an extensive menu that even includes Spam, and of course there is special glassware and ceramic ware to match the drinks. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Tiki Design Kapu Bar’s designer, Bamboo Ben, is the grandson of one of the head designers of the Disneyland Tiki Room, as well as the Swiss Family Robinson House and the Jungle Cruise. They have plans to adapt an outdoor area as well. Bamboo Ben’s son Blake has carved Tikis out of the reclaimed wood from their outside fence. They wear “aloha” shirts and they don’t spare the accessories and decorations. Here is a look at the interior, on the Kapu Bar website. "It doesn’t get more West Coast than a Tiki Bar." - Herlinda They have Poke Nachos on the menu. They source the freshest Ahi they can source, which their chefs cut and dress for Poke, with all their flavors. It is one of their most popular menu items. Bee has also brought a lot of other treats, including the spicy Chinese style peanuts. They are boiled with ginger, onion, star anice, citrus peel, bay leaf and peppercorn. After boiling they are tossed in a ginger-scallion sauce, with a bit of sesame. They are tasty but messy. There is a discussion of their extensive menu which is also online, here. The Banana Split “is for the young at heart.” Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Kapu Bar is located at 132 Keller St. in Petaluma. For reservations, go to Open Table. The bar is first-come first served, with no reservations.

  Peter and Tyler.   Peter Lopez and Tyler Laverty join Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. Co-host Herlinda Heras is visiting England and will call into the studio. We begin with a phone call from Herlinda who is in England to be a judge in the British Pie Awards. Herlinda Heras is in England judging the British Pie Awards again. We also hear about her travels to breweries in different places. She also got lost and ended up in the oldest pub in England. It is in Nottingham, under an 800-year-old castle. She is in the town of Milton Mowbray which is not very far from London. She will also visit a brewery in Wales. We will hear all about it when she is back on Brew Ha Ha next week. Tyler Laverty is back on the Brew Ha Ha to remember the Third Street Aleworks Taproom. Their last day of operation was yesterday. We have covered the closing of the Third Street Aleworks in a couple of recent podcasts, in this episode and also here. Peter Lopez was there yesterday and “it was definitely a lovefest.” The taproom is closed but the beer label will continue. They will produce beer for distribution to retail and hospitality markets in northern California. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. How the Transition Began During Covid, they started distributing more and more in cans and kegs. As they adapted and changed, that has continued to be successful. However, the downtown business environment is difficult. Crowds are smaller and spending is down. There are a lot of factors, but ultimately, when the lease was up, they decided to continue making changes and adapt as a brand. They are optimistic about having expanded their distribution and they are focusing on a couple of core brands. They hope to have their new production facility up and running next year. They plan to have a small taproom at the new brewery too. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They will continue to make Bodega Head IPA and Annandale Pale Ale, Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, Italian Style Pilsner, Mr. Mosaic Double IPA and Raspberry Tart Pastry Kettle Sour. They have won a lot of medals at GABF and Beer World Cup. Blarney alone has won 13 medals. Their beers are available in lots of major retail locations throughout Sonoma and Marin Counties as well as Bottle Barn.

Herlinda & Tara Jasper Tara Jasper, owner and creative force behind SipSong Spirits, is back on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. The last time she was on Brew Ha Ha was this episode of July 30, 2020. Tara grew up among the coastal redwoods of northern California. After studying culinary arts and raising a family, she started making gin. She begins by shaking up a cocktail with SipSong Spring Gin, one of her seasonal gins and they toast to all the hospitality and medical workers. All their botanicals are harvested in early spring in Sonoma County. There are all kinds of juniper. In Finland, they use juniper as part of the flavoring of Sahti. Our ornamental juniper berries are shaped like mace balls. The ones in Finland were soft and become sappy and stick when you break them open. SipSong gins often win blind tastings among gin fans. She enjoys the idea of making gin without a lot of fussing around like in a busy kitchen, and then being able to share her work all over the place. The Ah-Ha Moment When she started making gin, she didn’t know if she could make a gin that she would enjoy more than her favorite gin. Monkey 47 was her favorite at the time. It was $65 for a 375 ml bottle. In a blind tasting of her gin against that one, she preferred her own. That was her “ah-ha moment” when she decided she wanted to get a still and start making gin. “We have some amazing local distillers in this area. We’re very lucky. It’s so cool. This is no longer wine country. This is booze country," says Tara Jasper. She met someone who had the same still she wanted, but only used it part time. Since then, she has been using it, sometimes on short notice when the Spring blossoms are ready. Fight Like A Girl Tara is also a pilot and she holds tastings in an airplane hanger. She is also active in women’s health care awareness, especially regarding the BRCA gene and how important it is to know if one is a carrier. Tara is a breast cancer survivor and she supports Fight like a Girl, a breast cancer support community. There is an old Prohibition law that makes shipping of spirits illegal. During the pandemic, that law was suspended but only temporarily. She suggests that people express their preferences to their elected officials, to allow shipping of spirits permanently. Indira gin won a double gold, which means every judge gave it a gold. It is flavored with botanicals and people love it in a Gibson. Another friend has suggested that she make gin with hops.

Mike Schnebeck of Fort Point Beer Co. Mike Schnebeck from San Francisco's Fort Point Beer Co. visits Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Fort Point is an independent San Francisco beer company. They have become one of San Francisco's best known independent breweries by following their calling to make craft beer more accessible. Herlinda begins by describing the Fort Point SF Beer Week Dim Sum beer and cider pairing. She mentions their Kolsch beers, which is their specialty. The owners started with Mill Valley Brewing Company, which started in 2010 and then Fort Point started in 2013. Fort Point has two locations, one is the Ferry Building taproom and the other main taproom is on Valencia St. in the Mission district. There they have a San Francisco seafood menu in addition to their beers. The Fort Point Mission Fort Point’s mission “...is to make really balanced approachable and nuanced beer,” what they call good beer for everyone. They take classic existing styles that they add a twist to. Mike worked for Beer Works based in San Diego, where he developed his interest in craft beer. Beer Works gave him an opportunity to brew beer. Today they are the largest independent brewer in the city. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Mike’s title of director of brewing innovation is basically an R&D position. He shifted into this more creative role after managing the day-to-day operation. Some of his current recipes date back to his time at Beer Works. They will make about 27,000 barrels this year. Fort Point’s signature beer is the KSA, Kolsch style ale. He thought their Park Pale Ale would be the flagship but the customers had other preferences. He did visit Cologne, Germany to study the local beer, which is where Kolsch style beer comes from. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Fort Point has just launched 2 ciders, Super Dry and Super Natural, a Rosé-inspired cider. A lot of breweries are expanding their product line. Several have added selzers but Fort Point has chosen to add cider to their production. They liked dry cider. Many ciders sold as dry were not really that dry. They spent some time developing their recipe to make it dry the way he wants it. It is “bone dry” says Herlinda. At the Dim Sum event, the dry cider went very well with all the Asian dishes. The cider went very well with dishes like Crispy Pork Rib and Peking Duck. SUPER NATURAL CIDER The Super Natural cider is described as Rosé-inspired. They add hibiscus and rose hip to the cider base, which give a nice light pink-orange color. The ciders have been out for about a month so far, so they are starting to appear on shelves in stores like Hole Fudes. They are, or will be, available on draft in local restaurants. They also taste a hazy IPA called Lobos. It’s funny how hazy beers are popular now, but Mike explains that the industry has figured out how to make those beers now. Mark Carpenter, who was head brewer at Anchor for more than 40 years, remarked that he worked hard to make the beer clear and never hazy, and the reversal of tastes is surprising and ironic. In England they have hazies called Scrumpies. There is a beer called Yuzu KSA which is their Kolsch with Yuzu, a kind of Japanese grapefruit with interesting flavors.

Tara Nurin Tara Nurin calls in to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras, to talk about spirits sales and her article in Wine Enthusiast magazine. It shows Spirits replacing Beer as the largest share of the alcoholic beverages market. It’s not a majority of spending, but a plurality by a small margin. The article is on the website of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Its title is "Move Over, Beer: Spirits Are Now Alcohol's Biggest U.S. Money Maker. The article states that, "sales for 2022 show spirits now claim a record-breaking 42.1% of revenue in the alcohol market, compared to beer’s shrinking 41.9% and wine's stagnant 16 %." Of course, beer is at a disadvantage in counting dollar share, compare a $10 pack of beer to a $100 bottle of some luxury spirits. Beer will still sell more volume due to its nature. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. There may be some influence from the pandemic on this result. However, spirits have been gaining market share for the last thirteen years. Also, previous generations were less prone to experimentation and innovation as people are today. Also, there are more ready-to-drink beverages which are very hot right now, such as hard selzers. The more expensive of these are spirits-based, as opposed to malt-based. The new drinks are known as "RTD" which stands for Ready To Drink. The fact that this term is also applicable to beer and wine is possibly lost on the authors of the term. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. RTDs are growing faster than other segments of the alcoholic beverage industry. New products are launching with higher and higher prices, which may be a bad sign for brewers.

Author Tara Nurin is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, after judging at Bahia Beer in Brazil with Herlinda last week. Tara Nurin and Herlinda Heras were in Bahia, Brazil last week, to be judges at the Bahia Beer Festival of the Brazilian International Beer Awards. They discovered Brazilian drinks and steakhouse style, and did a city tour of Salvador, the capital, too. Bahia is the part of Brazil closest to Africa and since colonial times has had the largest African population. Bahia is not on the main tourist path so the Bahia promoters were very happy to meet the international beer crowd. It also seemed that the locals were actively participating and happy that they were all there. Tara is the author of "A Woman's Place Is In the Brewhouse." She got a standing ovation at the end of a presentation she gave about diversity and wellness in the industry. Herlinda found Brazilian beer flavored with Acerola cherries and a lot of dark beers. There is a type of Brazilian beer called Catarina Sour, from Santa Catarina. Tara found that the overall quality of the Brazilian beers was exceptionally high. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap. Here is the results page at the Bahia Beer Festival website. (Use the handy Google translate button to read the Portuguese page in English.) They also discovered the Brazilian steakhouse style called churrascaria, which serves all kinds of roasted meats on skewers. There is a large Japanese population there too and they found one churrascaria restaurant that also had a sushi bar. Herlinda reports that a top class resort with unlimited drinks cost only $70 per day. Cashaça is a distilled spirit similar to rum, used to make a cocktail called a Caipirinha. Herlinda brought some back and will make one for Steve soon, but not today. We also hear from Tara Nurin about her plans to offer consulting services focussed on wellness in the beverage industry. After the competition, Herlinda and Tara received this message from the organizers:  "Fellow Judges,  I would like to thank the panel of judges, who played an essential role last week in the 1st BBA – Brazilian International Beer Awards, held in the state of Bahia in Brazil, that already born as the largest international beer competition in Latin America in its first edition.  The numbers reflect the success of the event: 1,060 samples were entered, sent by 188 breweries from 34 countries. In total, 101 breweries were awarded, 86 Brazilian and 15 international.  The 274 medals awarded highlight the excellence of the participating beers:  • 99 gold medals  • 88 silver medals  • 87 bronze medals  Of the total, Brazilian breweries won 229 medals, while international breweries took home 45. See you in March 2025 at CBC BRASIL - Concurso Brasileiro de Cervejas em BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ-SC"

Tonic Immobility from Old Possum Brewing Matt Wilson from the Santa Rosa Beer City Festival is here, so is Sandro Tamburin from Old Possum Brewing, to join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. This year’s Beer City Festival is on Saturday February 25, in Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa, from 11am to 4pm. Local brewers will be there, such as Russian River, Bear Republic, Hen House, Lagunitas, Old Possum and Third Street Aleworks. Brews News There is big news in the beer business this week, since Bear Republic has sold most of its assets and brands to Drake’s Brewery, which is based in San Leandro. Peter Lopez, founder of Norcal Beer Geeks, calls in to talk about the deal. Peter is also proprietor of Juncture Taproom in Santa Rosa. Racer 5 was the first IPA he ever tasted and he respects how Richard Norgrove led the charge to make northern California the hop capital of the world. “Now I know we have found a great partner,” says Richard Norgrove. “The merger with Drake’s can be a win-win, for sure,” says Peter. Beer City Festival The Beer City Festival has running events in the morning, before the beer events later on. There are three races, a half marathon, a 10K and a 5K. The beer event is from noon to 4pm, but the races start at 8 am. There is a VIP tasting from 11 to noon. Tickets are available online, $60 for Beer City admission and $20 for designated drivers who aren’t partaking. There are separate entry fees for the races, see the Run Beer City website, here. There are games, performers, food and music, and it is pet and kid friendly. Old Possum will be there with its flagship Garibaldi IPA. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Tonic Immobility is the new Old Possum beer, being released on Friday. Tonic immobility is the scientific name of how the Possums pretend to be dead. It is 10.2% alcohol by volume, which is very high. Sandro is experimenting with a new hop called Pink, from Idaho. Stay tuned. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Herlinda asks Matt about Ghost Town Brewing, which has won some big awards recently, and will be at the Beer City festival in Santa Rosa. There are circus performers in the crowd, and there will be bands playing music, to create atmosphere. The event is in a public area and it’s open to the public, and so are the food trucks. Only the tasting is ticketed. It’s also a good day to follow the beer trail.

Barebottle Brewing Company co-founder Lester Koga is in the studio with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. There are three Barebottle Brewing locations and the one in Bernal Heights is very family friendly, which Lester explains. He visited Germany and France frequently and discovered the German beer gardens. These are large public parks with different stalls offering beer, sausages, pretzels, etc. It is an integrated communal space where alcohol is present as a normal part of life and not some kind of heavily regulated vice. Family and Pet Friendly in Bernal Heights In the Bernal Heights location the brewing operation is right in the same space with the hospitality space. He wants his guests to be able to bring their kids and their dogs. Conscious of the business side of brewing, they also noticed that their brand was popular in the south Bay Area so they opened a location in Santa Clara. Lester mentioned having been a guest on KNBR, a Bay Area sports station, and he considers that to be a sign of how craft brewing is deeply integrate with the local culture. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. A dark beer goes with chocolate so that is a pairing that they do, in a collaboration with Zocalo, a local chocolate maker. Next they taste a west coast IPA that Barebottle Brewing made in collaboration with Ghost Town. They just canned it yesterday. Lester likes Ghost Town for how they accentuate the bitter flavors in their beers. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Wine too! Barebottle Brewing makes a wide variety of beers and he has brought several into the studio today. They also make wine, also under the Barebottle label. There is a sparkling pet nat from Anderson Valley, and also Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They use about 14 tons of grapes per season and just did some Syrah and cool climate whites, Albariño and Vermentino from Buelton in Santa Barbara County. They also have some Barbera from Amador County.

Colin McDonald from Hen House Brewing and Gail Williams join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras to talk about SF Beer Week 2023. Colin was also on Brew Ha Ha last year at this time, to talk about Hen House's annual Big Chicken release. SF Beer Week started in 2009 and ran every year except for the Covid year. It is back now, including a lot of interesting creative events and de-centralized parties. From Sonoma to Monterey counties, from the city to Livermore, there are events spread out across the East Bay, North Bay, the City, San Ramon Valley and Silicon Valley. Big Chicken Hen House’s Big Chicken is produced and shipped so that it can be consumed as fresh as possible. Fog Belt is doing artisanal bacon with their beer. There is even a Beer and Cookie pairing at Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco on Feb. 14. Since SF Beer Fest overlaps Valentine’s Day, there seem to be a lot of chocolate pairings with beer. Hen House is making a special beer called Valentine’s Day Nightmare. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They are sampling a Hen House Pilsner that is light and beautiful with Jasmine flower flavors, called Star Turn. It is soft, bright and crisp with a little honeysuckle sweetness. Equity and Inclusion in Brewing They also have a collaboration called Activate, with Crowns and Hops Brewing in Inglewood, a brewery that is black-owned, woman-owned and veteran-owned. Gail tells about how there was an effort to get more black-owned breweries and so they support education and investment for that purpose. They wanted to make taprooms more welcoming and broaden the customer base. The Bay Area Brewers Guild Equity and Inclusion Committee made a collaboration among brewers from 6 breweries, at Drake’s in San Leandro. It is called “This Beer Creates Opportunity” and it will fund a diversity-focused endowment at UC Davis. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. The beer they are tasting is a Saison, named after the beer that was made for seasonal workers in France. Saison means season. It has some light flavors of black pepper and coriander. Hen House has also done Big Chicken again this year, it is their celebration of quality, freshness and hoppy beer. They like to get as much locally-sourced ingredients as possible. They have more than 180 locations where it is available, on their Instagram page. The SF Beer Week has a calendar-driven display of all the events happening in all the Bay Area locations, for the duration of Beer Week. Click the logo to visit SF Beer Week dot org.

Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company joins Brew Ha Ha with the first growler of the Pliny the Younger 2023 edition. Later, the subject changes to SF Beer Week, when Colin McDonald from Hen House Brewing and Gail Williams will also be on. That portion of today’s live show will have its own separate podcast page, here. Today’s episode of Brew Ha Ha continues a tradition of Russian River Brewing Co. bringing the new Pliny the Younger into the KSRO studios for its first tasting. Here is last year’s episode on the same occasion. Pliny the Younger is a Triple IPA, which means it is a lot hoppier and a little bit higher in alcohol than regular double IPA beers. It is actually a quadruple dry hopped beer. “There is a copious amount of hops in this beer, which gives it that beautiful luscious aroma.” The hops are Simcoe, Amarillo, Chinook, Citra, Mosaic, Nectaron, Warrior and Elixir. Elixir, “the strawberry hop,” was added last year. Nectaron is the new hop for 2023. It brings nectarine and candied citrus fruit flavors. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. Pliny the Younger’s official release will happen from March 24 through April 6. It will be on tap in Santa Rosa and Windsor. Guests will be limited to three 10-oz. pours and bottles will be available too, at the brewery. You can purchase bottles or sit down at the brewery. They started local distribution today and there are hundreds of locations serving it. Rejection is their Valentine's Day Ale. It is on tap and in cans at their two locations. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.

Herlinda, Michael & Keita. Michael John from Omurasaki Sake Co. and Keita Tominaga of Hana restaurant join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Keita was last on Brew Ha Ha on this July 2022 episode. Michael John is VP of Development for Omurasaki sake brewery of Japan & California and chef Keita Tominaga is chef at Hana restaurant in Rohnert Park. Michael has just come off a plane and Keita is taking a quick break from the kitchen to be here. Sake is brewed more like beer, even if sometimes people still refer to it as rice wine. Michael suggests that it’s made like a beer and drinks like a wine. Sake is actually now part of the curriculum for sommelier certification. Keita Tominaga reports that Hana is thriving and so is Pabu, their partner restaurant in San Francisco. Visit our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Ross Koda’s family has had a farm since his grandfather immigrated from Fukushima, Japan in 1908. He wanted to send his California organic rice back to his family in Fukushima, to be brewed into sake. The sake is called Uka which means metamorphosis, emergence or transformation which the butterfly on the label represents. How Sake is Made Michael gives a summary of how sake is made. The process begins with a rice milling machine that mills off the brown exterior of the grain. The high-grade Sake production mills 50% of the grain off, they to further and mill off 60% for this Sake. There is a chart of sake production on the Omurasaki Sake website, on this page. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more info. The Uka dry and black label are the same except they use different yeasts. Everything else being equal, the two yeasts give different flavors and aromas. The Uka dry is shy, light, etherial, dry, crisp. The Uke black label has more body, is silkier, deeper, more floral, more profound, according to Herlinda. Keita talks about trying to spend some more time behind the sushi bar at Hana, rather than being “stuck” in the kitchen. Hana is open Tuesday through Saturday 4:30pm to 9pm and 4pm-9pm Friday and Saturday. Reservations are preferred, especially Friday and Saturday, so call the restaurant or book on Open Table. Michael mentions that sake uses the same yeast as beer. He started this job in 2003 and has visited Japan many times since then. In his first year they brought in 18 products from 11 breweries and the business is still going strong. There is a sparkling sake too, with bubbles that are natural.

Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today features a call from Herlinda in Bahia, Brazil, where she is a judge at Bahia Beer, part of the Brazilian International Beer Awards. Mark Carpenter is also joining Steve Jaxon in the studio today. He was head brewer at the now-closed Anchor Brewing for more than four decades. He was also this show's co-host for many years. Herlinda is in Bahia, which is in the north of Brazil. It is a city and region with a mixed history. Since it is the port closest to Africa it was a center of the early slave trade into Brazil. It remains one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country. There are over 1000 beers up for tasting and judging and about 25 judges. The resort on the beach is delightful and cost only $70 per night. They are judging beers from 8am to 6pm for two consecutive days. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap. Mark in Romania Mark will have to come back to hear more about Brazil when Herlinda returns. He describes his time in Romania, where everything is less expensive on the exchange. For example, his friend spends $7 per month for TV and cell service. Mark recommends Romania to everyone. The food is great and the people are very friendly. Up in the north the picturesque homes and villages seem stuck in past time.

Michael Young, Kat Prescott and Mike Griffo, Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras enjoying the Thursday Drive Brew Ha Ha. Mike Griffo and Kat Prescott are in from Griffo Distillery in Petaluma on this edition of Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Jenny Griffo was on the schedule but is not available. Jenny has been on the show before, on this episode of April 18, 2023. Kat is the Griffo Distillery events coordinator. Every weekend they do put on music performances which are kid friendly and dog friendly. They had a sound engineer come in to help them design the room and the acoustics are great. The bands and audiences always appreciate it. Griffo Distillery Gin won "White Spirit of the Year" at the ASCoT Awards.  They serve cocktails that use their spirits and a year-round rotation of seasonal ingredients. You can also purchase a cocktail kit to bring home. Plus, there are cocktails in cans. Their version of a Tom Collins uses a little blood orange juice and cardamom clove syrup from Phaedra Achor’s Flora Luna Apothecary. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap. “We are driven to lift and defy expectations of flavor through ingenuity and precision and to enliven moments of togetherness.” – The Griffo Distillery website Espresso Corretto Mike has a doctorate in physics and he explains that doing experiments in quantum mechanics is less interesting than operating a high-tech custom-designed distillery. Griffo Distillery also makes cocktails with cold brew coffee, such as the espresso martini in a bottle that Steve is going to taste. Their Espresso Corretto is aged in grappa barrels and uses cold brew because it is less acidic. "Corretto" literally means "corrected" in Italian, and "caffé corretto" is a shot of anything into some coffee, usually grappa, whiskey or an Amaro like Ramazzotti, Amaro Lucano or Averna. The common Italian term is "caffé corretto" because in Italian we don't say "espresso" most of the time, we just say "caffé" and assume that all of it is espresso of one kind or another (stovetop or pressure machine). I'll have a shot of Amaro in mine, grazie. -cd  “I told them we shake cocktails in studio.” – Herlinda Heras Espresso Martinis may be the most popular cocktail in America right now, says Herlinda. The Old Fashioneds, Espresso Martinis and the Gin Gimlets are their three most popular cocktails. They are located close to Lagunitas, five doors down. Kat has worked with the Mystic Theater. She has a lot of experience with live music show production which she applies to organizing concerts and community events. They have local partners like COTS which assists the homeless in Sonoma County who use the concerts to get attention to their work assisting people in need.

Cody Hildreth from The Block, Petaluma and Lorraine Barber both join Herlinds Heras and Steve Jaxon on Brew Ha Ha today. also organizes cool events in Petaluma. Lorraine was on this show recently talking about Barber Lee Spirits and Barber Cellars. She is also organizing a Petaluma Craft Cocktail Week and The Block is one of the featured bars. Cody has brought two cocktails that The Block will be featuring during Petaluma Craft Cocktail Week. The first is a barrel-aged blood orange Negroni. A Negroni is usually made with gin, Campari and red vermouth, but The Block's version is unique. The Block has been open for about seven years. They have live music, pizza, tacos and food trucks outside. Mombo's Pizza is making pizzas there, too. It is an indoor/outdoor space, with dog-friendly space on the outdoor side. There are picnic tables and booths, so it's good for everything from a family night out to a date. The Block is located right next to the ten-story grain mill that dominates the horizon in downtown Petaluma. Lorraine is present in Petaluma as a partner in Barber Lee Spirits and Barber Cellars and she also organizes community fairs that focus on local producers and provide a marketplace to connect local producers with customers. @Petaluma_Cocktail_Society This first week, Petaluma Craft Cocktail Week is focussing on a Whiskey Sour. All the participating locations will make one. You can get a card at any destination and you can take your card to the other bars to try the whiskey sour there and get the card stamped. Find it with the hashtag " @Petaluma_Cocktail_Society " Lorraine explains how Whiskey Sour is a recipe that lends itself to "riffing on it." They also use Bitter Girl Bitters exclusively. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. The Block also has Trivia Night and Bingo Night. "It gets rowdy on Wednesday nights." They have a roster of bands that come through playing lots of music, from rock to country to what not, anything from two-person band to a big band with horns. Holiday Food Fair, Tues. Nov. 26 Also, don't miss the 8th annual Holiday Food Fair on Tuesday, November 26, at the Petaluma Hotel. This got started in 2017 when businesses needed extra support, as a way to connect local producers to customers. They will have a Santa and snow, and admission is only $5. Then, on Dec. 3rd, is the annual Petaluma Holiday Makers Fair. This is another opportunity to connect local craft makers to customers.

Natalie Cilurzo Natalie Cilurzo is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Russian River Brewing Co. is celebrating 20 years in Santa Rosa and 6 years at the Windsor location.  The special beer called Pliny for President 2024 is back. Pliny has been running for president every time around since they opened the brewpub. They have quarterly releases of Pliny for President, so this is the last batch until 2028. The beer is very hop forward, featuring Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Zumo and Nectaron hops. Pliny is the candidate of the Keg Party. Vinny is known as the Hopfather, and also for his Belgian-inspired sour, barrel aged beers. He grew up in a winery in Temecula where his parents planted the first wine grapes in 1968. He grew up in the vineyard and in the cellar and on the bottling line. Intinction This beer called Intinction, which is dipping bread into wine. It is almost like a Lambrusco, red and bubbly. The grapes are Petite Syrah, which is a dark grape and gives a dark color. The ABV is high because it went through 2 fermentations, it is 10.26%. It won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. They are installing some new equipment for CO2 recovery from their closed top cylindrical fermentation tanks which will reduce their need to purchase CO2. They also have a wastewater treatment plant. The purple pipes carry this water which is treated water and is used for landscaping. They built their Windsor facility with dual plumbing, so they are ready to make the switch to the purple pipes when the regulations catch up to the new law. Shadow of a Doubt beer is named after the Alfred Hitchcock film which was shot in 1943 in Santa Rosa. The beer is a dark imperial porter. A local graphic designer designed the label. Tonight at dusk they are showing the movie in the beer garden in Windsor.  

