herlinda heras maui

Herlinda Heras’ Maui Report

Today Herlinda Heras’ Maui Report takes the stage on this special podcast episode of Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon. Herlinda Heras called in from Maui where she was travelling for her birthday. She extended her stay and she is finally back today. Herlinda had the opportunity to report on Lahaina when her friend who lives there invited her. She was hesitant to visit, not wanting to be a looky-loo. However as she was invited, she got to see, “many beautiful things to do” there. Whereas the Sonoma County fires were huge, covering a broad area, Lahaina is rather small. A lot of old buildings from the 1700s burned and cannot be rebuilt. But the people on Maui are still operating their business and still need tourist traffic. Thanks to her very wide circle of friends, Herlinda was able to attend some exciting social […]

Continue reading
flagship taproom old possum

Flagship Taproom and Old Possum Brewing

Flagship Taproom and Old Possum Brewing are both in the house today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. The last time Sandro was on the show was this episode in April, 2023. Sandro Tamburin is back in the studio with a big announcement. Flagship BBQ and Old Possum Brewing are teaming up. Flagship BBQ will become the managing partner for retail operations at Old Possum, while Sandro will continue to manage the brewery operation. They will be in soft launch in February then Friday, February 16 they have a grand opening. They will also release their Triple Hopped beer, Tonic Immobility. As they are tasting a pilsner style from Old Possum called La Rosita, Sandro tells the story of Old Possum. He started as a wort producer supplying other brewers. But once he realized that he had also assembled all […]

Continue reading
pliny-for-president-2024

Pliny for President 2024

Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Co. is on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras to talk about Pliny for President 2024. Herlinda is traveling today. We begin with Natalie telling the story of how RRBC got started, from when Korbel started the brand and hired Vinny. Later when Korbel decided to leave the beer business, Vinny and Natalie got the brand and recipes, organized a business plan with investors, and opened their brew pub in 2004 in Santa Rosa. That means that 2024 is also the 20th release of Pliny the Younger. When they had to postpone their retail release during Covid, it meant separating the wholesale distribution of Pliny the Younger from the on-site consumer retail release. The brewery is a lot bigger than it used to be and this reorganization has made the process more manageable. Pliny the […]

Continue reading
old caz bryan rengel

Co-Founder of Old Caz Bryan Rengel

Co-founder of Old Caz Beer Bryan Rengel joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras in the studio on Brew Ha Ha today. Bryan was on Brew Ha Ha last August on this episode, and his partner Tom Edwards was a guest on this other episode from March 31, 2022. The first beer tasted today is called Chismosa Clara, their take on a Mexican Lager. There is an amber ale version. This is a lighter one, made to be like Modelo Especial. They are located in Rohnert Park which is growing and gaining popularity. A hazy IPA is the next tasting, called Early Sunset. It’s an example of a creative process of starting with a special recipe that they make in kegs only, to see if it becomes popular. If it does, they will make a label and produce it. This is how they select which […]

Continue reading
kokua project

Herlinda Heras from Maui about the Kokua Project

Herlinda Heras is calling from Maui, to talk about the Kokua Project with Steve Jaxon on Brew Ha Ha today. Bryan Rengel of Old Caz Beer is also with us. Over here is the podcast episode of that entire show. Here is just the portion where Herlinda speaks to us from the Maui Brewing Company, looking at the ocean. She is there for her birthday and to see breweries that are participating in the Kokua relief beer project, which is raising money for Maui fire relief. The Kokua Project The Kokua project is a fund raiser for victims of the Lahaina fire last August. On the other side of the island from where the fires happened, it is still quite beautiful. Being from Sonoma County, we can relate to having fires and also doing brew projects to raise funds for fire relief. Please consider […]

Continue reading
meltonville food historian

Marc Meltonville Food Historian

Marc Meltonville, food historian, is our guest on today’s Brew Ha Ha podcast, in a replay of a May 21, 2020 show. There is no new show today due to bad weather upsetting people’s travel plans, so today’s podcast episode repeats one of Steve Jaxon’s favorite classic Brew Ha Ha shows. Enjoy! 🍻 Brew Ha Ha today is an interview with English food historian Marc Meltonville, on the telephone from England, talking with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Marc is the consulting food and drink historian for the historic royal palaces in the UK. So he knows a lot about what people were brewing and eating and drinking in different periods of history. Marc Meltonville jokes that being a Consulting Food Historian doesn’t feel like a real job. He entered the field when he was working in a museum and someone came to him […]

Continue reading
parliament brewing

Parliament Brewing Co.

Adam Bosch, co-founder of Parliament Brewing in Rohnert Park, joins Herlinda Heras in studio on Brew Ha Ha today. He was on Brew Ha Ha once before, on this episode of September 8, 2022 along with Peter Lopez of Juncture Taproom. Adam has brought several Parliament beers for a taste and talk. The first is a German style Pilsner that won best Pilsner at Battle of the Brews this year. The second glass is the same pils but dry hopped with Riwaka hops from New Zealand. That provides a little toasted spice flavor and makes a comparison with the other pils. Patience, a perfect name Adam also brought a barrel-aged beer called Patience, perfectly named, because time was key. The barrels had whiskey in them for more than 13 years, then the beer is aged in them for a year and a half. Then it was […]

Continue reading
heidrun meadery josh mccarthy

Heidrun Meadery Meadmaker Josh McCarthy

Our guest today on Brew Ha Ha is Heidrun Meadery head meadmaker Josh McCarthy. The Heidrun is the name of a mythical viking goat. Mead is the oldest alcohol in the world, brewed with honey. Heidrun takes the still fermented mead and then turns it into a sparkling beverage using the traditional champagne method. They are the only meadery that we know of so far that does champagne mead. Honey is very sweet, Josh explains. They add water to the honey to dilute it to the sugar proportion desired, and they also remove other parts like wax. Then they chill it down and handle it like wine. The bubbles are done the same way as in traditional champagne. The only difference is the ingredient they start with. The mead is able to carry flavors of the forage that the bees covered, so you can […]

Continue reading
norman greenbaum

Norman Greenbaum visits Brew Ha Ha

Today’s podcast episode is a replay of a fun episode from May 9, 2019, featuring Norman Greenbaum, longtime Sonoma County resident famous for the song Spirit in the Sky (because today, Thursday December 14, The Drive is running a replay of the show from 2 weeks ago, live on Wine Country Radio, in our usual time slot). Enjoy this episode from pre-Covid-19 days! Norman Greenbaum is our guest on Brew Ha Ha today, joining Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. He wrote and performed the iconic 1969 song “Spirit in the Sky.” Herlinda Heras is back from her trip to Portugal and has brought three Portuguese beers to taste. Norman Greenbaum is a longtime Sonoma County resident. Steve asks Norman if the success of his song still surprises him. It has been in movies and commercials and continues to have its own life. […]

Continue reading
elk fence distilling

Elk Fence Distillery of Santa Rosa

Elk Fence Distillery co-owners Scott Woodson and Gail Coppinger join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. The Elk Fence Distillery is a recently opened small-batch craft distillery that makes American single-malt whiskey, botanical gin and vodka. It has the distinction of being the only distillery located in the city of Santa Rosa, California. Juniper, coriander, tangerine and grapefruit all go into the botanical gin. They were supposed to open on March 14, 2020, the day that the state closed down for Covid. The Drive was on the air that day when Governor Newsome made the announcement. They had a party ready for 600 people that they had to cancel. Real Kentucky and Pennsylvania Learnin’ They actually went to Kentucky and Pennsylvania to learn how to distill. The guy who made their equipment directed them to two schools where he knew they […]

Continue reading