Brew Ha Ha

Cartoonist Stephan Pastis joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha, live from Russian River Brewing Co. in Windsor, CA. Vinny and Natalie Cilurzo are also on the show today. Stephan Pastis has been drawing the comic strip Pearls Before Swine for 25 years. He is publishing an anthology this year. He has been on The Drive before, most recently in August of last year, the day that Steve Jaxon signed off as host.

Stephan describes the characters in Pearls Before Swine as representing parts of his own personality. The stars are a cynical rat and a good-natured pig, with a supporting cast of other animals, including a goat, some crocodiles and a zebra. He has a book coming out on the strip’s 25th anniversary, called Pearls Jubilee, seen here on Simon & Schuster’s website.

Russian River Brewing is making a special edition of Pliny the Elder, with a label that Stephan Pastis has drawn. On November 12 they will do a book and bottle signing at Russian River Brewing. The book, Pearls Jubilee, will have a release event at the Charles M. Schultz Museum on Tuesday, November 10. Follow the link for ticketing info.

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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.
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Herlinda is also a fan of Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson, who went into seclusion at the height of his fame. Stephan tells of writing a fan letter to him and receiving an offer for him to draw Stephan’s strip for a few days’ editions. Those strips got a lot of traffic and it was an honor for Stephan to meet Waterson.

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Stephan and the Cilurzos became friends when Stephan mentioned Russian River Brewing in the comic strip. He is also a travel writer, and Vinny has advised Stephan about finding breweries to visit. 

Aidan Dunn and David Allardice from Ballindalloch Distillery in Scotland join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. This is their first time on the show.

Herlinda heard about Ballindalloch Distillery from her friend Dr. Hoby Wedler, who was a guest on Brew Ha Ha back on March 12, 2026, on this episode. He is a PhD organic chemist and a sensory perception expert. Also, Brew Ha Ha has featured distillers on the show before, the last time was this December 2025 episode with Young & Yonder.

California is the first market where Ballindalloch is launching their single malt scotch whisky. Whisky is the umbrella term for a spirit that is produced from grains. The different whiskys around the world will be based on local grains. In Scotland they grow a lot of wheat and barley, while the US has predominantly corn and rye.

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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
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David explains how to remember the spelling of “whisky” in the five top whiskey-making countries in the world. The countries that use the spelling “whisky” without the E, are Japan, Canada and Scotland. They have no E in their name. America and Ireland, with an E in the name, spell it “whiskey.”

Ballindalloch Estate

Aidan describes their production as very small, only about 50,000 liters per year. That is only about 3000 bottles per market country. That is about one day of production for the bigger distilleries. The Ballindalloch estate includes a castle and there is a golf course nearby.

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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.
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Whisky in Scotland can be single-malt or blended and has to be aged in oak barrels for at least three years. Ballindalloch bottles their whiskey at a higher ABV which produces better flavor. Herlinda finds this whisky to be smooth and delicious. The US market is so large that it takes a huge effort to enter, so they are starting in just California.

Scotland is also known for cattle. The Black Angus breed is a cross between two types of short-horned cattle. The Macpherson. The 30,000 acre Ballindallock farm has been in the same family for 23 generations. 

Bruce and Karen Shimizu, the co-owners of Shimizu Sake, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. This is their first time on the show. We have also had other sake makers on the show before. Hachidori Sake joined us on this episode of Jan. 9, 2025. Also, Omurasaki Sake was here on this episode on January 26, 2023. Shimizu is the first place in Sonoma County where a sake brewery and a tasting room are open in the same location.

Sake is brewed from cooked rice, and it resembles beer rather than wine in its process. Bruce's great grandmother in Cotati made sake at home. He was interested finding ways to carry on his Japanese heritage and traditions. He also started the Sonoma County Taiko drumming group, so brewing sake locally was another way to do that.

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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.
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Herlinda remembers tasting sake when her father was in the Navy and came home with some sake from trips to the Pacific. Bruce remembers his first taste of high-quality sake, after only knowing it from the common quality stuff from what they had at home.

Koji for flavor.

Bruce explains that to make sake they use koji (Aspergillus oryzae) which which is rich in flavor. It is the same fungus in soy sauce and miso. (Umami is merely the Japanese word for ‘flavor’). So sake goes well with flavorful foods. Bruce likes to marinate pork or fish, along with vegetables, in koji. After they make sake, the remaining solids or “sake lees” are called sake kasu or just kasu which also contains the active yeast cultures from the sake. That also makes a great marinade. They will even give some kasu to local chefs who are interested.

Shimizu Sake is the exclusive sake sponsor of the Many Moons Festival on Oct. 3.

Steve Doty and Jason Lindell from Shady Oak Brewing join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. They have been on the show before, the last time was when Jason was on this episode last year before the same event.

Shady Oak has two events this weekend. The Smash Burger Battle, also known as the Smash Bash II, is this Saturday. Then they are holding another edition of their record sale, on Sunday. The doors open at noon on Saturday for the Smash Burger Battle. They will have people’s choice and also judging. The live band “The Love Handles” will perform. Admission is free, all ages, pet friendly. You can call it a battle, or just a fest, depending on your appetite for competition.

Jason and Nitesh, the co-founders of 28 States Brewing Co. join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell in the studio on Brew Ha Ha today.

