Our guests today are from 101 North Brewing Company, Joel, Jake and JB, one of the partners, all join Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter on Brew Ha Ha. Mark Carpenter begins with a taste of their Indigo Pale Ale, then they taste a Dirty Hoppy, a hazy IPA. Mark explains that when Anchor first started making Libery Ale, they had a hard time making it clear. Now, hazy beer has become a thing, breweries are actually courting this haziness. They sometimes add yeast and other grains to produce the haziness. They use pulverized oats and they use New England yeast. Mark finds that among IPAs, the southern California “San Diego” IPAs tend to be one-dimensional, “…very very hoppy and very thin in the body.” These hazy beers have a little more body to go with the hoppiness. They are looking for a balance between malty […]

Natalie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company and Mary Anne McBride, CEO of the Council on Aging are our guests today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter. Natalie will give an update on Russian River Brewing’s Windsor construction project and she and Mary Anne McBride will describe their fire recovery relief project for the community. Mark starts with a Little White Lie beer from Russian River, a Belgian white beer, about 5% alcohol. Natalie Cilurzo begins with an update on their construction project in Windsor. They got their bottling line from Italy “…and it came with three Italians and one espresso machine to put it together.” They hope to open between September and October. There are lots of updates with artist renderings and pictures on the website with a live time lapse camera aimed at the site that takes a […]

Herlinda Heras is in the studio with Steve Jaxon today. Mark Carpenter is on vacation in Hawaii and will call in. Regan Long from Local Brewing in San Francisco was expected in the studio today but she remains stuck in traffic. So with a nice bottle of Aquafina water in front of her, Herlinda Heras tells the story of Local Brewing of San Francisco while they wait to see if their guest gets through traffic in time to be on the show. Regan Long is the founder and brew master of Local Brewing, which is about to celebrate its second anniversary. She is one of two women brew masters that Herlinda knows. She used to be a marine biologist who worked on preservation of the Arctic and the Great Barrier Reef. Mark Carpenter calls in on the phone from Hawaii. He made a last-minute decision […]

This week Adam De La Montanya and Tyler Laverty from Third Street Aleworks are in the studio for Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. Herlinda was in Nashville a few weeks ago for the Craft Brewers Convention and World Beer Cup. She was so excited to see Third Street Aleworks win a Gold Medal with their Annadel Pale Ale. Herlinda reports that, “…the place was going bananas for Santa Rosa for all kinds of reasons,” but especially for winning these awards. Steve asks his guests to tell the story of the brewery. Their owner Todd Hendrick wanted to have an establishment where he could bring his friends. It’s located in downtown right on Third Street. It’s a great restaurant and Steve asks them to describe the brewery. Tyler tells how they make all their beer on site, many varieties. […]

Erin Elizabeth Hines, maker of Bitter Girl Bitters and Lorraine Barber, organizer of Petaluma Drinks, are our guests with Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. Petaluma Drinks will take place June 2-3, 2018. Lorraine Barber gives an overview of the event. Her company Barber Cellars produces wine and they have a tasting room in Petaluma. They like all the local craft beer production that is flourishing there now and they wanted to think of a way to promote it all. There will be beer, cider, wine, port, anything that is fermented. Participants include 101 North Brewery, Henhouse Brewery and Lagunitas and also Wilibees will have some coordinated tastings too. Erin Elizabeth Hines produces Bitter Girl Bitters, which she describes: “Bitters are a concentrated flavor additive that bartenders use. They began as a medicinal product and developed into something much more fun.” She has […]

Dr. Robert Eyler of Sonoma State and Anthony Lopez of Seismic Brewing are our guests on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. Dr. Robert Eyler is Professor of Economics and, Director of the Institute for Regional Economic Analysis, Dean of the School of Extended and International Education at Sonoma State University and he also oversees the Craft Brewing Program as part of their workforce development program, which is part of their Professional and Non-Credit Program. Steve asks Prof. Eyler how the region is doing after the fires of last October. He replies that they have begun the rebuilding process, with some houses going back up. But they are not sure if all the insurance money necessary to rebuild will be available. He expects the labor market will be tightening later this year. Steve also mentions the continuing fire danger […]

On Brew Ha Ha today, Herlinda Heras will call in from the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, to speak to Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter who are in the studio. Steve mentions that Mark is retired after his long illustrious career at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco and now he has four horses in Petaluma. Herlinda Heras calls in live from Nashville, where she is attending the Craft Brewers Conference. It’s her first time in Tennessee and she loves it. She says it’s so much better than Las Vegas. Steve loves Nashville Herlinda is impressed with the seemingly ubiquitous rooftop bars and the abundance of live music that she hears everywhere she goes. She is at the World Beer Cup awards. Every two years at this annual conference they do the World Beer Cup. They will announce the winners soon. Steve remembers that […]

Our guest today on Brew Ha Ha is John Gillouly head brewer at Drake’s Brewery in San Leandro. Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras will taste and talk about some of the very interesting brews that they serve there. First they taste a New England style IPA, which is hazy or cloudy. John says that the west coast brewers have taken over the New England style. He thinks a New England style with the heavy mouth feel (not dry like a San Diego style IPA) but with some bitterness and dryness, for balance. Steve points out it’s 8.4% alcohol. Mark Carpenter introduces John Gillouly. Hopocalypse is a high alcohol highly hopped beer. John says some New England brewers use trick ingredients to get hazy beer. The haze in this beer is from raw wheat, which has proteins in it that make the beer […]

Hazy beer and Anchor Gin are the topics of the day, live from the new KSRO studio with Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras, who is just back from Europe.  Mark brought Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA, what they call a “New England IPA” meaning it’s hazy. An Englishman would send it back. Mark explains that the first highly hopped beers were difficult to filter to make them clear. When they first tried to sell hazy beer, people wouldn’t buy it but now people like it. They’re even selling some in England. Steve says that you may as well call it foggy. Steve asks Mark about the Anchor Gin, Mark says it is still happening and Herlinda tells about how she found it while travelling in Spain. Mark tells the story of how Anchor Gin got started. After they started making whiskey, they also […]

Today’s guests on Brew Ha Ha are Alfie and Callie from Brewster’s Beer Garden in Petaluma. They will be doing a collaboration beer with Bear Republic. Racer 5 is one of the brands that built the craft scene so he feels it’s prestigious to collaborate with them. Mark says that when you see the roof with a garden on it, you’ve arrived at Brewster’s. They taste a beer form Silver Moon Brewing. They also tasted a beer called Three Kittens. They noticed that playful whimsical names can help sell beer, so they made a Jasmine rice lager that is good for having with Sushi, called Three Kittens. There is a lot of upheaval in the craft brew market. He wants Brewster’s to be a resource for people to keep track of the best craft beers. He selects for quality of process and quality of […]