We continue the Brew Ha Ha summer vacation with this repeat podcast of an episode from October 5, 2021, all about fresh hops, with Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo, co-owners of Russian River Brewing Co. Cheers! Fresh Hops are front and center today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter, as we welcome Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company. Vinnie and Natalie are the co-owners of Russian River Brewing Co. and they have brought a pack of fresh hops into the studio today. Now is a busy time, the hops are being harvested and there are special hoppy beers being made and enjoyed. (This was recorded during Covid-19 times.) The Russian River Brewing Co. Winds0r location and the Santa Rosa pub are both open. They have been using the parklette on 4th Street, which was done to allow social […]

Again as The Drive is on Summer vacation, here is a repeat of an episode of Brew Ha Ha, originally recorded on October 6, 2022, with Susan Boyle, the official Irish Spirits Ambassador. Cheers! Susan Boyle, the Irish Spirits Ambassador is the guest of Herlinda Heras with Peter Lopez who is sitting in for Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. First, Harry Duke is calling in from a roadside attraction on Route 66 in Oklahoma, on his road trip. Oklahoma City has a thriving craft beer scene, and he’s “not in the land of IPAs anymore.” If he sees one or two on the board, it’s a surprise. The Pilsners and Lagers are more popular there among the craft brewers. They are going from their Fall beers to their Winter beers. Ireland’s Bord Bia Bord Bia is the Irish Food Board, that oversees […]

Brew Ha Ha’s Summer vacation continues with this repeat episode all about Anchor Brewing’s history, featuring Mark Carpenter. This episode was originally recorded and published on May 2, 2019. Today on Brew Ha Ha Steve Jaxon gets the whole story from Mark Carpenter about Anchor Brewing, its history and historical context, its production and its role in American brewing. (We were expecting guests from San Francisco’s Fort Point Beer Co. but they are stuck in traffic and will reschedule.) Mark Carpenter started working at Anchor Brewing in 1971 after he met its owner Fritz Maytag. He was looking for a more interesting and rewarding line of work and found that at Anchor. Mark retired a few years ago and Anchor’s new brewmaster is Ramon Tamayo, who was also on the show recently. Warm or Cold Beer? Right now, Mark is tasting a Shadow of […]

We have a special conversation with Bob Brewer, former Anchor Brewing employee, while The Drive and Brew Ha Ha are still on Summer vacation this year. There is sad news in the brewing industry, as Sapporo has announced that Anchor Brewing is closing. Here is the conversation that Herlinda Heras recorded on July 12 with Bob Brewer, who worked for Anchor for many years. Bob Brewer was on Brew Ha Ha once before on this episode of February 17, 2020. When Bob Brewer was originally hired at Anchor in 1985, he had been working for a beer wholesaler which also distributed Anchor, since about 1977. He was a draft beer installer and also did nearly everything to deliver beer, including carrying kegs around San Francisco. Bob would always say he had the best job in the world. “I get to deliver the best beer […]

With The Drive on Summer vacation, here is an encore presentation (which sounds more elegant than ‘repeat’) of this January, 2023 episode which is a personal favorite of Herlinda Heras.  Mare Island Brewing Company co-founders Ryan Gibbons and Kent Fortner join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Mare Island was a naval shipyard since the earliest days of California and Herlinda was actually born there, since her father was in the US Navy. It was the oldest naval base west of the Mississippi, and also has the oldest golf course and one of the oldest Tiffany stained glass windows in the west, in its local church. Read about the history of Mare Island here. Kent and Ryan founded Mare Island Brewing Co. after they met in the wine business. They are both professional wine makers. It is near the city […]

The Drive is on summer vacation and there is no new BHH show this week. So here is a show from last April featuring Suzanne Hagins from Horse and Plow Cider in Graton, to talk about the cider they make from apples grown locally in and around Sebastopol, California. Cheers! Suzanne Hagins from Horse and Plow Cider in Graton is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Horse and Plow makes cider and also wine. All of their cider comes from Sebastopol-grown apples. They are dry and naturally carbonated and they show the quality of the Sonoma County fruit. They are based on the famous Gravenstein apples that are mostly grown in Sebastopol. It is a blend of 12 different apple varieties and is very dry. Horse and Plow started as a winery. The tasting room is off Hwy […]

While The Drive is on vacation and there is no new BHH show today, here is a reissue of the show from last February 2, with the very first taste of the 2023 Pliny the Younger, featuring special guest Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Co. Enjoy! Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company joins Brew Ha Ha with the first growler of the Pliny the Younger 2023 edition. Later, the subject changes to SF Beer Week, when Colin McDonald from Hen House Brewing and Gail Williams will also be on. (That portion of today’s live show has its own separate podcast page, here.) Today’s episode of Brew Ha Ha continues a tradition of Russian River Brewing Co. bringing the new Pliny the Younger into the KSRO studios for its first tasting. Here is last year’s 2022 release episode on the same occasion. Here […]

While The Drive is on vacation, there is no new Brew Ha Ha episode this week. So, here is an encore presentation of our episode from November 17, 2022, featuring Dave Burkhart, the author of the book The Anchor Brewing Story which was just published at the time. Anchor Brewing historian Dave Burkhart and former Anchor brewing chief Mark Carpenter join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Mark Carpenter is the former co-host of this show who began working at Anchor in 1971. Author Dave Burkhart has been with Anchor Brewing Co. for thirty-one and a half years. Very early in his tenure began collecting historical documentation of the brewery. His book, The Anchor Brewing Story, has just been published. Mark and Dave agree that Anchor has a bright future since the new owners (Sapporo) are investing heavily in the […]

The Drive is on vacation, so there is no new Brew Ha Ha show today. For this podcast episode we offer again this fun and revealing episode recorded last January 19, with Herlinda Heras’ two guests from Maryensztadt Brewery in Poland, Marcin and Artur. Enjoy! Marcin Malecki and Artur Napuripski of Maryensztadt Brewery in Poland are our guests today on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Artur is the sales manager as well as a beer sommelier and brewery historian, and Marcin is the brewery’s owner. Herlinda Heras has been a beer judge at the Polish national beer competition for the last few years, along with Artur. Herlinda invited them to California for a visit and for a collaboration at Anchor Brewing and a visit to some famous Sonoma County craft breweries. Marcin tells about their visit to Brew Ha Ha […]

Tom Hart, co-founder of Humboldt Cider is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras, with special guest Peter Lopez. Peter is the founder of NorCal Beer Geeks and he also runs the Juncture Taproom in Santa Rosa. Tom Hart started Humboldt Cider in 2014 with his partner. They saw an opportunity for cider and started learning how to make it for local events in small batches. For a location , they renovated an old milking barn. Most recently, they started canning during the pandemic. This was an initially forced transformation of their business but it has worked well. First to be tasted is their Drysdale Cider, made with 4 different culinary apples, golden delicious, granny smith, fuji and gala. It classifies as a dry cider on the dryness scale. Juncture Taproom Juncture Taproom is celebrating its 6th anniversary. He has […]