Podcasts about Russian River Brewing Company

Outside Lands 2025 lineup Dave MacLean is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to talk about Hidden Splendor Beer and Outside Lands 2025. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode a couple of years ago. Hidden Splendor Beer is Dave's new brewery that will be opening soon. Dave likes to create good beer and then places to enjoy it in. That is what he did in his previous endeavor, Magnolia Brewing. He will be brewing a lot of traditional beers, bitter, mild, light mild, porter, stout, pilsners and lagers. Dave is also here to tell us about Beer Lands for Outside Lands 2025 on Aug. 8, 9 & 10 in San Francisco. His discussion of that is on this other podcast episode. This separation allows each of today's subjects, Outside Lands and Hidden Splendor, to have their own audio track and search traffic. ;) Hidden Splendor will have a location in San Rafael that will open in the Fall. Dave wants it to be a ‘brewer's brewery' including using some rare brewing techniques like cask beer. In the meantime they will be delivering beer to the festivals like Beer Lands. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Herlinda Heras & Dave MacLean. Dave MacLean is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to talk about curating the beer experience at Beer Lands. It is part of Outside Lands 2025, in Golden Gate Park, on August 8, 9 & 10th. He has been on BHH before, the last time was this episode a couple of years ago. Dave is also a co-founder of Admiral Maltings and is the former owner of Magnolia Brewing. Dave is also here to tell us about opening a new brewery called Hidden Splendor Beer. His discussion of the new brewery is on this other podcast episode. This allows each of today's subjects, Outside Lands and Hidden Splendor, to have their own audio track and search traffic. ;) This is the 12th year for Beer Lands. It will get a different look and feel this year. Dave describes this year's Beer Lands setup from having seen the plans, but it is yet to be built in the new way. It will still be on the Polo field but closer to the main stage. They have 22 breweries including a couple of Cider houses. Each brewery will feature two beers. Dave's job is to curate a well-rounded menu of all the different beer styles. It should show the variety of beer being produced in the San Francisco area and not be not just an IPA fest or a lager fest. 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. Outside Lands 2025 Music The music lineup for Outside Lands (pictured above) includes three days worth of rosters of artists, from up-and-comers to established top-line acts. There are seven stages that are located around Golden Gate Park. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Ned Lawson from Ethic Ciders is here with Dana Glei from the Gravenstein Apple Fair on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. We featured Ned Lawson and Ethic Ciders on this episode back on August 1, 2024, before last year's Gravenstein Apple Fair. Herlinda calls the fair "the cutest little country fair" with old-fashioned attractions and lots of fun. The music lineup is on this page of the website. The Gravenstein Apple Fair takes place at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol on August 9th & 10th. The craft cider tent started with just a few producers and this year there will be 18 different local producers there. The only rule at the fair is that the apples have to be grown locally, from within 100 miles. Ethic Ciders New Lawson started Ethic Ciders 10 years ago and opened the tasting room a year and a half ago. They are "orchard to glass" and they "do the whole thing right there." Ethic Ciders also makes a brandy (called a Pommeau in French) and a non-alcoholic product. They are also starting to produce a cider vinegar tonic. They make it not by de-alcoholizing cider. Instead, they start with apple cider vinegar and add lycee, lemon balm and hibiscus. 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. Ethic makes a cider called 1870. In the Gold Rush era, homesteaders planted a lot of apples in the area. As the Gold Rush waned, some of those orchards fell into disrepair. Then these apples were rediscovered later. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

So excited to try a bunch of Russian River beers, thanks to listener Hunter! Pairs with triathlons, RFK, and pluots. Docta-Ron Pliny The Elder Pliny The Younger Intinction Theme Music by Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas End Credits Music: SNAKE EYES by Heyson Additional music licensed through Epidemic Sound The Beerists are John Rubio, Grant Davis, Pam Catoe, and Mark Raup. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or point your podcatcher to our RSS feed. You should also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Support us by making a per-episode pledge at patreon.com/thebeerists and get some sweet rewards! Follow us on twitter, facebook, and instagram. Want to send us beer? Check our beer donation guidelines, and then shoot us and email at info@thebeerists.com

Dr. Ron is here with Docta-Ron beer, along with Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo on Brew Ha Ha with Herinda Heras and Steve Jaxon. Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company are in the studio with guests from New Zealand. Brent McGlashen is a fifth-generation New Zealand hop grower. He and Vinny spent today brewing the test batch of a special beer they will release later this year. Also in the studio is Dr. Ron Beatson who is the most famous New Zealand hops expert, and David Biondi, who represents New Zealand hops in the US. The beer Docta-Ron is named after Dr. Ron. Their special beer will use a new variety of hops called NZ-109. It has taken ten years in development. The special brew will use this new variety of hops that they nicknamed “Juicy.” The California Lake Cluster was imported to NZ in 1897. New Zealand wanted to produce hops that were different. They only produce about 1.5% of the world hops crop, so they need to be special and different. Vinny says they love NZ hops. He compares them to NZ Sauvignon Blancs which have their own intense flavors compared to the same grapes grown anywhere else in the world. These hops are so potent that a little goes a long way. 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. Herlinda tells about how her father, who was in the Navy, says that New Zealand was the most beautiful place he ever visited. New Zealanders have been growing hops for over 200 years. Zed versus Zee New Zealanders follow the British usage of calling the letter Z “zed” where in the US it's “zee.” So Dr. Ron calls it “N Zed one-oh-nine” where we would say NZ-109 with the Z as “zee.” Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

