Susan Boyle, the Irish Spirits Ambassador is the guest of Herlinda Heras with Peter Lopez who is sitting in for Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. First, Harry Duke is calling in from a roadside attraction on Route 66 in Oklahoma, on his road trip. Oklahoma City has a thriving craft beer scene, and he’s “not in the land of IPAs anymore.” If he sees one or two on the board, it’s a surprise. The Pilsners and Lagers are more popular there among the craft brewers. They are going from their Fall beers to their Winter beers. Ireland’s Bord Bia Bord Bia is the Irish Food Board, that oversees food and drink exports from Ireland. There is a renaissance going on in Irish distilling. After the low point of the 1960s there has been a great revival. Herlinda points out that Bourbon and […]

Bear Republic brewer Richard Norgrove and Josh Grace of Grace Bros. Brewing join Herlinda Heras in studio. Peter Lopez is sitting in for Harry Duke who will call in later and Tara Nurin will also call in to talk about the award her book just won. Tara Nurin was a guest on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of October 21, 2021, and talked about her book. First, Tara Nurin calls in to talk about about her book about women in brewing winning an award. Tara has been on Brew Ha Ha many times including this October 21, 2021 episode where she described the recently published “The Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse.” The book has just won the first prize from the North American Guild of Beer Writers. She really likes hearing stories from readers who identify with the many successful women in […]

Harmonic Brewing co-founder and brewmaster Ed Gobbo is our guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. He begins by telling how three buddies started Harmonic Brewing. Ed was a chemical engineer for a pharma company and his two friends worked in Internet advertising. They were making beer for a party of 100 friends and the whole thing just took off from there. The brewery is located in the Dogpatch area of San Francisco, and also in Thrive City at the Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play. They make a full range of beers, but mainly, what they love to drink. For example, the Mexicali lager is lightly hopped, with Mazueca hops which have a hint of lime. How Local Is That? They look at themselves as a community brewery. Harmonic Brewing got in touch with the Warriors […]

Triple Point Brewing founder Alex Barlow joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Alex has been a judge with Herlinda at some international beer competitions. One of his beers won at the Portuguese competition where Herlinda was a judge earlier this year. Triple Point Brewing is still fairly young. It is the successor to another brewery which didn’t make the cut financially but which was successful otherwise, including a good location and good partners. Alex also ran a beer sommelier school in England. He worked for Bass for 18 years and did consulting for 14 years doing beer education and training. Herlinda and Alex were in the middle of judging a beer competition together when the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing reached them. He says it felt strange to be away when it happened and they all shared a […]

Juncture Taproom owner Peter Lopez and Adam Bosch of Parliament Brewing in Rhonert Park join Harry Duke in studio on Brew Ha Ha today. Peter Lopez reports that they are still alive! His gratitude goes to the neighborhood regulars and his staff. Half of his original staff is still with him. Junture Taproom and Lounge is located at the corner of Mission and Montgomery in Santa Rosa. They have 3500 square feet inside and a huge patio that overlooks Santa Rosa Creek. They have a large projection screen with surround sound. It’s a great place to watch a game. The menu is simple but tasty. They have 20 beers in rotation on tap, including several popular ones from Parliament Brewing. Parliament Brewing in Rhonert Park is a family operation. Adam Bosch runs the tasting room and does sales and distribution, his father Alan mainly […]

Herlinda Heras is traveling again, this time she is calling in from Coimbra, Portugal. It is located in central Portugal, north of Lisbon and south of Porto. It has been a university town since the Middle Ages and it still is. Its university is one of the oldest in Europe.  Herlinda is in Coimbra to judge in the Brew Coimbra Festival all weekend. She has noticed that there are a lot of Americans in Portugal right now, on the streets and in public locales. Home prices have doubled since 2019, and Portugal is a new hot spot for Americans (and also lots of Europeans) to retire or to have a vacation home. The Portuguese brewing industry is well developed. Also, they are known for wine and especially for Port wine. They also make Portuguese Grape Ale. One of them is the winner of the […]

Anderson Valley’s new Pilsner is the subject as Kevin McGhee and Fal Allen from Anderson Valley Brewing join Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. Also in the studio for the conversation is cognac expert Frank Jacuba. This episode is all about Anderson Valley Brewing. Visit this other podcast episode to hear their conversation about cognac, from the same live show. Anderson Valley Brewing has just launched a new Pilsner beer, which is now in national distribution for the first time in their 35-year history. Fal Allen tells about how they wanted this to be a traditional Pils, with a strong malt backbone and not too hoppy. Anderson Valley started in 1987, so it celebrates 35 years this December. They focus on classic West Coast style IPA. They distribute nationally and internationally. Kevin’s family purchased the brewery in December of 2019, just before the […]

Frank Jacuba joins Harry Duke in the studio today on Brew Ha Ha, he is a cognac expert who is in today while Herlinda Heras is in France visiting the Cognac region. Also in the studio today are Kevin McGhee and Fal Allen from Anderson Valley Brewing. They have just launched a new Pilsner beer, which is now in national distribution or the first time in their 35 year history. Turn to this other podcast episode for their entire conversation with Harry Duke about the new Anderson Valley Brewing Pilsner. Frank Jacuba presents two samples of D’Usse cognac, a VSOP and an XO. He begins by describing the first cognac, the Vsop, and discusses its history and style. He describes one of his favorite ways of enjoying cognac, which is with thin slices of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a bit of honey. You can […]

Herlinda Heras calls from Belgium to talk to Harry Duke about her travels in France and Belgium on Brew Ha Ha today. Herlinda is calling in live from Halle, Belgium, where it is 2 am. It’s near the capital, Bruxelles. Drie Fontanen brewery is located there, and Pete Slosberg is celebrating his birthday there tomorrow. Pete Slosberg has been on Brew Ha Ha before. He was a ground-breaking brewer and marketer in the 1980s before craft beer was a thing. Pete’s Wicked Ale was an early craft beer from before it was called that. They were known as micro-brewers back then. There are people from all over the world who have gathered there for Pete Slosberg’s birthday party. They had a dinner for 24 people that evening with lots of local craft beers on the menu and a special birthday brew. Herlinda also visited […]

Fogbelt Brewing co-founders Paul Hawley and Remy Martin are our guests on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Remy starts with the history of Fogbelt. They both grew up in Healdsburg and their fathers were winemakers. They worked a southern hemisphere harvest where they started home brewing on the side. He took the Master Brewer degree at UC Davis while Paul went to work at his family’s winery. 10 years later they opened in 2014. Their taproom on Cleveland Avenue in Healdsburg is not in a part of town with a lot of foot traffic, so people who come there have made the trip to get good beer, they don’t wander in off the street. They have really grown in the kitchen with a new chef and new recipes. Having begun thinking that they should make lighter lagers but they have […]