ProChiller Green will be performing a Proof of Concept test at Hanabi Lager on September 23, 2026, to demonstrate the ProGreen Chiller in a brewery. Visit ProChiller online for more info.

28 States Brewing was founded 11 months ago in San Francisco, named after the 28 states of India. Nitesh comes from home brewing and opening a brewery is a big step. They are making beer with Indian spices and even toasted basmati rice. The name is Desi Gaijin. Daedalus finds that it is subtle and balanced. 

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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-dated hours, menus, beers, special events and more. 
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Next they taste a Hefeweizen, made on an open fermenter. Nitesh explains that San Francisco has natural bacteria in the air that makes San Francisco sourdough bread special. He fermented this beer using open fermentation so he captures the same local microbes. There is a funk and a savory finish that comes from the bacteria. He will be experimenting with open and closed fermentation. It is called Haryana Weizen. Haryana is Nitesh’s native state. Weizen beer has to be 60% wheat and this is 61%.

From the bar to the sales call

Jason and Herlinda discover that they both were bartenders before ever working in sales. It’s a great training ground, for learning how to talk to all kinds of people. Jason met Nitesh by simply talking about beer.

Nitesh was home brewing while working in tech. During Covid, when everyone was working at home, he started home brewing with advice from his mentor, Lester Koga of Barebottle Brewing. He started 28 States before he met Jason. Now there are so many flavors in is beer it’s amazing. He describes one called Mango Elaichi Sour flavored with Indian mangoes and cardamom.

Herlinda will host a beer cruise from Basel, Switzerland down the Rhein past Strasbourg, France ending in Amsterdam. It will be in November 2027, because these trips are always planned well in advance. There will be local beer tastings all along the way. Imaging coming into port and taking a bike ride while the chefs go shopping in town for fresh bread and delicious foods that the countryside produces. There is a $1000 discount available up to September 30. Email chelsea@cruiseplanners.com to book the cruise and get the early discount.  

Larry Figueroa and Tyler Morgan join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on this special Tuesday edition of Brew Ha Ha, to talk about Lagunitas Lagufest, this Saturday September 19 at Lagunitas Brewing Company.

ProChiller Green will be performing a Proof of Concept test at Hanabi Lager on September 23, 2026, to demonstrate the ProGreen Chiller in a brewery. Visit ProChiller online for more info.

Larry and Tyler are Guest Experience Specialists and they have come wearing  lederhosen, which are Bavarian leather shorts with suspenders. This is to begin celebrating Oktoberfest, which starts on Saturday September 19. The dates of Oktoberfest are actually tied to the harvest, not just to the calendar. In German it is Weisen, which is the harvest. So it actually begins in September.

Lagunitas Lagufest

Lagufest is Lagunitas Brewing’s version of Oktoberfest. Larry and Tyler have brought the two Lagunitas Lagufest beers. One is “a weak lager” Herlinda says is crisp and light. They also have a Radler which is a mix of lager beer and lemonade. The event will have a band called Polkaliscious, which will play polka versions of popular songs. There is also a stein-holding competition. Lagunitas serves pretzels year-round, and German sausage too.

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.

Jeffrey 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.

The First California Craft Beers in Britain

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.

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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.
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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.

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(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.

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. 

(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.

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.

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. 

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

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.

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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.
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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.

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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
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Comet Corn owners Sherry and Jeff Soleski are back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras, six years after their first time on the show. That was this episode on December 20, 2018, along with co-host (at the time) Mark Carpenter and Brian Hunt from Moonlight Brewing Co.

Comet Corn is well known around Sonoma County as it’s sold in all the breweries and taprooms as well as all the concerts. Jeff describes himself as the Summertime Santa with lots of popcorn to share.

Herlinda gives Jeff and Sherry credit for their resilience. They lost their home in the Glass fire and yet they are “walking sunshine” says Herlinda. The Hale-Bopp comet was in the sky in 1997. Jeff and Sherry were so impressed with that comet that it led to the name of their business.

Named after Comet Hale-Bopp

Jeff is a builder, a carpenter and makes stained glass. He was musing on what his next chapter would be. They were out camping, and Hale-Bopp was in the sky. He was making popcorn, dressing it and giving it out. He wondered out loud what his next move would be and someone said, it’s the popcorn. It was hard to sell stained glass but he saw that people wanted snacks. Then he decided that if he was going to create something, is should be food.

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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.
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Jeff can’t play music but he found that by feeding hungry musicians, he could get in to music events. So he built a customized popcorn cart and went into the business of making people happy.

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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
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Hippie Dust is the name of the flavor now, but Hippie Dust was what they used to call nutritional yeast. The name of the salt flavor is Celestial. The others are Bloody Mary, Coconut Curry and Maple Syrup. They get their corn and safflower oil from organic growers. Herlinda notices that it is perfectly popped, light and crispy. They make fresh popcorn daily. Sherry calls all of their suppliers the Popcorn Tribe because it is a big family.  

Theresa, Jesse and Johanna from Squeakywheel Beverages join Herlinda Heras in the studio today on the Brew Ha Ha. Theresa Scripps is a co-founder, Johanna Pino does communication strategy and social media for Squeakywheel and Jesse Giambrone is a co-founder and creative director. This is their first time on the show.

Squeakywheel Beverages are to be featured at the Petaluma Music Festival, which takes place two days after the live show. We talked about it on last week’s show, right here. Our guests have brought all three Squeakywheel cocktails, