On Brew Ha Ha today, Herlinda is calling in from Philadelphia to talk to Daedalus Howell about the Craft Brewers Conference there, happening along with the World Beer Cup. Russian River Brewing Co.’s Velvet Glow Helles-style lager just won a Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup. Just as Herlinda was checking in with her media credentials, there was a crush of other media people around her. She saw that Joe Frazier’s daughter was there for the dedication of a statue of Joe Frazier in Philadelphia. Frazier was a heavyweight champion from Philadelphia. Next year the conference will be in San Antonio. The World Beer Cup is a competition among more than 8,144 beers from 1,644 breweries in 50 different countries. There were 255 judges, 128 of them were from outside the US.  113 beer categories and 5 cider categories made for an average of […]

Tara Nurin calls in to Brew Ha Ha to discuss plans for a documentary film about the subject of her book A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse. This call came near the end of the episode with Gabi Demozzi, which is right here. The film is called Witchy Boots. Tara is a journalist who covers the beverage business and the personal stories of people in the beverage industry. She is the author of A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse and she has been on Brew Ha Ha many times. Tara covered mental health in the beverage industry on this episode on May 2, 2024. Tara also holds the honor of being the guest on our first podcast episode here in February of 2018. Tara lives near Philadelphia, the site of next week’s Craft Beer conference. The Pink Boots Society is kicking off […]

Gabrielle Demozzi, a Dim Sum chef and beer judge from Brazil, is our guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Gabi is a certified Cicerone, professor, consultant and chef who has been working with beer for 16 years. She is currently working on opening a restaurant that will match Dim Sum with craft beer named Dim Sum da Gabi. It is already operating via delivery and private dinners. Today is her first time on the show. Herlinda met Gabi two years ago when she was a judge in the Brazilian national beer competition. Herlinda describes her trip to Brazil in this episode, from the week after she got back. Gabi was in Denver recently for the World Beer Cup, and they will be in Philadelphia next week for the World Beer Cup. A Beer Judge’s Job Judging beer is […]

It’s not business as usual this time on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell, as Herlinda presents Beatles and Brews today. She has had this playlist on her main fridge for about 6 years. What’s more, she has such a collection of beers that she can line up the labels to match the songs for today’s show. The show begins with two Beatles tunes, She Loves You and I Want You / She’s So Heavy. Herlinda is a Beatles superfan. She knows Pete Best, who was the drummer for The Beatles before Ringo joined the band. Herlinda even has a signed picture with him from when he played in Petaluma on tour. Pete’s mother Mona Best bet on a horse named Never Say Die to win the 1954 Epsom Derby, at 33-1 odds. (sorry, audio garbled at 8:00) She used the […]

Herlinda’s cousins Lloyd and Lee Palmer are visiting from Oregon and they are in the Brew Ha Ha converted train coach studio with Herlinda and Daedalus today. Lloyd Palmer is a train expert and today he will tell us all about the retired train cars that make up the Wine Country Radio studios and offices here in Santa Rosa. Herlinda has brought her family to the show before. Her father Eloy Heras, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, was on this episode back in April of 2018. That day, he told some stories that involved both the Navy and beer. Also, Eloy and Herlinda’s brother Anthony came on Brew Ha Ha on this episode, last year on June 19, 2025. Lloyd is also a retired Navy veteran like Herlinda’s father Eloy. “Trains and beer? I can talk all day!” said cousin Lloyd upon […]

James Pardieu and Drew Tomassini, co-chairs of Battle of the Brews 2026 and D.J. Graves, co-owner of 3rd Street Aleworks, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Battle of the Brews is an annual event that the Active 20-30 Club #50 of Santa Rosa produces to raise money for their charitable activities. They describe their mission as, “providing young adults an opportunity for personal growth, friendships, and leadership development while improving the quality of life for the underserved children in our communities.” The Battle of the Brews 2026 will have a panel of judges for the Craft Cup competition. There will also be a People’s Choice competition. There will be over 50 different breweries. They expect over 100 different craft brews to be available. In addition to all the beers, there will be a Barbeque competition featuring 10 different BBQ teams. […]

Adam Lamb and Jevon Hatter from the Rewind Arcade Taproom in Sebastopol join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Lisa Brower is also here in the studio. She is the host of Jeopardy! bar league that meets at Rewind Arcade. Jevon was on Brew Ha Ha last year on this episode, talking about Rewind Arcade. Their third anniversary falls on Memorial Day this year. The Barlow is a great place for this kind of thing, says Daedalus. Herlinda lists the selection of beers that Jevon has brought. He is in charge of the beer menu. It has a great variety as well as an automated tap system. You get an RFID card that you use to track your pours and make your check. Jevon appreciates that there are so many great local producers to feature. They have 33 pinball machines, up […]

Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha with the first taste of Pliny the Younger 2026. This is the 22nd year that Russian River Brewing Company makes Pliny the Younger. “It’s the biggest news of the year in beerdom,” declares Daedalus Howell. For the last 22 years, Brew Ha Ha has hosted the first taste of Pliny the Younger and this is Daedalus Howell’s first time as the host, for this big event. Pliny the Younger has become a “colossal, global event,” says Daedalus. Natalie Cilurzo describes the pressure that they all feel at RRBC during Pliny. Life throws curveballs, like recessions, weather and Covid, but Pliny pours on.  “We keep doing the best we can. “We are just elated when we see people waiting on Friday morning,” says Natalie. Vinny Cilurzo describes Pliny the Younger as […]

Dr. Hoby Wedler, a PhD organic chemist and sensory expert, is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode back in August of 2020. His Instagram has almost 480,000 followers as of today’s show date. Hoby was born sightless, and was raised to have high expectations for himself. He was inspired by his great high school chemistry teacher who has worked at Petaluma High School for a while. He thought he might study history because the prospect of needing an assistant to perform manual jobs in a chem lab. But his graduate advisor was a computational organic chemist. This subject provided an avenue for him to study chemistry with more independence. His original goal was to teach freshman chemistry at the college level. He is an inspired teacher […]

Jenna Bautista from the Pink Boots Society, also a Senior Quality Analyst for Lagunitas, joins Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Jenna Bautista joins Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha, with Adam Bosch from Parliament Brewing Co. also in studio. International Women’s Day is Sunday March 8, this year. There is a whole weekend of Pink Boots Society collaborations to check out. Lagunitas has made Glass Breaker, using Nectaron, Simcoe, and O-33 experimental hops. It has pine and stone fruit flavors and is a little over 8.5% ABV. It will be released this Saturday. The Pink Boots Society North Bay has partnered with CuVer in Windsor to brew a Belgian IPA called By Her Bootstraps. HenHouse is releasing The Coven, a botanical rice lager flavored with sage, grapefruit and lemon peel and lavender. They are releasing it at Fort Point Valencia on Sunday. Jenna […]