Mike Barber, Lorraine Barber and Aaron Lee. Lorraine Barber, co-founder of Barber Lee Spirits, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. This is her first time on the show, but Lorraine’s husband Mike Barber was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode recorded on Nov. 4, 2019. Lorraine and Mike Barber also operate Barber Cellars which produces estate grown, hand-crafted Sonoma County wines. Lorraine describes their operation as “grain to glass” which means, “from the raw ingredient to the finished product, everything is fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled under their own roof.” They opened in the beginning of 2019, just in time for the pandemic. The name Barber Lee Spirits comes from the three partners, Lorraine Barber, her husband Mike Barber and their partner Aaron Lee. Read their whole story on this page of their site. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Barber Lee Spirits' address is 120 Washington St., Petaluma, CA 94952, which is located next to the Petaluma hotel in downtown Petaluma, on a lively street near many other restaurants and bars including Volpi’s Ristorante and Bar. They are open Wednesday through Sunday. See their 'visit the distillery' page for hours and phone. Wednesdays are Happy Hour All Day with half-priced cocktails. They serve tasting flights of their spirits and also have an extensive cocktail menu. Deviled Egg Competition This year they held their 3rd annual deviled egg competition which is a lot of fun and is a benefit for Petaluma People's Services. They also organize the Holiday Food Fair the Thursday before Thanksgiving, at the Petaluma Hotel. The annual Holiday Food Fair got started in 2017 when many local businesses were depressed. They set up an indoor farmers market featuring only local producers, to connect them with customers. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Among the spirits they make in Lambanog, a Philippine specialty made from coconut juice. Their partner Aaron Lee tried it on a visit there and he was able to source dehydrated palm nectar for their production. It is 100 proof so at that strength it makes an excellent mixer. It's not sweet but has a toasted coconut flavor. It is a white spirit so they don't age it. Lorraine describes their pursuit of spirits that are interesting and unusual, like absinthe and rum made with piloncillo sugar from Mexico. There is also a locally sourced Gravenstein Apple Brandy. She's Canadian so she also thought of doing the most Canadian thing she could, which is a maple finished rye. The maple syrup aged in the whiskey barrels is delicious. Barber Cellars has been making wine for about 18 years. The wine tasting room and distillery tasting room are next to each other in Petaluma. They are busy right now "doing punchdowns" after harvest. They also have a cheese shop and she has brought some cheeses, like a Brabander from the Netherlands and a Mimolette from France and many others. They offer a rotating selection of exotic cheeses. Photos from https://www.barberleespirits.com/our-story/  .

Click the logo to visit Pouring for Neighbors at the NC Craft Brewers Guild site. Lisa Parker, executive director of the North Carolina Craft Brewers’ Guild, talks about Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Steve Jaxon. She is calling from Ashville, North Carolina, which Hurricane Helene hit hard. She will talk about Pouring for Neighbors, their fund raising initiative. The map at the top of this episode page, from NOAA, reports rainfall from Helene, as of Sept. 27. You can see that Ashville is in the area that got the most rain. In fact, Lisa describes the conditions in the majority of western North Carolina as a war zone. The area is a hotbed of craft brewing. They have 120 breweries in the counties designated for FEMA relief. The devastation is heartbreaking but the collaboration among the breweries and the neighbors is vigorous and inspiring. Most of the area was not a flood zone so a lot of residents did not carry flood insurance. There are linemen out in the field restoring power. Many bridges and roadbeds have been washed out and there are many landslides. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Pouring for Neighbors Most of us remember the fires that hit Sonoma County in 2017 and 2019. At that time of need, many brewers around the world united to produce special beers whose proceeds went to local relief, supporting services for the people affected. This kind of campaign has become an occasional event after other disasters and Hurricane Helene is an example of that. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Being in western North Carolina, Ashville was in the middle of Helene’s path of destruction at the end of its run up the south-eastern United States. Pouring for Neighbors began "right off the bat" to raise money. It is a tap designation program. Any brewery or taproom or restaurant can designate a tap and donate at least a dollar from each sale to Pouring for Neighbors. There are three options at the website. The web page has all the information you need to participate, and there is also a long list participating breweries. There is a coalition of breweries assisting in delivering supplies. The National Guard and FEMA are all on the ground helping out. Any reports to the contrary are false. :)

Golden State Cider Unfiltered Breanne Heuss, Marketing Director for Sonoma Craft, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Sonoma Craft is the umbrella organization that holds Golden State Cider, Sun & Shine Cocktails and Seismic Brewing. Visit Sun & Shine on Instagram, here. This is Breanne’s first time on Brew Ha Ha but co-owner Christopher Jackson was on this episode of the show on May 19, 2022, to talk about Golden State Cider. He was also on this episode in July 2019 to talk about starting Seismic Brewing. Breanne is responsible for marketing the three brands that share their company values of making high quality products using sustainable practices. Seismic Brewing has refocused as a craft lager brand, with distribution at the tap room and in selected locations in the Bay Area, but on draft only. They still make their different lagers, including Tremor and the Red lager. Breanne has been with Sonoma Craft for three years, and she worked for Golden State Cider before that. Herlinda mentions that spirits have overtaken beer in terms of annual sales in the US. Unfiltered After they taste their Unfiltered cider, they will taste a cocktail too. Golden State Cider has different tiers of cider. The base tier, called the core tier, includes the Mighty Dry, Brut and Jamaica. They have added one that is unfiltered, which is very dry and has big rich apple flavor. They also have a non-alcoholic cider, called “Dry and Mighty.” Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. The Sun & Shine Cocktail is the Valencia Mimosa. It is made with fresh Valencia orange juice, and a bit of apple eau-de-vie. Each can holds two mimosas. The ABV is 10%. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. All the Sonoma Craft companies are dedicated to sustainable practices and to supporting local and statewide charities. They are also involved in hurricane relief in western North Carolina, with the local Craft Brewer’s Guild.  And they support local farmers by using fruit and other ingredients as much as possible from growers that are local, California-based or on the west coast. Golden State Cider has the Core series, the Harvest series and the Radical series. You can find all of them here on the Ciders page of their website.  They are open Monday through Sunday from noon to nine.

Herlinda with Dan and Celeste Hanes. Dan and Celeste Hanes from Cooperage Brewing Co., join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. The last time Cooperage was featured on BHH was when Nicholas aka The Fridge was our guest on this episode of May 25, 2023. Cooperage's new location is at 575 Ross St. in downtown Santa Rosa. This place is much larger than their other original one at 981 Airway Court also in Santa Rosa. They have pool, darts, pinball and other kid and dog friendly attractions and there is trivia on Mondays. There are also rotating food trucks outside as well as great beer. First, Herlinda reminds us of the February 22 Beer City Fest. You can sign up to run in the half marathon, or just come to celebrate and drink beer later. Also, the Santa Rosa Beer Passport promotion is going on. Cooperage is a big part of both Beer City and the Santa Rosa Beer Passport promotions. Their new location means they have enough space to throw a big party in the parking lot. So on March 22, they will be throwing a block party in the empty parking lot next door. They will have BBQ, burgers, several bands and local vendors, all at the new downtown location. Their name for it is the Coop Rage party, at least for now. They have a great following and the local community has supported them, so they are glad to be able to do this in their new downtown location. “We want to be part of the re-creation of downtown.” Tyler, Cooperage's brewer, started by working the taps at Whole Foods while people knew he was already brewing great beer by himself. Joe Tucker of RateBeer fame loved Cooperage and said it would be the next great American brewery. They brought three beers today. One is a pale dry ale, called the Crispy Crusher. It is an “affordable, approachable beer.” They keep the price low, $4 or $5 a pint, depending on what time of day. Every Saturday the free beer shuttle is a popular attraction in Santa Rosa. Their hours at the new downtown location are Monday – Thursday from 3:00 to 10:00 PM, Fridays and Saturdays Noon to Midnight, Sundays Noon to 7:00 PM. Their IG will tell you what food trucks are coming and when. Stella says the highlight of her day is to meet all the dogs that come to their dog-friendly locations. The Mexican wrestling is a great show. Next time is Saturday, May 3. The wrestling is a tournament with judges and a champion. Once, Dan’s little son panicked because he saw his dad get body slammed and he “lost his marbles” as Mom tells the story. How do you say, “KAYFABE” in Spanish?

