Brew Ha Ha Podcast Harry Duke & Herlinda Heras

Jessica Christensen, Mixologist and Beverage Manager, and Robb Stites, head of Communications and Community at Graton Resort and Casino join Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today.



Jessica is a Sonoma County native. She is responsible for all of the drinks at nine different bars at the Graton Resort and Casino. She started as a bartender at Negri's in Occidental when she was 21. After a few years she worked at Calistoga Inn and Brewery. After that, she was recruited to the Graton casino and soon got into management there.



The first drink served today, after the soothing and inspiring sound of the cocktail shaker, is an Apricot Pisco cocktail. Pisco is a distilled spirit from Peru with a flavor that is close to rum.



Robb Stites had a background in public relations before coming to the casino about two years ago. He describes the philanthropy and in-kind donations that they do as an expression of their commitment to the community.



Jessica describes the Apricot Pisco cocktail that is in Steve's glass. It is made with Pisco, Luxardo apricot liqueur, fresh lemon, some acqua fava for the foam and some simple syrup. Acqua fava is technically garbano bean juice, which can produce a foamy texture. (Sometimes bartenders use egg whites for foam, but many people prefer this vegan alternative.)



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!



There are several bars in the resort; G-Bar is a sports bar and Sky Bar in the lobby has won several polls from Casino Player magazine. Sky Bar is a lounge bar at the center of the venue, Lobby Bar is a little more for craft cocktails, away from the gaming floor. There are also frequent concerts and comedy shows.



The swimming pool is open not only to hotel guests now. You can buy day passes now for a cabaña, a lounger or a day bed, those are available seven days a week. Guests can bring food in from another restaurant or order from the poolside menu. The pool bar is right nearby.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.



The next cocktail they taste is a new take on a traditional recipe, called a Jalapeño Margarita. It will soon be on the Lobby Bar menu. It has Jalapeño-infused tequila, plus Cointreau, lime juice and agave. Floating on top, there is an Aperol and lime citrus foam.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.



Jessica describes the pool menu, which is the same as last year and is designed to be quick, fresh and delicious. Kiwi, blueberry, watermelon, mango and spiked lemonade. They also have a cocktail competition called Full Tilt. The first year the competitors were mostly from north bay but this year they will open it to bartenders from all over the Bay Area. One portion of the competition will be Iron Chef style, where the competitors get a set of ingredients they have to work with. This year it will focus on agave-based drinks. The Campari group is the sponsor.

Herlinda Heras, Bryan Rengel and Jeffery House.



Jeffery House, founder of Ace Cider is here, so is Bryan Rengel from Old Caz Beer, on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. Bryan's last time on Brew Ha Ha was this episode back in January 2024. Jeffery's last BHH appearance was this episode in August of 2022.



Jeffery House, founder of Ace Cider, has a new book. The Cider King is a story of how he came from England and ended up on the west coast. He got handcuffed for not having a green card but the judge gave him voluntary departure instead of deportation. A friend of his was importing cognacs and Armagnacs and various spirits, so he started working with him. He noticed an opportunity to import British and Belgian beer. Then, on his friend’s suggestion became the first to import Sonoma wine to the UK, beginning in 1981.



Bryan Rengel tells the story of how he built Old Caz with his partners, using materials that were entirely DIY, found and acquired for free. Now they are building the new location bringing in the same materials. He and his partner love cycling in the mountains and named the brewery after a very challenging road that they love to ride, which is Old Cazadero Road.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.

Old Caz new location Opens June 1

They are definitely opening on June 1, having passed the health department inspection last Tuesday and the City of Rhonert Park gave their official approval today. There is some work to do still. Noon on June 1, they will have a grand opening ribbon cutting. The Old Caz Cavalcade will be a 3.5 mile march from the old location to the new one. Join the cool kids for that.



 



The Cider King is the name of Jeffery House’s new book. It’s on Amazon and Kindle as of a couple of weeks ago. The Kindle version for 90 days is free. He will do an audio book version of it in his own voice.



He started Ace Cider with seed money from a settlement from the end of a distribution agreement he had in England.



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!



Somebody told me they were growing apples in west (Sonoma) county. I drove up here one day to Sebastopol. It was like England with sunshine. The cows were happy, the fields were green…” In 1993 they made their first cider.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location.

The Pink Boot Society national conference



Taylor Lane is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. She is local chapter president of the Pink Boots Society. She is also a Lab Supervisor for Gallo Sonoma, and used to do the same job for Russian River Brewing. Also in the studio today is Simone Yingst from the Santa Rosa Central Library.



We also have a special guest, Simone Yingst from the Sonoma County Library. She is an adult services librarian at the downtown Santa Rosa library. There is a talk series called The Future is Fermented, happening at the library on May 22.

The Pink Boots Society

The Pink Boots Society is a national organization founded in 2007 by a woman brewer who realized that she was often the only woman in the room at beer events. They work on education, offer scholarships and support networking among its members. They have expanded their membership from beer people to people who work with any fermented beverages, and from women to also include non-binary persons. The Pink Boots Society National Conference will be in Philadelphia, June 24-26, 2024.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.



