Brew Ha Ha

Herlinda Heras & Daedalus Howell
  • 4.9 (9)
  • Food
  • Updated Weekly

Brew Ha Ha is funniest and best-connected weekly show about craft beer, sake, cider, NAs and more. 

  1. Sep 10

    Randy Mosher, Author of "Tasting Beer" and more

    Randy Mosher, the renowned author of Tasting Beer, joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. This is his first time on the show but not the first time that Herlinda has mentioned his books. Randy Mosher is one of the most well-known authors in the beer world. His book was on the reading list in the craft beer program that Herlinda taught at Sonoma State. The book Tasting Beer is in its second edition. It has been translated into 10 languages including Ukrainian. Herlinda’s friend Lana Svitankova actually did the translation. Lana was a guest on Brew Ha Ha on this episode on April 25, 2024.   His new book is Your Tasting Brain: a sensory approach to wine, beer and other pleasures. He spent six years working on this book. He was always interested in tasting and understanding it. Randy’s reason for putting “Brain” and “Tasting” both in the title is so that the book would attract readers interested in psychology and also others interested in tastes and flavors. It would be stocked in two different sections of a book store.   ++++++ Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap.++++++ We can taste what our dogs can't.Through all of his research, he learned that people have a special ability to zero in on food. Most other mammals can’t smell a lot of the flavors of cooked food that we do. And we all have the same physiological sensitivity and on top of that we can learn to recognize and identify flavors. Herlinda knows this process because as she was training to get certified as a beer judge, she had to learn the names to identify all the flavors she could taste.   ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.******   A lot of our perception of foods focusses on flaws, because we have to be on guard against spoiled food. That is especially true when it comes to beer, where there are a lot of ways that it can go off. Because we all have the same brains and nervous systems, anyone can learn to recognize flavors. Randy suggests starting by smelling what is around you. Smell the roses, and it’s no cliché. Literally smell them and all the others. You start by trusting your taste.

  2. Sep 10

    Jeffery House, The Cider King

    Jeffery House, The Cider King, is back with us today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. He has been on Brew Ha Ha before, the last time was this episode on December 5, 2024. Pro Chiller Green will be at Hanabi Lager on September 23 for another on-site demo of their climate-friendly chiller. Chillers work not only for production of beer but also chocolate, dairies and in cider too. Check the ProChiller website for details. Jeffery House has done a lot in his career to bring English beers to the US and to make great cider in America and taking it back to the UK. He calls himself a transatlantic missionary. Jeffery founded Ace Cider, probably the largest craft cidery in America.   He was also the one who brought British beer to America, when he brought Fuller’s London Pride in 1980s. They brought Fuller’s ESB which was a hit among all the micro-brewers. It motivated a lot of them. ESB extra-special bitter. The First California Craft Beers in Britain Jeffery introduced Fritz Maytag to the Fuller’s people in England. He was the first to put Anchor beer on tap in Britain. Jeffery is researching the transatlantic beer bridge because it is a history that demands to be written.   ++++++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++++   Kegs are expensive. When they finished with the Fuller’s kegs in California, they sold the empty kegs to Anchor which filled them and shipped them to the east coast and to London. Jeffery started California Cider Company in 1993. He has told his story before on this show on this episode and also here.   ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.******   His book, The Cider King, has a cautionary tale about brand ownership. It is the first craft cider company in the western states after Prohibition. They started in Marin and then worked in Graton. The only other one at the time was back east, Wood Chuck. There were some English ones too, including Blackthorn. That became the biggest cider brand in the western states, during the boom of Irish and English pubs in the 1980s and ‘90s. Herlinda and Jeffery agree that “there’s nothing like the ambience of a good pub or taproom.” After the break they discuss the second edition of Jeffery’s book The Cider King.

  3. Sep 3

    Iron Ox Brewing Co.