The floor at Admiral Maltings. Ron Silberstein, a co-founder of Admiral Maltings in Alameda, joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. He used to run The Thirsty Bear Brewing Company for 27 years in downtown San Francisco. At Admiral Maltings they also have a pub called The Rake in the same building, overlooking the malting floor. It is located on a former Naval base. (Alameda Naval Air Station was one of the biggest Navy airports anywhere.) Admiral Maltings is reintroducing an old-fashioned way of making malt that makes a high quality product. Barley is the most commonly used grain for beer and whiskey. Grains have to be broken down before the yeast can do its job. So the grain is soaked which lets it start to germinate, then they stop the process and dry it. They grow all of their grain in California. Before WWII, barley was the largest California crop. Then, the floor is actually cooled, because germination itself produced heat. 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. Russian River just won a Gold at the World Beer Cup for their STS Pilsner, and a Silver for Damnation. They use Admiral Malt. Drake's also won a Gold in the Cream Ale category. Punching Above Their Weight in the World of Malt They were just at the California Craft Brewers Cup. Admiral Maltings produces one tenth of one percent of the available malt, but they won 8% of the medals from the recent CCB Cup. Of course, it's the brewers who win the medals, but they do use Admiral Maltings malt. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Original 420 flag, from the Waldo's official website. All five of the original 420 Waldos are in the studio today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Waldo Dave and Waldo Steve were on Brew Ha Ha once before, on this episode of April 18, 2019. This time, all five of them are here. Steve, Dave, Jeff, Larry and Mark are here, they are the original Waldos from San Rafael High School in the early 1970s. There is ample documentation of their invention of the expression 420 on their website. It is the first time all five of them have been together for a radio interview. They used to hang out on the wall, every day between classes and after school. “We were all about comedy and having fun.” They also listened to a lot of music, including the great bands from the Bay Area at the time. Lagunitas makes a special 420 Waldos beer and they have some of it in studio today. At the time, one of them had a brother who was in the Coast Guard who knew of a secret garden. One of them got the map. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

James Pardieu and Richard McChinak, co-chairmen of the Battle of the Brews 2025 join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Richard was in the studio last year on this episode to promote the same event. Battle of the Brews 2025 will be Saturday April 12 from 1-5 PM at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. This year marks the 25th annual event. It is sponsored by the Active 20-30 Club of Santa Rosa, a charity organization for persons between age 20 and 39. Members age out at 40, so there are always new people on the scene. More than half of the event is about BBQ now. There is also cider, Kombucha and mead. Herlinda is judging the beer competition in the morning, for the 11th or 12th year. The first time she remembers being the only female judge, but that's not the case anymore. Admission is $95 which includes all you can eat and all you can drink, responsibly! All the money raised goes to serve underprivileged youth in Sonoma County. Last year they raised over $72,000 and they have totaled over 1.5 million dollars over the last several years. The club uses the funds they raise for many local charities targeting youth. The have contributed to the Children's Museum of Sonoma County. Each member also participates in shopping for school supplies, benefiting over 200 kids last time. There are constant needs. "If there's a need, we're here to fill it.” Each chapter has their own area that they support. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Harry Duke and Natalie Cilurzo Harry Duke is live at Russian River Brewing Co. in Windsor on this special edition of Brew Ha Ha to talk about Pliny the Younger 2025 from the floor of the Russian River Windsor pub. Also today on Brew Ha Ha, Hendrik Verspecht from CuVer Brewing is visiting Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras in the studio. That portion of today's show is on this other podcast page, to allow each guest to have their own audio and podcast indexing. Natalie Cilurzo is with Harry to talk about how it's all going. Pliny the Younger is a triple IPA which gets a recipe tweak most years. This year, the addition of Tangier hops brings some orange, grapefruit, tangerine and mango, in addition to other hints of pine resin. It's a little more bitter than last year, which counteracts the fruitiness and elevates the flavor profile. It is remarkably smooth, for 10.4% abv. Pliny the Younger 2025 Release Dates The annual release of Pliny the Younger 2025 this year runs from March 21 to April 3. It will be on tap and in bottles to go until April 3. The wait times today are about 2 hours downtown, and more than 3 hours in Windsor. Natalie and Vinny like to greet the visitors waiting in line and they make a lot of friends. 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. There are visitors from all over the country and some international visitors too. Pliny the Younger's economic impact on Sonoma County is consistently strong. The Chamber of Commerce reports that it brings in several million dollars of extra business every year. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

The Cuvers. Hendrik Cuver and his wife Amber Cuver, from CuVer Brewery in Windsor, join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. They are here to talk about their Windsor, California brewery where they specialize in Belgian beer. Hendrik was on this episode of Brew Ha Ha back on September 16, 2021, when they were just opening the brewery. He was also on this episode on May 5, 2022, a year and a half later. Also today, Harry Duke will be calling in live from Russian River Brewing Co. in Windsor. The Pliny the Younger public event is in full swing there. His portion of this live radio show will be on this separate podcast episode page, to allow each guest to have their own audio and podcast indexing. Cuver's Origin Hendrick and his father were used to drinking Belgian beers when they immigrated to California in 2012. A year later they started home brewing in order to have the beer that they wanted. They continued doing that while Hendrick was back in Belgium getting his Master's degrees in Biochemistry. Then when St. Florian's brewery came up for sale, they made the purchase. The history of Cuver Brewery and the two families that founded it are closely intertwined. Hendrick invited his fiancée Amber and her family to meet his family at Thanksgiving. Amber's father Reed Cushing became a partner in the brewery. When Hendrick and Amber got married, they changed their surnames to Cuver, derived from combining Cushing and Verspecht. Read the whole story on the Cuver website, on this page. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