Taylor Lane has a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Microbiology. She thought that would lead her into the veterinary or pharma field, but she discovered fermentation when she took a class in fermentation while in grad school. That made her realize that she knew all about the processes of making beer and other fermented foods and beverages. A job at Russian River would soon follow, as the lab supervisor. Taylor continues to thrive in the same role at Gallo Sonoma.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.



A delivery has just arrived from Old Possum and Flagship BBQ who are putting on a birthday event soon. As we know, Flagship is now operating the kitchen at Old Possum. They were here on BHH in January to announce it.



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!



The subject of the talk on May 22 is Burnout in a Passion-based Business. The Future is Fermented, happening at the library on May 22.

Herlinda Heras with Raven Brewery guests.



The brewer and co-founder of Pivovar Raven, or Raven Brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic are our guests today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras. They are Ladislav Vrtiš, co-founder, and Jiří Vašek, whose first name translates to George in English. Miroslov Puc is also in the studio but we won't hear from him on the broadcast.



They are friends of Lana Svitankova, Herlinda’s fellow international beer judge and a recent guest on BHH. The crew from Raven Brewing in Pilzen is on a beer tour of California. First they spent 5 days in San Diego, now it’s Sonoma County and environs, including Beer City, Santa Rosa. Sierra Nevada and Russian River Brewing Co. are on the itinerary too. They just came back from a driving tour through Yosemite National Park.



Czech Pilsner and German Pilsner are different. For the Czech, they have softer water, especially in the town of Pilzen. Second, the brewing process, they use decoction to brew the beer. The Germans and US use infusion.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.

Pivovar Raven, or Raven Brewery

The Raven brewery was founded in Pilzen in 2015. A law was proposed to require bars that serve beer to also offer a non-alcoholic beverage at a price that is lower than the cheapest beer. But the law did not pass.



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!



Pilsner Urquell is still a very popular brand in Czechia. It might cost $3 in Prague. In smaller cities, you can get a good local pilsner for a buck. The local bars are also the meeting place for social life and also to find service people.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.



The California IPAs are a bit strong, around 7 or 8 ABV. The Czech beers are lighter.

Anderson Valley Brewing Co. CEO Kevin McGee joins Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke sitting in for Steve Jaxon, and Herlinda Heras. The last time Kevin was on Brew Ha Ha was this episode from last November. Also, AVBC brewmaster Fal Allen has been on Brew Ha Ha many times. His last appearance was this episode in September 2023. Tara Nurin is also in the studio today for the live Brew Ha Ha radio show, and her part of the conversation is on this podcast episode.



Wellness and mental health is an important topic in the brewing industry, especially after the uncertainty and stress of the last few years. Listen to Tara Nurin speaking about that today, on this podcast episode. Under the new owners of AVBC, the company expanded its suite of mental health benefits for employees. They also have opened pathways for people to have access to therapy.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.



Their first tasting is the Black Light, 95 calories, and it is black like a stout even if it is a light. It won the European Beer Star Award, another silver medal two years ago and it won the Brussels Beer Challenge last year. They love this beer. It's great to have a new beer that is so successful. There weren't a lot of good light craft beers. They started with the intention of making a good tasting beer and it happened to be light, at 3.8% ABV. It gets its black color from black rice, not from blackened malt as usual with dark beers. This was Fal Allen's invention.



He also wanted to make a Pilsner, which is The Pilsner under ABVC's label. Summer Solstice is another periodic beer that has some devoted fans.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.



Anderson Valley Brewing Co has been practicing sustainable brewing for long before Kevin became CEO. They use only water drawn from wells on their property and they return all their used water to the ground. It is a zero-effluent operation.



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!



They expect about 3000 people at the Booneville Beer Fest on Sat. May 4, May the fourth be with you, Star Wars fans. It is a benefit for local charities all within about 10 miles of the brewery. It is their 26th edition.

Tara Nurin



Beverage industry mental health is the subject with Tara Nurin today on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke sitting in for Steve Jaxon, and Herlinda Heras. Tara has been on Brew Ha Ha many times, the last time was this episode just last week.



The day before yesterday, Lana Svitankova, Herlinda and Tara were at UC Davis speaking about the brewing industry. Tara was there to discuss her book and to read a part of it. The students at UC Davis in the brewing program come from all over the world. Lana and Herlinda talked about international judging and they took questions from the students. The members of the panel at UC Davis were an all-star lineup of the craft brewing world.



Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!

A Beautiful Mind

Last night they attended Lo and Behold's event called A Beautiful Mind, a fund raiser for NAMI, the National Association for Mental Illness. They held a cocktail competition and a raffle and it was sold out. May is National Mental Health Awareness month. You can order the Beautiful Mind cocktail at a roster of local restaurants and the proceeds go to NAMI.



See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.



People in the beverage and hospitality industry can suffer physical and mental ailments due to work stress. She has been developing ways to teach resilience to managers, owners on how to create holistically healthy workspaces. In addition, Tara teaches workers to understand their own needs and to be able to maintain a stable state of mental health for the long term.



Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.



Tara practices Transcendental Meditation and she also applies it to her efforts to reduce stress in the hospitality workspace.