    Vince Ferracuti, CEO, and Matt and Alex, brewers for Iron Ox Brewing Co. join Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. This is their first time on the show. Herlinda is just back from Tahoe Brew Fest, which is an emerging beer festival that benefits the Boys and Girls Club. Ski Run Blvd. runs down the mountain and straight through town. It was lined with brewers. They also staged an event called the Brewers Olympics, where the competitors did hilarious feats of strength and endurance, with beer stuff. They had both a men’s and women’s division and Herlinda’s friend from Crooked Goat won the men’s event. Iron Ox Brewing Co. is located on Industrial just off of Piner Rd., across the street from Bottle Barn. They have a taproom and a beer garden, and food trucks that come by. In addition to Iron Ox, Matt has been running Three Disciples for the last five years. Some folks from Three Disciples were on Brew Ha Ha on this episode back on Dec. 1, 2022. First they taste the 707 Sonoma County Ale, an easy-drinking light-bodied but big hoppy flavored beer. It is only 5% AVB.  Matt says if you want a successful taproom you have to create an inviting environment and you have to make good beer. Alex started brewing for Bear Republic and has also worked in wine production. +++++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.+++++ The Growing N/A Category Iron Ox Brewing also makes a non-alcoholic beer. Herlinda recently helped the Petaluma Music Festival organize a tasting booth for N/A drinks. As a beer judge for festivals and conventions, Herlinda has noticed how this category is growing. When she first started judging 14 years ago, nobody wanted to judge in the category but now judges are more interested in it as the category has grown. ***** Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.***** There is big news with N/A brewing. Iron Ox has recently acquired a reverse-osmosis system. They prefer this method because it is more delicate way to take the alcohol out. This method is more popular in Europe. Iron Ox Brewing Co. has a family-friendly beer garden that is is built for fun. They have held rubber ducky races and Hot Wheels races. They have corn hole every Tuesday and open mic on Thursday nights. The schedule of food trucks is on their website. They are open Mon-Thurs 4-10, Fri 3-10, Sat 2-9 and Sun 1-7 (all times PM).

  4. Aug 27

    Barry Bicker, President of Moonlight Brewing Co.

    (8/27, pt. 2 of 2) Barry Bicker, Moonlight Brewing co-owner and President, joins Herlinda Heras and her other guests on Brew Ha Ha. Also in the studio for today’s show are Ron Silberstein and Kim Sturdevant from Admiral Maltings. This is part two of their conversation. Part one is right here. On September 19, Admiral Maltings is putting on a promotion called “It’s the Malt!” Moonlight Brewing will be one of the breweries at the party on September 19. Moonlight Brewing Co. will be holding their 34th anniversary party, on Saturday, August 29. Brian Hunt founded Moonlight Brewing in 1992. They are releasing a new beer called Deep Cut Lager, with Deep Cut Cascade hops from Yakima Valley. They have DJs and live bands. It is family friendly and dog friendly. Herlinda first met Barry Bicker when he was at Lagunitas. She remembers bringing Moonlight and Lagunitas to a beer festival in Lithuania. The Moonlight beer never got out of customs, but the Lagunitas got through and it was a hit. They were so excited to get Lagunitas which they had only heard of at that time. Sweden was Lagunitas’ first export market. Herlinda met Ron when he was doing Thirsty Bear Beer in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the pandemic got it.  Change Is the Only Constant Herlinda has seen so many changes in the craft brewing business since she started doing this show over a decade ago. Firestone-Walker has taken over the brewing for Stong. She has seen Kim’s career progress too through several different breweries. Herlinda noticed a comment on Sayre Pietroski’s blog saying that things are going local. The guests agree. ++++++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++++ As people drink lower ABV beers, lagers are more popular again. Hop farmers are also planting grain. Growing barley is a great rotator crop for farmers. Some people can make beer from hops and grain from the same farm. As the great imaginary pendulum of changing tastes swings slowly back and forth, lagers and subtle flavors are more popular again. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** Herlinda notices how the careers of her three guests have progressed. Barry sees more consolidation happening, but not for Moonlight. They believe that local is important and there is more quality and good, fresh products. There is great beer being brewed in a lot of places now. But now that people are used to having craft beer, the bar is set higher for quality. Also, the personal touch of local people is priceless. They taste a Moonlight beer called Working for Tips, which is flavored with the tips of redwood trees. Ron says it is the best non-hopped beer he has ever tasted. Brews have been flavored with spruce and juniper branches in Nordic countries. As people drink lower ABV beers, lagers are more popular again. Hop farmers are also planting grain. Growing barley is a great rotator crop for farmers. Some people can make beer from hops and grain from the same farm. As the great imaginary pendulum of changing tastes swings slowly back and forth, lagers and subtle flavors are more popular again.

  5. Aug 27

    Admiral Maltings - It’s the Malt!