The Rio Nido Roadhouse Oktoberfest crew. Raena Jones-Metzger from Rio Nido Roadhouse joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Brew Ha Ha is a double show and podcast today. Claire Elaine from Wooden Petal Bake Shop is also with us today. Since we have two guests on one radio show, we make two podcasts from the one live show, so that each guest can have their own podcast audio and a sharable (and indexable) web page. So over here is Claire Elaine and Wooden Petal Bake Shop’s podcast episode page. Gioia Merrill, the sous-chef and Tricia Bagley, one of their bartenders, also join Raena in the conversation, after the break (at about the 9:30 mark). Raena was on the radio with Herlinda five years ago, just before her daughter was born. Reyna has brought some Oktoberfest beers to taste. They will offer flights and pints of these beers. The Rio Nido Roadhouse fifteenth annual Oktoberfest will be Sunday, September 29, from 1pm to 4pm. There is no entry fee. They will be serving a Warsteiner German pilsner, Headlands Brewery Festbeer and another from Cooperage. There is also a German dark beer only on draft. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They have a bratwurst, knackwurst and a weisswurst combination, chef-made spaezle, caramel apples, braised cabbage and a whole German menu. They also have games, live music and kids activities. Costumes are encouraged. Keith Church and David Albini, accordionists, will play the music to make it sound like Bavaria. The weather forecast is good, too! Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. For more information, visit their website Rio Nido Roadhouse dot com. Photos from the Rio Nido Roadhouse website. 

Claire Elaine from Wooden Petal Bake Shop in Santa Rosa, joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Brew Ha Ha is a double show and podcast today. Also in the studio is Raena Jones-Metzger from Rio Nido Roadhouse. Occasionally, if we have two guests on one radio show, we make two podcasts from the live show, so that each guest can have their own podcast audio and a sharable (and indexable) web page of their own episode. The Rio Nido Roadhouse podcast episode page is over here. Claire describes her day in the bake shop which begins at 3:30 or 4:00 making dough and then sandwiches from her pretzel buns. Wooden Petal is a name that Claire came up with, based on her grandmother’s catering company Wooden Spoon. Also, she was “an English granny” and used to call Elaine Petal, hence Wooden Petal. She and her partner built their shop a couple of years ago, from scratch. They had to re-permit the location to serve food. Moonlight Brewing Co. is where she did her first pop-up selling pretzels. Wooden Petal is at 4984 Sonoma Hwy. near Middle Rincon Rd. They are open 7am to 1 pm. Pretzel Buns Make Great Sandwiches Wooden Petal’s pretzel buns make great sandwiches. Turkey or Salami with chive butter, with cheddar is called the You Betcha. The East Coaster is a classic deli sandwich with mayo mustard and cheddar, and the Valencia has fresh mozzarella, pesto and house tapenade. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Tomorrow, Friday Sept. 27, (as we are live on Thursday Sept. 26) Wooden Petal debuts the Meatball Grinder, which is meatballs, ricotta and parmesan, on a pretzel bun. Claire and Wooden Petal Bake Shop were featured in the Press Democrat recently, here is the article. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Claire suggests ordering ahead online, or by phone. Her original idea was that pretzels would be popular in Beer City. At first, she started by doing pop-ups, and the response was always great because her pretzels always fit into the events where she appears. She is very proud of having a lot of loyal local customers.

Lindsey, Connor and Jeff. Connor was about 5, now he's 12. Jeff Reitz and Lindsey Osborne from Barley and Bine Beer Café in Windsor, join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. People often confuse bines and vines. Hops grow on bines, not vines, which grow vertically. The Barley and Bine Oktoberfest party is Saturday, September 28, from 2pm to 11pm. They have a large selection of beers, almost all are California-based breweries. Herlinda remembers that they have been through a lot since they opened the café seven years ago. They have survived fires and a pandemic. Now they are getting ready for their sixth year celebrating Oktoberfest. Their Oktoberfest party feature the Steve Balich Band which plays authentic German and Bavarian music. Herlinda suggests watching their social media for updates about special events, including appearances of special beers that have a cult following. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Oktoberfest Marzen means March which is Festbeer brewing time, so they are consumed in the fall. These are not necessarily high-alcohol beers. They are tasting one from Cooperage with is 5.7% ABV. Jeff and Lindsey have brought two items from their Oktoberfest menu. This will be their sixth year celebrating Oktoberfest. They will have 15 different beers on party day. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Barley and Bine makes a half-liter size beer stein, which is a German beer glass. Oktoberfest is also a chance for them to serve brats, which they do in great numbers. They also have 5 different kinds of mustard. They change the menu every month including lots of kinds of street tacos and tater tot nachos of all kinds. The soft pretzels are probably their #1 item. They also have a digital menu board that shows up-to-the-minute information about the beer including when the keg was tapped and how much beer is left in the keg.

Paul Hawley and Miguel Smith from Fogbelt Brewing are the guests on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Fogbelt first brewed beer in 2013 and started brewing commercially in 2014. They also have a pub in Santa Rosa and a new larger production space. They were among the first brewers to emphasize fresh hops and wet hopped beer and this is the time of year when that is happening. September 16-22 they have interesting corn dogs, not the normal kind. Each month they work on different beer and food pairings. Today they have a wet hop IPA that goes with a jalapeño corn dog. One is made with Fruity Pebbles. Another is a Ramen noodle corn dog, with a cheese sauce. “These are the wildest looking cord dogs that I have ever seen.” -Steve Jaxon Wet hopped beers are very seasonal and you would try to drink them as soon as you can. Their wet hop Oktoberfest celebration takes place in their parking lot on Saturday, September 21. They will also have a full German menu with sausages and potato salad, sauerkraut, etc. Monthly Beer & Food Pairings Every month they do a week-long food pairing, alternating between their two locations. In September the wet hopped beers go with these exotic corn dogs. Then, this October, the Santa Rosa location will feature tamales. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Miguel came to Fogbelt as Head Chef, after having worked in fine restaurants in San Francisco and many other places, since age 14. The morning of a hop harvest, Paul will go out to the fields and inspect the crop. They bring the hops directly to the brewery. Meanwhile, Remy in getting the wort made in the brewery, and he then adds the hops to the empty clean vessel, then they pour the boiling wort back in, for kind of a tea extraction before going into fermentation. The requirements of logistics make it fun and challenging. Picking window on hops is usually a couple of weeks, so they have a little wiggle room. But if the weather changes suddenly they might have to react fast. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They have a dog costume contest, and the winner gets featured on a beer the following year. There was mastiff dog dressed as the joker that won last year and his beer is coming soon. Herlinda has bad news, that Hopland Tap is closing. Ron Lindenbusch kept it open as long as he could.