HWSI! Episode 275 Big Beer Tasting 2025   As we have done the last few years, we are doing a big beer tasting. We take 12 big beers or triple IPA's from the local area, which would be Sonoma County, California. Triple IPAs have been made famous in this area by Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Younger. A lot of the other local breweries have jumped on the trend and brewed up some great triples of their own.   Here is the list of beers we cover (in order): Scarcity - Altamont Beer Works Fear the Reaper - Original Pattern Brewing Tonic Immobility - Old Possum Brewing Jazz Trio - Parliament Brewing All who Wander - Parliament Brewing Triple Mt. Nelson - Cellermaker Brewing Godwood - Fogbelt Brewing Hops in a Can - Revision Brewing What, what, what - Revision Brewing Power 10 - Old CAS Brewing Smart Fellow - IronOx Brewing Big Chicken - Hen House Brewing   Show links. https://linktr.ee/HWSI https://www.facebook.com/HWSI.podcast https://www.instagram.com/hwsi.podcast/ You can also email the Podcast at the.HWSI.podcast@gmail.com 

Wade Johnson and Justin Bowman from Oliver's Markets and Erin Latham from Moonlight Brewing Co. join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Wade Johnson is the head of the gourmet cheese department at Oliver's Market. Justin Bowman is the beer and spirits manager at Oliver's Market in Cotati. Erin Latham is here from Moonlight Brewing Co. She has brought their We Love LA beer to taste and to describe the fund raising campaign. Erin was also on BHH last year on August 15, along with Brian Hunt, to promote the 32nd Anniversary party. Last week we talked to Andy Link of Common Space Brewery in Los Angeles. They are leading the We Love LA effort. Moonlight's We Love LA Beer Moonlight's We Love LA beer is an American style lager that will be released this Saturday at their taproom. They have a roster of bands and other performers plus food trucks. 3350 Coffee Lane. A portion of the proceeds from the beer sales goes to the United Way Los Angeles. They are also accepting direct donations. 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. Wade Johnson takes care of cheeses at all the Oliver's stores. He has brought three cheeses to taste today. They are a California-made Gouda, an Irish cheddar and Point Reyes Farmstead Bay Blue. He started at Oliver's in 2010 and “grew up behind the cheese counter.” Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo discuss the We Love LA wildfire relief collab beer, with Leah Scurto from PizzaLeah who is sitting in for Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon today. Andy Link will also join us on the phone from Common Space Brewery in Los Angeles. Herlinda Calling from England First, Herlinda Heras calls in from England where it is 1:00 in the morning. Herlinda was on this episode last year about the 2024 edition. She is there for her eleventh year judging the British Pie Awards in Melton Mowbray, about a four-hour train ride north of London. There are 26 categories of pies and all but one are savory pies like fish pie, steak and kidney pie, cold pork pie and many more. This year there 879 pies and 167 judges. Herlinda was the only American judge and she even got an interview on the BBC. They judge in an 800-year-old former church. The English tradition of savory pies extends even to football, rugby and cricket clubs, which have their own team pies. As we would get a hot dog and a beer at a baseball game, they will get a hand pie and a beer for their day at the stadium or grounds. 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. Herlinda judged the steak and ale category which alone had 67 pies. There is even a gluten-free pie and a vegan pie. Shepherd's pie is different, that has mashed potatoes on it. These pies have to have a full crust on top and bottom. Appearance is important so the pies are decorated on top. The first thing they look for is a soggy bottom, which is a quick DQ. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

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!

On this week's The Last Drop, JB & Khody kick off craft beer week. JB has a follow up on the worst event of the year. Khody opens a bottle of Toronado 30th Anniversary Ale from Russian River Brewing Company. As always, sit back, turn your headphones up, don't stop, keep pouring & your balls will thank us. Head over to https://www.manscaped.com/ & use promo code at checkout 'TheLastDrop' to receive 20% off on all your purchases.  #Sponsored #ad