    (8/27, pt. 1 of 2) Ron Silberstein and Kim Sturdevant join Herlinda on Brew Ha Ha today to talk about Admiral Maltings It’s the Malt! coming September 19. Admiral Maltings was also on this episode of Brew Ha Ha on June 20, 2024, and again last year on May 1, 2025. This is part one of their conversation. Part Two, with Barry Bicker of Moonlight Brewing, is here. Kim Sturdevant is back on the show today. He is doing technical sales for Admiral Maltings and has worked as a brewer in several local breweries. Famous for creating the Brut IPA style of beer, he was the featured guest on Brew Ha Ha once before, on this episode in 2018, when Mark Carpenter was co-hosting the show. On September 19, Admiral Maltings is putting on a promotion called “It’s the Malt!” which will feature beverages – beer and whiskey – made with malt from Admiral Maltings. Watch their website and socials for news and details. Beer is made from grains which are dry and hard. Malting is the process that lets the seed start to germinate and break down the complex components. They stop the process soon after germination. Then, the malted grain becomes beer and whiskey. They use chillers to cool their floor, to keep the process slow and cool. “We don’t want to grow grass,” he says, and they are only modifying the grain. ++++++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++++ Kim Sturdevant Kim Sturdevant is famous in craft brewing circles for having created the Brut IPA style. He won a Gold Medal for it in 2015 at the Great American Beer Festival. Mark Carpenter was so impressed that he asked Herlinda specifically about who had made that beer. For Kim it was an honor to meet Mark and to be a guest on Brew Ha Ha back in 2018. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** Admiral Maltings serves beer and whiskey that their many clients make with their malt. Some of the pre-Prohibition breweries in San Francisco had their own malting facilities attached to them. Historically, brewers would get their ingredients locally. At one point, New York grew more barley than any other state, and between 1860 and 1940, barley was California’s most important agricultural crop. We used to export barley to England. They thought our barley was sun-kissed. Ron has a 1901 English floor malting handbook that mentions sun-kissed California barley.  “It’s The Malt” is their largest annual celebration of products that use Admiral Maltings' malt. There will be over 30 beers flowing. About 10 of those will be festbeers, or Festbier in German, which is malt-forward amber lager. Modern ones are like a hefty pale lager. In Munich, Germany, the main breweries each make their own special beer for Oktoberfest.

  6. Aug 13

    Fox Tale Fermentation Project in San José

    Felipe and Wendy Bravo from Fox Tale Fermentation Project in San Jose join Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. This is their first time on the show for them and for their dogs too. Herlinda met them at the Freshtival, when Sayre Pietrowski introduced her. They drove here all the way from San José. They will be at Suds Francisco on August 23, 2026, which the Bay Area Brewers Guild is putting on at Salesforce Park. So if you are still in time, tickets are available online, here.    Wendy and Felipe are married and are also the co-owners of Fox Tale. Wendy is the chef and Felipe is the brewmaster. Felipe remembers starting as a home brewer 15 years ago. Their location has been on the Guy Fieri show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network and also on Check, Please! on KQED.   Felipe explains that Fox Tale is a business based on the exploration of all all things fermented. This includes foods and beverages. Vinegars, syrups and kombucha are just three examples. There are flavors and aromas to be created in foods as well as beverages. A lot of the food they serve is grown locally. Tale in the name represents a story, a narrative of the diverse food culture in the Bay Area.   ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions. ProChiller Green will be performing a Proof of Concept test at Hanabi Lager on August 20, 2026, to demonstrate the ProGreen Chiller in a brewery.****** From Holistic Nutrition to Fox Tale Chef Wendy moved to California from Michigan at 18 and got a job in a vegan and craft beer bar. There, she learned about what made her feel healthy and she continued on the path of plant-based foods. She studied Holistic Nutrition at Bauman College and it was “absolutely life changing.” Then she worked in the kitchen at the book of face. She worked in massive kitchens and considered it R&D. “How do you make super foods for like 300 people, for lunch?” She had to produce a new menu every week, so that required her to come up with lots of ideas.   ++++++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++++   Felipe went to undergraduate and graduate school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he studied electrical engineering. Firestone Walker brewery was there so he began to like craft beer then. He wanted to make an aut0mated home brewing system for a Master’s thesis. His advisor asked if he had worked in a brewery. He decided to look into brewing to learn about that, and loved it and stayed with it. It was a tough decision but he progressed his career as a brewery. He started at Central Coast Brewery in San Luis Obispo. Later he worked at Devil’s Canyon in San Carlos and then ended up at Fort Point in San Francisco. Experiences and Hospitality at Fox Tale Wendy explains what the “Project” part of the Fox Tale Fermentation Project means to them. They come up with ideas that are sometimes new sometimes familiary. She likes to experiment with fruits, flowers, grains and herbs. They aren’t vegan themselves but they feel really good about serving all plant-based food.

