On this abbreviated edition of Brew Ha Ha, Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter, Mark is just back from an amazing trip to Mexico. He tells what a great trip it was. An old friend and neighbor invited him down. He lives near Puerto Vallarta at 5000 feet in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The city of San Sebastian was established in 1605 as a silver mining town. It reminds him of the Petaluma Old Adobe. There is a lot of microbreweries in Mexico but a bar owner has to be independent not to sign an exclusive contract with big brewers so they are sometimes hard to find. But Mark did discover the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. His friend met a man who has a distillery off the grid up near San Sabastian. He mentions the Hacienda Carmelitas. He is making beer and also Racía. His […]

This week Brew Ha Ha welcomes Pimi from Chang Beer in Thailand and Mark Carpenter has a preview of this year’s Anchor Christmas Ale. (This show was recorded on August 10, 2017.) The brand name is really pronounced “Chong.”  Herlinda went to the Thai food festival a few weeks ago and saw Chang Beer was the only beer there. They import all of their products from Thailand. The Thai food festival was hosted by Chang Beer and Pimi says they thought it was their duty to promote Thai food and beverages. Last year they did it in LA, this year in San Francisco, and they are going to do it all over. They brought in a chef from Thailand and paired beer with many local food vendors. They have held the event in Singapore, London and the US. Chang Beer was launched in 1995 […]

Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras are alone in the studio with Steve Jaxon on today’s show. Later Herlinda will tell about Wilibees but at first, Mark starts with an IPA from Hen House. It’s called Hollow Moon, 6.7% alcohol. Sirachi Ace hops and “Conan” yeast. It has an expiration date and they want you to drink it within 21 days. Steve mentions that some of the commercial brands also were printing production dates (“born-on” dates) on their cans and bottles. The beer Mark has was released just last week. Herlinda asks what makes the difference between a beer for aging or for drinking soon? Mark says if it is high in hops and alcohol, it may age better, but otherwise, not. Herlinda asks about a comparison between German and British styles, which Mark is happy to do. Mark says that these styles only go […]

Charlie Bamforth, an English scientist who specializes in malting and brewing, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha today with Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. Charlie has been a professor at UC Davis since 1999, and has 40 years in the brewing industry. When he was a biochemist working on enzymes, as a post-doc student at the University of Sheffield, he found a job in his field. He has also written about the English soccer league for the English press. He is a fan of Wolverhapton Wanderers. Herlinda Heras is the coordinator of the craft beer program at Sonoma State University. Charlie Bamforth is a professor at UC Davis. He runs a summer abroad program, teaching brewing science in the UK, for college credit. They did it in 2014 and 1016 and again this year. It is based in Nottingham. They go […]

The first guest today is Cody Kay, the winner of the 2018 Sonoma County home brewers competition. As the winner, he gets to brew his winning “Durstlosher” beer by special arrangement with 101 North. Steve welcomes Mark Carpenter and wonders when he will ride his horse down from Petaluma for a Thursday afternoon show. After Herlinda tells about Wilibee’s and their special stock, Herlinda introduces Cody Kay, who is 28 and has just won the Sonoma County Home Brewers Competition, produced by the Petaluma Downtown Association, at the Petaluma Fairgrounds. This year they did it at 101 North, who is a sponsor. The winner will have his brew produced professionally and sold by 101 North. Helles is the name of a traditional German pale lager beer, typical of Bavaria, especially Munich. “Hell” in German means “bright, light, pale.” Cody is actually brewing at home, […]

Tara Nurin is today’s guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon, Mark Carpenter and Herlinda Heras. Tara Nurin covers the beer and spirits business for Forbes magazine. (Follow Tara on Twitter here.) Mark begins by tasting a German beer, then later they will taste beer from Louisville, Kentucky, which Herlinda was able to procure. Tara Nurin lives outside of Philadelphia and Steve remembers being in Philly for the Democratic convention in July of 2016. Tara says that the beer culture in Philly is in the top 5 in the country. Herlinda points out that Philly Beer Week was the first beer week in a city, even before San Francisco. In addition, Tara has been covering beer and spirits for Forbes for two years and she was their first on that beat. She gets to travel a lot and just came back from Germany. […]