Natalie with Pliny the Younger 2025. Natalie Cilurzo is back with the first taste of the 2025 Pliny the Younger, on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. This will be the 21st release of Pliny the Younger. They used to release in February but during covid they moved it to last march early April. That turned out to be better for a lot of reasons. So this year the dates are March 21 through April 3. They continue to do wholesale distribution to bars and restaurants in February. This helps them get an attraction during the slower winter months. Also, San Francisco Beer Week is coming. Today they are finishing the brewing and bottling and kegging, but the first people to taste it are on this show today. Dan Berger is here as a special guest, and so is Mackenzie Miller, who is the host of Mid-days on the Krush, KRSH. Brew Ha Ha will do a remote broadcast March 27, to be confirmed. The last time we did a remote was when Windsor opened in 2018. Russian River Brewing Co. Hop Water Since many people participate in Dry January, Russian River Brewing Co. produces a Hop Water, which is sparkling water flavored with Citra and Eldorado hops. It's very refreshing. 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. Every year at Valentine's Day they make a beer called Rejection, a dark beer made with Belgian yeast. It is toasty and has coffee flavors. It is 6.1% ABV. Dan Berger describes it as rich without being sweet, perfect for dry January because it finishes dry. It is available on tap only at the two pubs, or to-go in growlers. Then they taste another beer called Docta-Ron, named after a New Zealand hop breeder. It is available in cans and on tap. This is the 21st year of Pliny the Younger. Vinny Cilurzo tweaks the recipe every year and this year the long list of hops used includes a new one. It has an orange-y flavor and makes the 2025 Pliny the Younger, according to Dan Berger, the tastiest one ever. Russian River Brewing Co. is also making a wildfire relief beer called We "heart" LA. A brewery in LA called Common Space started a fund raising beer. Here is their website. The beer is set to be released all at once by all the collaborators on March 7. Now finally it is time to taste the Pliny the Younger 2025. Dan Berger declares it the most amazing beer ever produced. It is over 10% ABV and it is very dry and clear. Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, Nectaron, Simcoe, Warrior and Tangier. Tangier is a new hop from Washington and they like it for its orange flavors. Dan says the beer has more floral qualities than last year. The Pine flavors definiteliy come from the Simcoe. Dan says this beer is like a great wine, full of complexities and unexpected flavors. They are kegging it tomorrow and it will start going out for distribution on Monday, Feb. 2. Look around at your usual bars and restaurants, look for your usual suspects... Happy hunting! Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Steve, Mark and Herlinda Our former co-host Mark Carpenter is back with us for a visit today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. His last visit was this episode in July of 2021. For a long time Mark Carpenter was the co-host of this show. He was the brew master at Anchor until he retired. Mark has news about the present status of Anchor Brewing. Sapporo decided to close it but an investor has bought the company and is slowly working on restoring the location and the company. Here is an article from AP news about that. The new owner, Hamdi Ulukaya, has plans to revitalize Anchor Brewing, which everyone agrees is good news. He is the very successful founder of Chobani Yogurt so he is certainly ready and qualified for the job. Mark says he is taking his time about it and has a good approach similar to that of Fritz Maytag, the previous owner who also bought Anchor and revitalized it in the early 1970s when Mark Carpenter started there.  Both Fritz Maytag and Hamdi Ulukaya are openly enthusiastic about the meaning and importance of a business like Anchor as a valuable cultural asset. A Brief History of Anchor Brewing Mark briefly tells the story of how he found Anchor. He had been working for the telephone company. He took a tour of Anchor and liked the place enough to ask for a job. It was a small place and had three employees. Mark considers himself lucky to have been hired and to have found Fritz to be such an enlightened owner who gave Mark a book about brewing and sent him to take brewing courses in Michigan. 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. Mark has brought a bottle of Truman Royal Ale for Herlinda as a birthday present. It was brewed in England in 1982 to celebrate the birth of Prince William. Anchor Brewing's Liberty Ale was the first modern IPA brewed in the United States. They didn't call it IPA, but it had all of the characteristics. Herlinda's video interview with Mark Carpenter, Tony Magee and Don Barkley is also still on display at the Museum of Sonoma County. It's Herlinda's birthday! Happy Birthday Herlinda!

In the world of beer, there are a number of real positives when it comes to working for, or running, a brewery.Creating something that people enjoy, savour and value is a goal in any artistic venture. And in ownership, so is the ability to provide employment, development and satisfaction to your team. Another purpose for many businesses is the ability to affect a change. Breweries are often the beating heart of local communities. They can offer a place to frequent, to socialise and where possible, also have a positive impact on the local economy they form part of.In the case of Russian River Brewing Company, they do just that. And with the release of the modern phenomenon that is Pliny The Younger, their annual sought-after Triple IPA, on the horizon, what better time to catch up with co-founder Vinnie Cilurzo who, along with his business partner and wife Natalie, is the co-founder of the California business. In this episode he shares his observations on the changing brewing landscape, the importance of community and his love of working with different ingredients.  We also talked about the importance of maintaining a strong identity, integrity and, in an age of countless beer styles, why Russian River will continue doing what it does best - and that's "staying in its lane" making the beers people love. Photo Credit: Russian River Brewing Company Production: Ross Macpherson

Send us a textDoug & Ben discuss the season of Advent and the history of sacred & secular music while enjoying beer from Oskar Blues Brewing & Russian River Brewing Company.

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, Sonnenschein Cocktails and Seismic Brewing. 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 Sonnenschein 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.

The Bums wrap up summer hours, and get back in front of the mic with S4:E0114, where the top knot starts with a recap of NFL action through the first two weeks; Rocky discusses the cultural problems and refusals of Chicago Bears ownership and management; Dan Campbell forced to pull up stakes amongst death threats (pro tip: take the fucking points); in NCCAF chatter, NIU catching lightening in a beer bottle, UCO is riding our last nerve, along with Neon; UT vs. UM is game of the week; MLB updates include some amazing individual contributions at the hands of Shohei and Judge; the MLB playoff picture begins to take shape; and Paddy waxes poetic with another IDNKT segment on baseball.The ponytail pops off with a Hall of Fame edition of the Bums intergalactically famous beer review, with Russian River Brewing Company's “Pliny the Elder” (ABV 8%) — a nearly perfect Double IPA choke full of Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops resulting in an incredibly  well balanced taste with plenty of bitterness; hats off to RRBC and their hat tip to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and Roman Naturalist- Pliny the Elder (who purportedly perished while rescuing people during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. — Pliny has also rescued the Bums thirst for HoF beer; HUGE thanks to “V the Younger” for going over the road to fetch us some freshy Pliny (not all heroes wear capes); the flag flying game of Chicago's Mexican community is en fuego; talk turns to travelogues from Rocky (Cabo) and Paddy (smitten with the mitten); drama within Perry Ferrel's musical act ‘Jane's Retraction' is unsurprising but a bummer nonetheless; another Paddy Report is chronicled on the topic of Smoke/CO detectors; and end with a bird watching diatribe.   Summer is over, and the Bums have dusted off their lunch pails — we're so back.Recorded on September 19th, 2024 at B.O.M.'s global headquarters ‘East Bunker' in Chicago, IL USA.  

