Dan Klasen of the Beverage Federation calls in to speak with Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha, about the impact of impending tarrifs and more. Dan Klasen is the founder and President of the Beverage Federation. He is calling from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he is based. The Beverage Federation Herlinda asks Dan to explain the Beverage Federation’s work, and also for his opinion on the impending tariffs. They are a group purchasing organization to provide resources to craft brewers. Their goal is to gain purchasing power by buying in bluk on behalf of their members. They are a growing organization. Companies in the craft beer industry have been focused on lowering operating costs. Other industries have similar services. The Federation gets inquiries from operators across the country that have the same issues, for example, when the price of cans or other supplies increases suddenly. […]

Owner Michael Dunsford and Brewmaster Nick Bartlett from Napa Valley Brewing Co. join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on The Drive Brew Ha Ha. This is their first time on the program. The brewery was founded in 1987 and Michael’s family bought the brewery in 1989. It is on the grounds of the historic Calistoga Inn. Steve Jaxon used to live there in those years. Many great memories. Herlinda introduces Nick Bartlett. After Mad Fritz, this is the second Napa Valley brewery featured on Brew Ha Ha lately. Nick has been at Napa Valley Brewing a little over a year. He moved to Calistoga with his wife from Oakland for the job. It is quiet in his neighborhood, nothing like Oakland. In Oakland he was a brewer at Buck Wild Brewing, which is a gluten-free brewery. The Calistoga Inn The Calistoga Inn is a […]

Dave MacLean is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to talk about curating the beer experience at Beer Lands. It is part of Outside Lands 2025, in Golden Gate Park, on August 8, 9 & 10th. He has been on BHH before, the last time was this episode a couple of years ago. Dave is also a co-founder of Admiral Maltings and is the former owner of Magnolia Brewing. Dave is also here to tell us about opening a new brewery called Hidden Splendor Beer. His discussion of the new brewery is on this other podcast episode. This allows each of today’s subjects, Outside Lands and Hidden Splendor, to have their own audio track and search traffic. 😉 This is the 12th year for Beer Lands. It will get a different look and feel this year. Dave describes […]

Dave MacLean is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to talk about Hidden Splendor Beer and Outside Lands 2025. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode a couple of years ago. Hidden Splendor Beer is Dave’s new brewery that will be opening soon. Dave likes to create good beer and then places to enjoy it in. That is what he did in his previous endeavor, Magnolia Brewing. He will be brewing a lot of traditional beers, bitter, mild, light mild, porter, stout, pilsners and lagers. Dave is also here to tell us about Beer Lands for Outside Lands 2025 on Aug. 8, 9 & 10 in San Francisco. His discussion of that is on this other podcast episode. This separation allows each of today’s subjects, Outside Lands and Hidden Splendor, to have their […]

Ned Lawton from Ethic Ciders is here with Dana Glei from the Gravenstein Apple Fair on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. We featured Ned Lawton and Ethic Ciders on this episode back on August 1, 2024, before last year’s Gravenstein Apple Fair. Herlinda calls the fair “the cutest little country fair” with old-fashioned attractions and lots of fun. The music lineup is on this page of the website. The Gravenstein Apple Fair takes place at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol on August 9th & 10th. The craft cider tent started with just a few producers and this year there will be 18 different local producers there. The only rule at the fair is that the apples have to be grown locally, from within 100 miles. Ethic Ciders New Lawton started Ethic Ciders 10 years ago and opened the tasting room a […]

Herlinda’s guest is Dr. Sally Daganzo MD, a board-certified internal medicine physician with advanced training in psychiatry, eating disorders and functional medicine. Herlinda met Dr. Daganzo at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit in San Francisco last April. After graduate school in Physics, she chose medicine, studied internal medicine and psychiatry and holds a certification in Functional Medicine. Dr. Daganzo treats people for fatigue, brain fog and burnout, hormonal and metabolic issues, weight reduction and autoimmune and inflammatory symptoms. Some people with GLP-1s and similar treatments could possibly run the risk of leading to an eating disorder. A person still has to eat right. To understand weight issues, people can benefit from understanding their genetic predispositions and influences of gender, aging and family histories. People might also lose weight too fast or in a way that is not optimal. People react differently to drops in […]

Dr. Ron is here with Docta-Ron beer, along with Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo on Brew Ha Ha with Herinda Heras and Steve Jaxon. Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company are in the studio with guests from New Zealand. Brent McGlashen is a fifth-generation New Zealand hop grower. He and Vinny spent today brewing the test batch of a special beer they will release later this year. Also in the studio is Dr. Ron Beatson who is the most famous New Zealand hops expert, and David Biondi, who represents New Zealand hops in the US. The beer Docta-Ron is named after Dr. Ron. Their special beer will use a new variety of hops called NZ-109. It has taken ten years in development. The special brew will use this new variety of hops that they nicknamed “Juicy.” The California Lake Cluster was imported […]

Herlinda reports on the Livelong Women’s Health Summit with Michael Stusser from Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary and Jessi Brandt, founder of Elevate Wellness Solutions. At first, Herlinda has good news, she has passed her national board certification as a Health and Wellness Coach. Congratulations, Herlinda! They all attended the Livelong Women’s Health Summit in San Francisco on April 17 & 18, 2026. Jane Fonda was the keynote speaker. There was an impressive roster of expert speakers and panels. At the age of 88, she showed great agility and strength, showing some of her morning exercise routine. Asked what’s happening now at Osmosis, Michael says that everything is in bloom right now. “We’re totally thriving out there. It’s the peak of the season for Spring bloom.” They are clearing the pathways and putting the steps back down to the creek, which they remove for the […]

Ron Silberstein, a co-founder of Admiral Maltings in Alameda, joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. He used to run The Thirsty Bear Brewing Company for 27 years in downtown San Francisco. At Admiral Maltings they also have a pub called The Rake in the same building, overlooking the malting floor. It is located on a former Naval base. (Alameda Naval Air Station was one of the biggest Navy airports anywhere.) Admiral Maltings is reintroducing an old-fashioned way of making malt that makes a high quality product. Barley is the most commonly used grain for beer and whiskey. Grains have to be broken down before the yeast can do its job. So the grain is soaked which lets it start to germinate, then they stop the process and dry it. They grow all of their grain in California. Before WWII, […]

Fogbelt Brewing Company owner Paul Hawley is here along with Native American brewer Pedro Mancilla to tell about the return of Red Tail Ale. Hawley, co-founder of Fogbelt Brewing Company is here along with Native American brewer Pedro Mancilla to talk about bringing back Red Tail Ale. Fogbelt is making some of Mendocino Brewing’s classic Red Tail Ale. This was the most famous brew early in the craft brewing movement. In the 1980s it was one of the leading new beers. Fogbelt Paul tells how he and Remy Martin started the brewery in 2013 after home brewing for a time. Remy studied brewing at UC Davis. They opened their brewpub on Cleveland Ave in Santa Rosa in 2014, then outgrew that space. They moved production to an offsite warehouse. Then in 2022 they opened the Healdsburg Beer Garden in the red caboose. Pedro Mancilla […]