Nile Zacherle of Mad Fritz Beer and Melissa Luci of Alexander Valley Hop Farm join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. It’s hop season! Mad Fritz Beer is known as a cult brewery, since it is small and has a dedicated following. Mad Fritz is based in Napa. Nile has brought some beer made with fresh wet hops. The hops come from Alexander Valley Hop Farm. Melissa Luci has been on BHH before, on this episode almost exactly a year ago, on Sept. 15, 2023. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Alexander Valley Hop Farm is located on a lot that has an unusual shape, it is very long and narrow, but the hops don’t mind that. The AV website is small but their Instagram page is great. The plants are trained to crawl up 18 feet of a string made of coconut fiber, that are 15 feet apart. Their goal is to have it reach the top by summer Solstice, so that the branches that produce the cones will mature at the right time. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Brewers can only make wet hopped beers at this time of year at hop harvest time. They have to get the hops from the farm to the brewery as fast as possible. Starting at sunrise, they deliver to the brewer the same day. Nothing is left from this year’s harvest! Nile and his wife are partners in the brewery. Their two children Madeleine and Fritz gave Mad Fritz the name. The Ost House IPA is always available at their tap room and brewery. It uses Triumph hops, 100%, grown at AV Hops. They age the beer in neutral French oak, to allow the beer to settle to a clear beer, slowly.

Leah Scurto and Herlinda Heras. Leah Scurto from Pizzaleah joins Herlinda Heras and Harry Duke who is sitting in for Steve Jaxon on Brew Ha Ha today. Herlinda Heras is back from another trip to Liverpool, this time to see Pete Best and his band. Leah Scurto is Herlinda’s neighbor and friend. This is her first time on Brew Ha Ha but she was a guest on our other podcast, California Wine Country, on this CWC episode of April 27, 2022. In that show we hear about how Leah was getting ready to serve pizzas at the 2022 Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience. Herlinda brought Leah into beer judging. Leah will be cooking at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, in October later this year. “They get the best of the best of the chefs, paired up with breweries.” It’s Leah’s fourth year doing it. Leah's partner this year is a brewery from Iowa called Big Grove, which is the official craft brewer of the Iowa Hawkeyes, check out their website^. Big Grove making a double IPA and an Oktoberfest for the Great American Beer Fest. Leah is cooking for Thursday and Friday nights. To pair with the double IPA she will make pickles with that brew, then make a pickle dip. She will make a mushroom pizza to go with the Oktoberfest. Pizzaleah in Windsor, near Oliver's Pizzaleah is located in Windsor near Oliver’s, at 9240 Old Redwood Hwy, #116. Their beer list includes a tap where she rotates local brewers in and out. Right now there is a beer from Ghost Town in Oakland. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Leah has brought some pizzas including the Old Graybeard which is the people’s favorite. It’s a sweet, spicy and salty with a little orange zest. They make their own sausage for the pizzas. Everything is in-house including the peperoni which is a recipe that Leah worked on for years. They pair that pizza with the Old Caz Free Craig’s. Leah participates in international pizza competitions This summer she was at the Caputo Cup in Naples. Caputo is a brand of flour from Naples and they put on the pizza festival and the competition. Leah placed third! See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. When Leah needed a job in Santa Cruz in college, she got hired at a pizza shop where she eventually stayed for more then 2 decades. She opened 20 restaurants for them so she sure knows the business. She opened her restaurant about four years ago and survived the pandemic as the first order of business. It happened to be just as the pandemic was closing everyone down. She weathered the storm by being available for delivery at a time when that was the only way to get food to the people. The beer selection at Pizzaleah is important to Leah. She wants to support local brewers by featuring their products and also whenever possible she tries to support small local suppliers and organic production. The Lola pizza, with pesto, potato and caramelized onion, is paired with the Crispy Crusher from Cooperage.

The Moonlight Sonata is indeed in three movements. Brian Hunt and Erin Latham-Ponneck are on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, for the Moonlight Brewing 32nd Anniversary. Brian has been on Brew Ha Ha many times, the most recent was this episode in October of 2023. On Saturday, August 24, from noon to 10 pm, Moonlight Brewing Co. will celebrate its 32nd anniversary, with music from The Sam Chase and the Untraditional, and others. There will be food trucks, attractions and activities for everyone including children, in addition to lots of delicious beer. In addition to all that, they will have a kids zone with a jumpy house and a magician. 32 Years of Moonlight Brewing Moonlight Brewing is now the oldest brewery in the county. Brian tells about getting “the beer guy”, Dr. Michael Lewis as an advisor when he changed majors to fermentation science at UC Davis. Then he went to work for Schlitz in Milwaukee. At that time, they were not invested in making great beer there. So Brian got away from that scene, with the lesson that people won’t be attracted to crappy beer. He came back from Milwaukee in 1981 and worked for a series of breweries before starting his own brewery 32 years ago in 1992. Brian is Erin’s stepdad. At first, he “poached” her away from her job to hire her for the bookkeeping. That led to more, as we will hear. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. In the meantime, they taste the beer called Sulla Luna, a Czech-inspired amber lager that Brian originally made with Birrificio Italiano. He met them in Milano at a beer convention and when they visited here, they brewed this collaboration. Several months into the job she learned that there were actual offices above the brewery. So she moved into a proper room with a desk. Erin’s official title is Chaos Management Specialist and Adult In Charge. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Brian has some interesting opinions about hops, especially that beer can be flavored with plants other than hops. Listen to him tell the history of hop use in beer in Europe.

Today Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras is an Old Caz update directly from co-owner Brian Rengel. He has been on this show many times, the last time was this episode on May 23, 2024, along with cidermaker Jeffery House. Old Caz is now open in its new location. It has “…the same vibe and the same feel as the old spot,” says Brian Rengel co-owner of Old Caz. They have used the same flooring and bar tops from the old place, which was built completely with free stuff. But it’s bigger and it has parking and real bathrooms. They will be making beer in their new facility and you will be able to drink fresh beer straight from the tank on the anniversary party. They have a brand new lunch service with wraps, sandwiches, salads and sides and they get homemade pretzels from a nearby shop. Of course there are deserts. The menu includes all the Old Caz beers, as well as hard kombucha, wine and sparkling mead. Every evening there are food trucks for dinner. Tuesday Night Trivia The Tuesday trivia night is packed. People start coming at 3 and you might not be able to get a table after 4. Their taproom manager Rob is in charge and they had 45 teams competing. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Old Caz is open Monday through Thursday 11-9pm, Friday and Saturday 11-10pm and Sunday 11-8pm. This year’s Old Caz anniversary party will take place Saturday and Sunday August 24-25 at the new location in SoMo Village. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. The Chismosa is a Mexican Amber Lager which is similar to a Modelo. It happened to win Gold at the World Beer Cup! "I've been saying this to everyone, all of our friends and our customers and our regulars. I'm excited for everyone to see where we are right now, because we've come this far in a very short period of time. If you give me another five years, we're going to be putting beer on the moon. So, pay attention!" Another Old Caz beer is the Bukovany Pivo, a Czech style. Co-founder Tom's family had a small brewery and pub in the Czech town of Bukovany, and Pivo means Beer in Czech. Breakfast Skaggs beer is an oatmeal-based stout, with additional flavor of maple syrup and vanilla bean. Brian mentions a couple of ideas, such as a Mexican Imperial, which would be an original, and a quad IPA. Trust Tom to make it great. Catastrophe is a Rye Beer in an orange caution-cone colored can. Not everyone likes rye IPA but this one has die-hard fans. Instead of having to manage a kitchen with a large menu, they have a rotation of food trucks. To make it easy for them, Old Caz is installing a reinforced concrete pad where the trucks can park, with power hookups.