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.

We are honored to share a conversation with Russian River Brewing Company's Founder Vinnie Cilurzo. We talk about Vinnie's homebrewing roots and opening his first brewery, before diving into the origin stories of 6 of his most iconic beers: Blind Pig IPA, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Happy Hops, STS Pils, and Consecration. Plus, so much more! Vinnie will be revealing homebrew recipes of these beers in a BYO article dropping very soon. Watch the full video interview with Vinnie!

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.

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.

Renée DeLuca and Don Barkley Renée DeLuca, Jack McAuliffe's daughter, is our special guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. This is Renée's first time on Brew Ha Ha. Her father is one of the most famous figures in craft brewing history. She is visiting Santa Rosa to attend the celebration at the Museum of Sonoma County this coming Saturday, July 20 from 4pm-8pm. It will be in the sculpture garden which is becoming a beer garden for the event. Don Barkley is also in the studio today. He was our in-studio guest on this episode just three weeks ago. This is part one of the podcast of their live radio show, featuring Renée DeLuca with Herlinda Heras and Steve Jaxon. In part two of the podcast, Don Barkley joins them in the studio. That episode is right here.

Beer Historian John Burton and Eric Stanley, curator of the Museum of Sonoma County join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. John Burton also operates the Santa Rosa Bartending School. The exhibit ON TAP has been open at the Museum of Sonoma County since April. Check it out before it closes on September 1. This Saturday, July 20 there is a reception from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, where they will serve a very special beer. They will convert their sculpture garden into a beer garden. They will serve an original recipe from Jack McAuliffe, one of the co-founders of New Albion Brewery. Herlinda has brought some of the beer to taste today. It is a pale ale with Cascade hops. It's not very hoppy by today's standards but it was considered hoppy in 1977. Albion is the name of Britain in the Greek language. The Cascade Hop was the first type created in a university laboratory, in the early seventies. 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. John lent the museum a lot of pieces from his collection, for the On Tap exhibit. Some bottles are as old as the 1800s. He also has a lot of pieces from the Grace Bros. brand, which was the great local brand from 1897-1966. John Burton knew Virginia and Cathy Grace. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. The exhibition traces the brewing business from the arrival of German immigrants in the 1840s. This inspired the idea to transform the Museum of Sonoma County sculpture garden into a German-style beer garden for the event on July 20.

Tony Magee tells his story. There is no new Brew Ha Ha show today, Thursday July 4, since our home station 95.5 Wine Country Radio is taking the Independence Day holiday. So here is a chance to listen again to our interview with Tony Magee, the now-retired founder of Lagunitas. He may be elusive and seem to have gained mythical status, but Herlinda Heras has just finished interviewing him for the Sonoma County Museum's ON TAP exhibit, along with Don Barkley and Mark Carpenter, and today he tells his story for us. This interview was recorded live on the radio on April 18, 2024. Tony Magee, the now-retired founder of Lagunitas, is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. The last time Tony Magee was on Brew Ha Ha was this episode in 2014. Today he and his wife have a ranch where they host retired horses and also some cattle. Herlinda Heras has been working with the Museum of Sonoma County to organize On Tap, the exhibit about craft beer history that is opening this weekend. Tony sat for a video interview for the exhibition and he is pleased to be part of it. He started Lagunitas in 1993 and grew it into one of the largest breweries in the country. In 2017 Heineken acquired the company. Tony tells the interesting back story to the acquisition. Lagunitas was beginning to sell beer outside the US, which is not easy to do. He also had grown Lagunitas to a point where the US market was starting to feel saturated with new beer brands as the popularity of craft beer grew. He started to think about a longer term plan for the company, rather than endure infinite domestic competition. Heineken was (and is) the last family-owned global brewer. Click to visit the Museum of Sonoma County website. Finding the Right Partner All the other big companies are multinationals. Tony says Lagunitas never really discussed the acquisition with other companies because none of them had Heineken's character. Hearing him tell the story, he sounds really pleased with how it all happened. He says he thought of the brewery as an art project, with an artist will eventually sell and once that happens, that's it. He gives credit to Heineken for updating the structure of the business operation but for not changing the beer or the recipes and the brew master is still there. This is the best time in the last thousand years to be a beer lover. -Tony Magee Herlinda asks what the inspiration was for the brewery. For Tony, he was doing a completely different job. He was in commercial printing sales and he was a home brewer. His brother got him a home brew kit for Christmas of 1992, in January of '93 he brewed it, and by December of 1993 the brewery was open. He recognized things in brewing that reminded him of music. As musician that helped him understand brewing. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. A lot of Lagunitas beer is IPA style and hop focused. His friend Grant Johnston who was a brewer at Marin Brewing would also homebrew. He was experimenting by adding his hops late in the boil, which boosted the flavors and didn't let bitterness develop by boiling too long. This was how they created a hop-forward style that became the central thesis of the brewery. 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. 22:50, they mention Cappuccino Stout, which Tony says may be one of the earliest coffee beers in the US.  (In a Kurt Vonnegut story written long before the craft beer era, there is a mention of an award-winning beer in a fictional Indiana state fair, and coffee was the secret ingredient.) They also mention the 420 Waldos and the Lagunitas beer that celebrates the story. The Waldos were guests on Brew Ha Ha on this episode back in 2019. They remember the Beer Circus, which sounds like you had to have seen it.

