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Jason and Nitesh, the co-founders of 28 States Brewing Co. join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell in the studio on Brew Ha Ha today.
ProChiller Green will be performing a Proof of Concept test at Hanabi Lager on September 23, 2026, to demonstrate the ProGreen Chiller in a brewery. Visit ProChiller online for more info.
28 States Brewing was founded 11 months ago in San Francisco, named after the 28 states of India. Nitesh comes from home brewing and opening a brewery is a big step. They are making beer with Indian spices and even toasted basmati rice. The name is Desi Gaijin. Daedalus finds that it is subtle and balanced.
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-dated hours, menus, beers and more.
Next they taste a Hefeweizen, made on an open fermenter. Nitesh explains that San Francisco has natural bacteria in the air that makes San Francisco sourdough bread special. He fermented this beer using open fermentation so he captures the same local microbes. There is a funk and a savory finish that comes from the bacteria. He will be experimenting with open and closed fermentation. It is called Haryana Weizen. Haryana is Nitesh’s native state. Weizen beer has to be 60% wheat and this is 61%.
From the bar to the sales call
Jason and Herlinda discover that they both were bartenders before ever working in sales. It’s a great training ground, for learning how to talk to all kinds of people. Jason met Nitesh by simply talking about beer.
Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
Nitesh was home brewing while working in tech. During Covid, when everyone was working at home, he started home brewing with advice from his mentor, Lester Koga of Barebottle Brewing. He started 28 States before he met Jason. Now there are so many flavors in is beer it’s amazing. He describes one called Mango Elaichi Sour flavored with Indian mangoes and cardamom.
Herlinda will host a beer cruise from Basel, Switzerland down the Rhein past Strasbourg, France ending in Amsterdam. It will be in November 2027, because these trips are always planned well in advance. There will be local beer tastings all along the way. Imaging coming into port and taking a bike ride while the chefs go shopping in town for fresh bread and delicious foods that the countryside produces. There is a $1000 discount available up to September 30. Email chelsea@cruiseplanners.com to book the cruise and get the early discount.
