Paul Hawley and Remy Martin, co-founders of Fogbelt Brewing Co. along with Fogbelt Brewing Co. Head Brewer J.P. Bellotti are our guests on Brew Ha Ha, with Peter Lopez sitting in for Herlinda Heras. Remy and Paul were last on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of August 18, 2022 to tell the Fogbelt story as of then. Peter Lopez brought some Calzones from Santa Rosa Pizzeria, which he promised to Steve Jaxon the last time he was here with his partner Ignacio Ruiz. Remy, Paul and J.P. brought a case of different Fogbelt beers, some Octoberfest, two West Coast IPAs, two Hazies and their flagship lager. Fogbelt has five wet hop beers, brewed with fresh hops harvested and used immediately. Wet Hopped Beer They use hops from local hop farmers, to support them. They like to make as many of these beers as they […]

Melissa Luci from Alexander Valley Hops and Fal Allen of Anderson Valley Brewing Co. visit Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Fal Allen has been on the show many times, the last time was this May 13, 2021 episode. It is hop harvest season right now, as Melissa describes. Hops grow as long vines and need tall poles and wires to climb. A field of hops looks like a plantation of telephone poles. Hops were grown from the late 1800s to about 1950 when the price collapsed. Alexander Valley Hops started in 2019 on a very long and skinny lot. They have an active Instagram page. The hops grow up poles that are 18-20 feet high. There is a top wire at that height. They want the plant (called bines) to reach that height by the summer solstice. The Lost Coast Fresh […]

The co-owners of Santa Rosa Pizzeria, Peter Lopez and Ignacio Ruiz, join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Peter is a frequent guest and occasional co-host on Brew Ha Ha, here is Peter’s most recent BHH episode, from March of this year. Peter Lopez is back with Ignacio Ruiz, aka Nacho, as co-owners of the new Santa Rosa Pizzeria. They have been open for about a month. They are active on Facebook, at this link. Nacho tells the story of how he and Peter worked together in another restaurant, then they reconnected. Peter found a location that used to be under another name. Also, Barolo’s Pizza was there for about 15 years. So the place has a pizza pedigree. In less than a month they started! The Art of Pizza Peter also runs Juncture Taproom and Ignacio is also the […]

Bryan Rengel, co-founder of Old Caz Beer, joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras in the studio today on Brew Ha Ha. Co-founder Tom Edwards was on California Wine Country on this episode on March 31, 2022. Also in this show we will hear from Herlinda Heras who is just back from a lightning trip to Liverpool, England last weekend. Old Caz celebrated an anniversary last weekend. They shut the parking lot down on Saturday and had a standing room only party. Old Caz Beer is named after Old Cazadero Road. They are actually located in Rhonert Park. He and his partner met at Sonoma State on the rowing team. They were also into cycling and wanted to name a brewery after a road in west Sonoma County. They settled on Old Cazadero Road, because he describes it as a “six-mile death climb” with all […]

Brew Ha Ha is back, with Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Co. and Jenny Ogston from Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter. The Drive with Steve Jaxon is back on the air, on Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM, weekdays 3-6 pm. The Drive is also streaming at TheDrive955.com. Brew Ha Ha is also back on Thursday afternoons on The Drive. Steve Jaxon is hosting today’s episode, along with Herlinda Heras. Herlinda Heras is just back from Finland where she was judging the Sahti competition there. She talks about being a judge at competitions around the world. Some are in countries with long beer traditions like Germany, Belgium and Poland. Others, like Portugal, are developing new brewing industries now. In Finland, the Sahti is a traditional brew that dates back to Viking times. Jenny Ogston talks about how the Victory House is set up […]

This episode features Tara Nurin, author of A Woman’s Place Is In the Brewhouse. It was originally recorded on November 4, 2021. The Drive has been on summer vacation and we haven’t had new Brew Ha Ha shows. This is the last repeat episode before next week when The Drive returns to live radio, Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM, Mon-Fri 3-6. The first new episode of Brew Ha Ha will be Thursday, August 24. Cheers! Tara Nurin, author of A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse, joins Herlinda Heras and Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. Mark Carpenter is away this week and Harry Duke is sitting in for Steve Jaxon. Tara Nurin is the Forbes magazine beer and spirits business writer. She has been working on this book for four years and she is finally on book tour! She has a book […]

This episode features Erin Hinze from Bitter Girl Bitters and Mike Barber from Barber Lee Spirits. It was originally recorded on November 4, 2021. This is almost the end of Summer vacation for The Drive and Brew Ha Ha, so this is the second-to-last week of reruns while we don’t have new shows. Next Monday, August 21, The Drive returns to live radio on Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM, Mon.-Fri 3-6. The first new episode of Brew Ha Ha will be Thursday, August 24. Cheers! Erin Hinze from Bitter Girl Bitters and Mike Barber from Barber Lee Spirits distillery in Petaluma join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today on Brew Ha Ha. Also, Dustin Sullivan is in, to announce the opening of his second restaurant. Erin Hinze was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of May 17, 2018. Mike Barber’s wife organizes the […]

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 […]