Legendary brewer Don Barkley is again our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today. His last appearance on BHH was this episode of March 28, 2019. Don founded the Mendocino Brewing Company in 1983 as the Hopland Brewery. It was the very first brew pub in the United States. They had a big hit with Red Tail Ale and their brew pub was the model for all subsequent ones. They are brewing a revival of one of Jack McAuliffe's original New Albion Brewing Company recipe. New Albion was the first craft brewery. Jack made all of their equipment himself. Michael Lovett and Don Barkley worked for New Albion and left to start Mendocino Brewing after New Albion closed. Don kept all of Jack's notes and instructions, that is how they have the exact recipe for New Albion Pale Ale to make today. 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. At a time when everyone else was producing lager beer, Red Tail Ale was a unique new flavor. They tried to expand the business with some outside investors, but in Don's opinion they were never able to figure out how to make a craft brewery work. Wolfhouse Brewing in Cloverdale is making the beer although they can't call it that. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. It is hard to make it just right. Herlinda remembers a brewer that tried to make it and it wasn't quite right. They also made Blue Heron which was an IPA.

The Admirals, on the sea of malt. Dave McLean from Admiral Maltings in Alameda is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Admiral Dave has been on Brew Ha Ha before, including this interview recorded on June 28, 2018. Dave is also the Beer Lands coordinator for the Outside Lands music festival. On Saturday June 29 they are putting on It's The Malt, which they hope will become an annual event. Admiral Maltings' three partners all have backgrounds perfect for their roles in the company, in beer and agriculture. They wanted to have locally grown organic malt to use as brewers and now the company supplies many other brewers too. Dave explains the role of malt starting with the fact that beer is made mostly from barley but as it grows in the field it is not ready to use in brewing. The malting process involves steeping the grain in water, germinating it and then stopping that process. Then the brewer takes it and does all the other steps in the brewing process. Admiral Maltings is the first floor malting facility in California since Prohibition. They do different types of malt, to follow specifications that their customers, the brewers. 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. Admiral Maltings also operates The Rake pub, on the same site as the malting facility in Alameda. They only serve beers and distilled spirits that use their malts. The Rake has windows that overlook the malting floor, which is a unique feature. "Watching malt germinate has never been this much fun!" - Admiral Maltings Herlinda is just back from judging at the Aro Rojo 2024 competition in Monterrey, Mexico and she has brought some beers back from there, for tasting. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. The festival on June 29 will feature some beers brewed with the special malt made for the event. The Rake pub menu will offer their BBQ-centric menu. The Rake is a full service restaurant so kids and dogs are ok.

Freshtival 2024 is this weekend and Colin McDonnell from HenHouse Brewing is here to tell us all about it. It takes place on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at SOMO Village. There is no beer older than seven days. Colin explains that beer is a lot more perishable than a lot of people realize. Especially when craft beer is made with carefully chosen flavors, it need to be enjoyed while fresh. So they wanted to create a festival to celebrate freshness and to show people how tasty fresh beer can be. The festival is also a chance to taste new flavors, and to taste familiar beers but fresher than ever. Early access tickets open at 12:30 and general admission is at 1:30. There are bands performing until 5:00. There are also several food vendors there. This is their fourth edition. Humboldt Cider will also be there, with seven different ciders. Cider is different than beer so it's not subject to the seven-day rule. Hoppy beer doesn't have a long shelf life. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! No Beer Older Than Seven Days They are tasting an IPA that is only 10 days old. Even if it's past the Freshtival limit, it's still very fresh. There is no bar in the world where you can taste over 150 fresh beers from 63 breweries. The people who make the beer are really into it. "The Freshtival is the largest gathering of fresh beer in the known universe." They will even be printing fresh shirts there.   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. Colin says, "Give me something insane to do and I'll be inspired." 7-day beer a very unusual task and it inspires great beer. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.  

Herlinda Heras Herlinda Heras calls into the studio from the Aro Rojo 2024 in Mexico, to speak to Steve Jaxon on Brew Ha Ha today fro Monterrey, the capital of the state of Nuevo León. She is a judge in a competition called the Aro Rojo 2024. Aro Rojo means "Red Ring" and their logo is a dragon in the shape of a ring. There are both professional and home brew competitions with a total of 715 beers in the competition. There are judges from all over the world, including Charlie Papazian, the godfather of home brew in the United States. Pete Schlossberg from Pete's Wicked Ales is also there as a judge. About a quarter of the judges are women, this year. 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. Getting Through Customs with Beer Herlinda brought a lot of beers to show at the presentation, two suitcases worth. She always brings beer wherever she travels and she has never had issues at customs. This time the passport folks waved her through but the Mexican National Guard stopped her. They were looking for beer, and she was not supposed to have more than three liters. But they didn't open the other suitcase and they eventually let her through. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. She explained that the beer she had may have been over three liters. When she said they were commercial samples and not for sale, they let her pass. Monterrey is also the home of the largest beer factory in the world. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!