Golden Rule Cider from Ethic Cider. Ethic Ciders founder New Lawton is back on this crunchy episode of Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to promote this year's Gravenstein Apple Fair. Ned Lawton appeared on Brew Ha Ha on this August 25, 2018 episode, promoting Cider Week that year. Herlinda is going to Italy next week to visit some friends who have bought a house near Lake Como, which they will be converting into a bed and breakfast. The Gravenstein apple is to cider makers what Pinot Noir is to local winemakers. It is the go-to fruit for their art. It is tart and sweet and ripens early. Ethic Ciders got started with their acquisition of an old apple orchard which was in need of renovation. Once that was done they were able to produce a crop and make the cider from that. Gravitude: Grateful for Gravensteins They are tasting a cider called Gravitude. Its name means "grateful for Gravensteins. It is sparkling and very food friendly. The tartness is what makes it combine with foods in the same way that a wine with strong acidity does. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. They will be pouring ciders at the Gravenstein Apple Fair on Aug. 10. There they will also be launching a new product, Gravitude in cans. Some of their ciders are traditional and others are their creative recipes that combine flavors. You will also be able to meet the cider makers.  There are also styles that come from different countries. It is popular in France, from Brittany. There will be cider producers and also cheese and gelato "It is a really classic country fair," says Herlinda. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. There is also a press where you can press apples. Some producers will have special ciders to pour. The arts and crafts are true local artisans and you can find stuff you won't see anywhere else.

There is no new Brew Ha Ha show today, due to travel schedules, so for this week's podcast edition here is an encore show of a visit with Ron Lindenbush from last March. Brew Ha Ha will be back with a new episode next week, Thursday Aug. 1. Cheers! Ron Lindenbusch, Hopland Tap founder and owner, is back again on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. He has been on Brew Ha Ha several times, including this episode on July 5, 2018, again on May 28, 2020 along with Natalie Cilurzo, and again on May 6, 2021. These episodes chronicle Ron's career with Lagunitas up to and including the Heineken purchase. Today's live radio show is a triple-header. We have two other guests in the studio along with Ron today. The episode with Cynthia from Homerun Pizza is here. Ryan Frank, brewmaster at Headlands Brewing, also has his own podcast episode on this page. Since he left Lagunitas at the end of a very successful run, Ron Lindenbusch found the perfect location in Hopland to set up the tavern that he always dreamed of. Steve remembers when it was the Hopland Brewery, they had bands including some pretty famous ones. Hopland Tap also does live music. This Saturday the band is Left-Hand Monkey Wrench. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. On Tap at Museum of Sonoma County Herlinda Heras is helping the Museum of Sonoma County develop its upcoming exhibition ON TAP about the history of brewing in Sonoma County. Ron Lindenbush was with her at the museum today to record some video that will be used in the exhibition. He personally holds a lot of the stories of the history that is the subject of the exhibit. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. They are tasting a non-alcoholic beer that Ron makes. It actually tastes like beer. One is called Electro Lime. Ron explains that it is made just like beer, then the alcohol is removed. What remains is a beverage that actually tastes like beer. The non-alcoholic beer scene is completely different than it was ten years ago.

Marty Nachel Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Steve Jaxon welcomes Marty Nachel, founder and President of the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame. Herlinda has judged beers with him in Mexico. First, Herlinda reminds us of the February 22 Beer City Fest. You can sign up to run in the half marathon, or just come to celebrate and drink beer later. Also, the Santa Rosa Beer Passport promotion is going on. “The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame has been established to honor, celebrate, and commit to history those people who are responsible for initiating, sustaining, and promoting the American craft beer industry. This Hall is to ensure that the memories of their contributions and achievements will not fade with time." – from the American Craft Beer HOF website Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Nominees and Inductees Herlinda Heras and Tara Nurin are on their advisory board. In that role, they each got to nominate ten people for induction. The first nominees have been published and the winners were announced on February 15. Some of them are familiar to us, including Fritz Maytag from Anchor and new Albion founders. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around! 🍕🍻 Marty describes how he thought of this idea over a year ago. He had not heard of anything like this. Then after multiple google searches, he discovered that there was no such award yet. He first thought of bringing the idea to some other people, but then he decided just to start it himself. The list of nominees and winners is on the website. Some of the people nominated have had an important impact but are not well known. Marty mentions Charlie Bamforth of UC Davis, as an example. Known as The Pope of Foam, he is a chemistry professor from England who has taught fermentation science to students at UC Davis for a long time. He has been on BHH before, on this episode.

Renée and Don. The New Albion story continues here in part two of Renée DeLuca and Don Barkley's visit to Brew Ha ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Part one of today's show, with Renée DeLuca as the featured guest, is on this other podcast episode. Herlinda Heras' father is also in the studio with us today. Don Barkley was on Brew Ha Ha three weeks ago on this episode of June 27. Today he is back to meet Renée and to bring some of Jack McAuliffe's New Albion Ale that he has brewed for the Beer Garden event this Saturday. Don was studying fermentation science at UC Davis when he asked his professor, Dr. Michael Lewis, how he could get a job in the brewing industry. Professor Lewis told him he would have to cut his hair. Don didn't like that idea so the professor suggested he contact Jack McAuliffe, who wouldn't care about long hair. Jack was known for coming to the library and going over all the books about brewing, although he was not enrolled. Don tells the story of going to Sonoma to meet Jack, who initially refused Don. But when Don came back he talked to Susie Dennison and made a deal to work for a case of beer a week. Don still has the recipes. Russian River Brewing Co. will have three race cars on display at their Windsor pub, on Wednesday, July 24. Two top fuel dragsters and one funny car and drivers, will be there to greet visitors. It's a promotion for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals that are taking place at Sonoma Raceway on July 26-28. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. New Albion Pale Ale Kevin Lovett is the brewer at Wolfhouse Brewing Co. He is also the son of Michael Lovett, Don's dearest friend. Michael and Don both started at the New Albion brewery together. Now they are brewing the old recipe at Kevin's brewery. Kevin Lovett was a guest on Brew Ha Ha on June 9, 2022, here is the episode page. In that interview with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras, we hear about how Kevin literally grew up at Mendocino Brewing Company. Jack McAuliffe has a name for today's beers flavored with ingredients like cinnamon or cardamom. He calls them hula hoop beers, which is hilarious. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Albion is the name of Britain in ancient Greek and t is also a poetic name for Britain. Sir Francis Drake sailed on his ship The Golden Hind and was the first European to sail into San Francisco Bay. The Golden Hind is the ship on the New Albion Pale Ale label. The best place to get a taste of the New Albion Pale Ale is at the Museum of Sonoma County Summer Beer Garden. It's open from 4-8pm, $15 general admission, ample shady parking available across the street.