  7. Aug 6

    Renee De Luca calls from Cleveland

    Renee De Luca is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras, calling in from Cleveland, where Herlinda recently visited her. Here is Renee's article on Substack about Herlinda's visit to Cleveland. She was also on these two episodes along with Don Barkley, part one and part two in July of 2024. That was when the Museum of Sonoma County was launching its exhibit On Tap, about local brewing history, which was a big hit. Renee De Luca is the daughter of Jack MacAuliffe, who was a pioneer in craft brewing. He was one of the founders, and the brewer, of New Albion. Renee has been on Brew Ha Ha three times before today. On this episode in July 31, 2025, she remembered her father after his passing that year. Herlinda and Renee talk about a lot of cool exhibits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There is a room where they have instruments that anyone can come and play. Some people come in and really jam.  ProChiller Green Herlinda begins by describing the ProChiller Green system, that uses only a small amount of Co2 instead of a larger amount of dangerous refrigerants. They are holding demonstrations at Hanabi Lager in Napa, the next one is August 20. Visit the ProChiller Green website for more information.   ++++ 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-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++   Both of the beers Herlinda will open today come from Cleveland. They are a Shandy from Market Garden Brewery and a Great Lakes Stout. Herlinda introduces her friend Renee De Luca, calling in from Cleveland. Renee’s father was Jack MacAuliffe, who founded New Albion brewery. Her dad’s recipe was famous and led the way in showing people how good a well-made local beer could be.   ****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-date hours, menus, beers and more.****   Herlinda visited Cleveland recently, when Renee scored VIP tickets to the opening of the Wings exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Renee's article on Substack tells about it. Market Garden Brewery is next to the Market Garden in Cleveland. Herlinda will have one of their partners, Sam McNulty, on the show soon.   Herlinda describes the lineup along the shore of Lake Eire, from the Cleveland Browns stadium, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Cleveland Guardians. The city has embraced the new name. It comes from the Guardians of Transportation the line the Hope Memorial Bridge. It is an entryway to the city and depicts neolithic gods holding various forms of transportation. When you cross the bridge there is the Guardians' stadium.

  8. Jul 30

    Old Caz Beer co-founder Bryan Rengel

    Old Caz Beer co-founder Bryan Rengel is our guest with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on the Brew Ha Ha today. He has been on Brew Ha Ha before, most recently this episode in January of 2024. Bryan explains that Old Caz was founded on what he calls the Free Craigslist Model of business development. They were able to build the whole brewery from equipment and furnishings that they got for free on Craigslist. They fixed all their own office furniture, and the whole taproom with a walk-in fridge, and more. It’s an ethos that he has never stopped applying to the business. The Old Caz Cavalcade When they opened their location in Somo Village, they conducted a trek to the new place that attracted 300 people for a 3.5 mile walk. Now for the new Petaluma location, they are organizing the Old Caz Cavalcade. This time walkers will leave on the trail then take the train down. Or, bicyclists will have a route that leads to the Smart Train Bike Path, which itself leads right to the Old Caz Backyard. You have a choice of routes. +++{Russian River Brewing}+++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-date hours, menus, beers and more.+++{Russian River Brewing}+++ The bike route is almost totally flat. Old Cazadero Road is the origin of the Old Caz Beer name. That was their favorite difficult ride among all the local hills. +++{ProChiller Green}+++Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.+++{ProChiller Green}+++ Bryan is the father of two young boys and a lot of other people at the brewery have young families. So it was important for them to make the location family friendly with an area that is safe for children.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Brew Ha Ha is funniest and best-connected weekly show about craft beer, sake, cider, NAs and more. 

Information

  • Creator
    Herlinda Heras & Daedalus Howell
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    227
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © BC Radio
  • Show Website
    Brew Ha Ha

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