Gary Saperstein, organizer of BEER FEST - The Good One, joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today on Brew Ha Ha. Gary holds the title of Development Director for Face to Face, the organizers of Beer Fest - The Good One. It takes place Saturday, June 8, 2024 at the Luther Burbank Center. Visit Eventbrite for tickets. Face to Face has for 40 years been working to end HIV in Sonoma County, 1983-2023. This year is the 31st annual edition of Beer Fest, which makes it the oldest beer festival in Sonoma County. The event is held outdoors and there will be tents and shade as well lots of beer, food and music. 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. Face to Face In 1983 Face to Face started, right at the beginning of the Aids crisis. A group of angels saw a need for help and set up the organization to help terminal patients. Over the years, the agency has evolved and does much more work than before, but their mission is rooted in the history of HIV. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! There will be many local breweries attending and pouring beer at Beer Fest, including Lagunitas, Hen House, Lost Coast, Farmers, Moonlight, Russian River and many smaller labels you don't see every day. Herlinda had her first taste of Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat Ale at the Beer Fest. "My favorite beer is the one in front of me." -Mark Carpenter, founding father of Brew Ha Ha Today, Herlinda has brought two beers fresh from the Hen House, brewery which is about to hold its annual Freshtival on June 15, 2024. One is a refreshing IPA called Frozen Envelope. The other is Virtuoso, a West Coast IPA. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Herlinda's Next Competition: Aro Rojo in Mexico Herlinda is leaving soon for Mexico City where she will be a judge at Aro Rojo, the big Mexican beer competition. She will also give a talk there about the history of beer in California. That's a hot topic for them to hear about there, because of the international importance of our local craft brewing industry. They saw that Herlinda had a lot to do with setting up On Tap, the exhibit at the Museum of Sonoma County about the history of hops and brewing in Sonoma County. Oliver's Market is the biggest sponsor of all of Beer Fest: The Good One. They will be serving Korean street tacos for the event. Trader Joe's is a sponsor. Visit Santa Rosa is a sponsor, always interested in promoting Santa Rosa and its title Beer City. Gary describes how Face to Face has evolved, and managed to keep its services free. They also provide mental health services. They do needle exchange and supply Narcan. This has saved over 3500 lives, according to Gary.

Jessica Christensen, Mixologist and Beverage Manager, and Robb Stites, head of Communications and Community at Graton Resort and Casino join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Jessica is a Sonoma County native. She is responsible for all of the drinks at nine different bars at the Graton Resort and Casino. She started as a bartender at Negri's in Occidental when she was 21. After a few years she worked at Calistoga Inn and Brewery. After that, she was recruited to the Graton casino and soon got into management there. The first drink served today, after the soothing and inspiring sound of the cocktail shaker, is an Apricot Pisco cocktail. Pisco is a distilled spirit from Peru with a flavor that is close to rum. Robb Stites had a background in public relations before coming to the casino about two years ago. He describes the philanthropy and in-kind donations that they do as an expression of their commitment to the community. Jessica describes the Apricot Pisco cocktail that is in Steve's glass. It is made with Pisco, Luxardo apricot liqueur, fresh lemon, some acqua fava for the foam and some simple syrup. Acqua fava is technically garbano bean juice, which can produce a foamy texture. (Sometimes bartenders use egg whites for foam, but many people prefer this vegan alternative.) Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! There are several bars in the resort; G-Bar is a sports bar and Sky Bar in the lobby has won several polls from Casino Player magazine. Sky Bar is a lounge bar at the center of the venue, Lobby Bar is a little more for craft cocktails, away from the gaming floor. There are also frequent concerts and comedy shows. The swimming pool is open not only to hotel guests now. You can buy day passes now for a cabaña, a lounger or a day bed, those are available seven days a week. Guests can bring food in from another restaurant or order from the poolside menu. The pool bar is right nearby. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. The next cocktail they taste is a new take on a traditional recipe, called a Jalapeño Margarita. It will soon be on the Lobby Bar menu. It has Jalapeño-infused tequila, plus Cointreau, lime juice and agave. Floating on top, there is an Aperol and lime citrus foam. 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. Jessica describes the pool menu, which is the same as last year and is designed to be quick, fresh and delicious. Kiwi, blueberry, watermelon, mango and spiked lemonade. They also have a cocktail competition called Full Tilt. The first year the competitors were mostly from north bay but this year they will open it to bartenders from all over the Bay Area. One portion of the competition will be Iron Chef style, where the competitors get a set of ingredients they have to work with. This year it will focus on agave-based drinks. The Campari group is the sponsor.

