Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today features a call from Herlinda in Bahia, Brazil, where she is a judge at Bahia Beer, part of the Brazilian International Beer Awards. Mark Carpenter is also joining Steve Jaxon in the studio today. He was head brewer at the now-closed Anchor Brewing for more than four decades. He was also this show’s co-host for many years. Herlinda is in Bahia, which is in the north of Brazil. It is a city and region with a mixed history. Since it is the port closest to Africa it was a center of the early slave trade into Brazil. It remains one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country. There are over 1000 beers up for tasting and judging and about 25 judges. The resort on the beach is delightful and cost only $70 […]

Mike Griffo and Kat Prescott are in from Griffo Distillery in Petaluma on this edition of Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Jenny Griffo was on the schedule but is not available. Jenny has been on the show before, on this episode of April 18, 2023. Kat is the Griffo Distillery events coordinator. Every weekend they do put on music performances which are kid friendly and dog friendly. They had a sound engineer come in to help them design the room and the acoustics are great. The bands and audiences always appreciate it. Griffo Distillery Gin won “White Spirit of the Year” at the ASCoT Awards.  They serve cocktails that use their spirits and a year-round rotation of seasonal ingredients. You can also purchase a cocktail kit to bring home. Plus, there are cocktails in cans. Their version of a Tom […]

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, […]

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 […]

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. Barber Lee Spirits’ address is 120 Washington St., Petaluma, […]

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 […]

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, Sun & Shine Cocktails and Seismic Brewing. Visit Sun & Shine on Instagram, here. 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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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. Oktoberfest Marzen means March which is Festbeer brewing time, […]