Old Caz Beer co-founder Bryan Rengel is our guest with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on the Brew Ha Ha today. He has been on Brew Ha Ha before, most recently this episode in January of 2024. Bryan explains that Old Caz was founded on what he calls the Free Craigslist Model of business development. They were able to build the whole brewery from equipment and furnishings that they got for free on Craigslist. They fixed all their own office furniture, and the whole taproom with a walk-in fridge, and more. It’s an ethos that he has never stopped applying to the business. The Old Caz Cavalcade When they opened their location in Somo Village, they conducted a trek to the new place that attracted 300 people for a 3.5 mile walk. Now for the new Petaluma location, they are organizing the Old Caz […]

Comet Corn owners Sherry and Jeff Soleski are back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras, six years after their first time on the show. That was this episode on December 20, 2018, along with co-host (at the time) Mark Carpenter and Brian Hunt from Moonlight Brewing Co. Comet Corn is well known around Sonoma County as it’s sold in all the breweries and taprooms as well as all the concerts. Jeff describes himself as the Summertime Santa with lots of popcorn to share. Herlinda gives Jeff and Sherry credit for their resilience. They lost their home in the Glass fire and yet they are “walking sunshine” says Herlinda. The Hale-Bopp comet was in the sky in 1997. Jeff and Sherry were so impressed with that comet that it led to the name of their business. Named after Comet Hale-Bopp Jeff is a builder, […]

Theresa, Jesse and Johanna from Squeakywheel Beverages join Herlinda Heras in the studio today on the Brew Ha Ha. Theresa Scripps is a co-founder, Johanna Pino does communication strategy and social media for Squeakywheel and Jesse Giambrone is a co-founder and creative director. This is their first time on the show. Squeakywheel Beverages are to be featured at the Petaluma Music Festival, which takes place two days after the live show. We talked about it on last week’s show, right here. Our guests have brought all three Squeakywheel cocktails, Squeakyrita, Squeakytiki and Squeakyspritz. Squeakytiki is a tropical fruit punch. Squeakyrita is Baja Lime with salt, and Squeakyspritz is “kind of like an Aperol spritz” flavor. They are wine cocktails and 6% Abv. People find that the flavor is surprisingly light and refreshing.  Sqeakywheel at the Petaluma Music Festival Herlinda will be at the Petaluma […]

Cliff Eveland from the Petaluma Music Festival and Alex Mendoza from Hiveworks Mead join Herlinda and Daedalus on Brew Ha Ha. Alex has been on Brew Ha Ha before, the last time was this episode on January 3, 2025, when he was here with his colleague Sean Duckworth. Herlinda’s father is also in the studio today. ProChiller is a new sponsor of Brew Ha Ha. It is a refrigeration system that uses Co2 instead of other refrigerants. They were on Brew Ha Ha on this recent show. They are making a presentation on July 22 at Hanabi Lager. Check out ProChiller.com for all the info. Alex Mendoza tells how he discovered mead and Cliff Eveland tells about the Petaluma Music Festival. Alex grew up on a ranch in Sonoma County with a lot of fruit trees which means there were bees around. He knew […]

John Burton is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell to present the 2nd Annual Grace Bros. Breweriana show. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode one year ago. John Burton is an eminent beer historian who has a vast personal collection of beer memorabilia. Russian River Brewing Co. has a slate of fun events this summer. Visit Russian River Brewing for all the events and dates. Come see a real NHRA drag racer, on Wednesday July 15, from 4-7 PM at the Russian River Brewing Co in Windsor. And visit Russian River Brewing on Instagram This Saturday July 11, from 9am to 2pm, there will be the 2nd Annual Grace Bros. Beer Can, Breweriana & Antique Advertising Show at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building (1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404). Get all […]

Mark Legree with the Stumptown Russian River Beer & Rib Revival joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. The event is a fund raiser for the Russian River Senior Center. Stumptown Brewery is located near the Russian River. The Russian River Beer and Rib Revival is a large event with many tents hosting beers, cider, mead and about twenty barbeque teams. Herlinda was in the competition for nine years. The basics are, there are 30 plus breweries and 20 plus barbeque teams. There is a great music lineup too. They have barbeque oysters and sometimes pit barbeque. They allocate over two pounds of meat per person. Herlinda’s team actually came in second one year for their wings. Some of the professional barbeque people are on the scene in the middle of the night before, getting ready. Herlindas suggests not to wear […]

Carmen Snyder from the Gravenstein Apple Fair 2026 joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. She has brought lots of goodies including an organic Gravenstein apple pie from Cameron at the Gentle Hearth. He is a local who uses his grandmother’s apple pie recipe. He will be at the 53rd annual Gravenstein Apple Fair this August 8th and 9th, selling pie by the slice. He also makes mustard and barbeque sauce. Get tickets at Eventbrite dot com at this page. (Speaking of barbeque, part two of today’s show features Stumptown Brewery and their Russian River Beer and Rib Revival.) The Gentle Hearth promotes Gravenstein apples by supporting local growers and maintaining pride in Sonoma County’s orchard heritage. The Gravenstein Apple Fair is the annual fund raiser for Farm Trails which promotes Sonoma County farmers, ranchers and producers. Get tickets at this […]

Rob Loverde is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell for another round of Beatles and Beer. The first Beatles and Beer show was this episode last April. Rob is an audio engineer and a Beatles expert. Today is Paul McCartney’s 84th birthday. Herlinda made her original list of Beatles tunes and beers together with Rob, six years ago and he joins Herlinda today for our second Beatles and Beer show. Rob is a mastering engineer for Mobile Fidelity, aka MoFi. That is the last phase of audio manipulation or editing. It is also the first step in production by producing a master recording for duplication into different media. Today Rob and Herlinda will pair beers with Beatles and Wings songs. Herlinda and Rob have seen Paul McCartney perform in concert. When I’m 64 was the first song recorded for […]

Jim Vander Giessen with Prochiller PROGreen and Nick Gislason from Hanabi Lager join us on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Nick has been on the show before, the last time was this episode last January. Jim Vander Giessen is a co-founder and CEO of Prochiller. He is in California for the ProGreen50 Showcase in Napa. Jim Weatherwax, regional sales manager for ProChiller, is also in the studio today.  ProChiller manufactures a wide range of refrigerant systems. They have a new product line called PROGreen Solutions which uses refrigerants that have a negligible global warming potential. Herlinda discovered this company at the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. ProChiller was showing their PROGreen systems at the conference. Herlinda was there with a friend who introduced her to them. They mentioned that they were coming to California soon to present their products in […]

Jeremy Marshall from Lagunitas has brought their Trooper West Coast IPA to Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Jeremy was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of November 22, 2018. Lagunitas is putting on an air guitar contest to celebrate the release of their Trooper West Coast IPA. Jeremy will pour from a growler of the Trooper West Coast IPA, drawn straight from the tank. The  air guitar championship is set for 6/6/26. That’s Saturday, June 6, 2026, the same day as the beer release. Herlinda will be one of the judges. It’s a collaboration with Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickerson. He is a beer guy, an entrepreneur, and a motivational speaker too. To register as a contestant, you will need to provide your stage name. Sign up at Eventbrite right here under Lagunitas Trooper, or look on Instagram, […]