Herlinda Heras, Bryan Rengel and Jeffery House. Jeffery House, founder of Ace Cider is here, so is Bryan Rengel from Old Caz Beer, on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Bryan's last time on Brew Ha Ha was this episode back in January 2024. Jeffery's last BHH appearance was this episode in August of 2022. Jeffery House, founder of Ace Cider, has a new book. The Cider King is a story of how he came from England and ended up on the west coast. He got handcuffed for not having a green card but the judge gave him voluntary departure instead of deportation. A friend of his was importing cognacs and Armagnacs and various spirits, so he started working with him. He noticed an opportunity to import British and Belgian beer. Then, on his friend's suggestion became the first to import Sonoma wine to the UK, beginning in 1981. Bryan Rengel tells the story of how he built Old Caz with his partners, using materials that were entirely DIY, found and acquired for free. Now they are building the new location bringing in the same materials. He and his partner love cycling in the mountains and named the brewery after a very challenging road that they love to ride, which is Old Cazadero Road. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Old Caz new location Opens June 1 They are definitely opening on June 1, having passed the health department inspection last Tuesday and the City of Rhonert Park gave their official approval today. There is some work to do still. Noon on June 1, they will have a grand opening ribbon cutting. The Old Caz Cavalcade will be a 3.5 mile march from the old location to the new one. Join the cool kids for that.   The Cider King is the name of Jeffery House's new book. It's on Amazon and Kindle as of a couple of weeks ago. The Kindle version for 90 days is free. He will do an audio book version of it in his own voice. He started Ace Cider with seed money from a settlement from the end of a distribution agreement he had in England. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! Somebody told me they were growing apples in west (Sonoma) county. I drove up here one day to Sebastopol. It was like England with sunshine. The cows were happy, the fields were green…” In 1993 they made their first cider. 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. Bryan modestly announces that Old Caz Beer won Gold for Chismoso Mexican Lager at the World Cup of Beer. They had forgotten even sending in the beer. He also just found out about another gold from Rolling Stone Magazine.

The Pink Boot Society national conference Taylor Lane is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. She is local chapter president of the Pink Boots Society. She is also a Lab Supervisor for Gallo Sonoma, and used to do the same job for Russian River Brewing. Also in the studio today is Simone Yingst from the Santa Rosa Central Library. We also have a special guest, Simone Yingst from the Sonoma County Library. She is an adult services librarian at the downtown Santa Rosa library. There is a talk series called The Future is Fermented, happening at the library on May 22. The Pink Boots Society The Pink Boots Society is a national organization founded in 2007 by a woman brewer who realized that she was often the only woman in the room at beer events. They work on education, offer scholarships and support networking among its members. They have expanded their membership from beer people to people who work with any fermented beverages, and from women to also include non-binary persons. The Pink Boots Society National Conference will be in Philadelphia, June 24-26, 2024. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Taylor Lane has a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Microbiology. She thought that would lead her into the veterinary or pharma field, but she discovered fermentation when she took a class in fermentation while in grad school. That made her realize that she knew all about the processes of making beer and other fermented foods and beverages. A job at Russian River would soon follow, as the lab supervisor. Taylor continues to thrive in the same role at Gallo Sonoma. 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. A delivery has just arrived from Old Possum and Flagship BBQ who are putting on a birthday event soon. As we know, Flagship is now operating the kitchen at Old Possum. They were here on BHH in January to announce it. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! The subject of the talk on May 22 is Burnout in a Passion-based Business. The Future is Fermented, happening at the library on May 22.

Herlinda Heras with Raven Brewery guests. The brewer and co-founder of Pivovar Raven, or Raven Brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic are our guests today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. They are Ladislav Vrtiš, co-founder, and Jiri, which translates to George in English. Miroslov Puc is also in the studio but we won't hear from him on the broadcast. They are friends of Lana Svitankova, Herlinda's fellow international beer judge and a recent guest on BHH. The crew from Raven Brewing in Pilzen is on a beer tour of California. First they spent 5 days in San Diego, now it's Sonoma County and environs, including Beer City, Santa Rosa. Sierra Nevada and Russian River Brewing Co. are on the itinerary too. They just came back from a driving tour through Yosemite National Park. Czech Pilsner and German Pilsner are different. For the Czech, they have softer water, especially in the town of Pilzen. Second, the brewing process, they use decoction to brew the beer. The Germans and US use infusion. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Pivovar Raven, or Raven Brewery The Raven brewery was founded in Pilzen in 2015. A law was proposed to require bars that serve beer to also offer a non-alcoholic beverage at a price that is lower than the cheapest beer. But the law did not pass. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! Pilsner Urquell is still a very popular brand in Czechia. It might cost $3 in Prague. In smaller cities, you can get a good local pilsner for a buck. The local bars are also the meeting place for social life and also to find service people. 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 California IPAs are a bit strong, around 7 or 8 ABV. The Czech beers are lighter.

Tara Nurin Beverage industry mental health is the subject with Tara Nurin today on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke sitting in for Steve Jaxon, and Herlinda Heras. Tara has been on Brew Ha Ha many times, the last time was this episode just last week. The day before yesterday, Lana Svitankova, Herlinda and Tara were at UC Davis speaking about the brewing industry. Tara was there to discuss her book and to read a part of it. The students at UC Davis in the brewing program come from all over the world. Lana and Herlinda talked about international judging and they took questions from the students. The members of the panel at UC Davis were an all-star lineup of the craft brewing world. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! A Beautiful Mind Last night they attended Lo and Behold's event called A Beautiful Mind, a fund raiser for NAMI, the National Association for Mental Illness. They held a cocktail competition and a raffle and it was sold out. May is National Mental Health Awareness month. You can order the Beautiful Mind cocktail at a roster of local restaurants and the proceeds go to NAMI. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. People in the beverage and hospitality industry can suffer physical and mental ailments due to work stress. She has been developing ways to teach resilience to managers, owners on how to create holistically healthy workspaces. In addition, Tara teaches workers to understand their own needs and to be able to maintain a stable state of mental health for the long term. 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. Tara practices Transcendental Meditation and she also applies it to her efforts to reduce stress in the hospitality workspace.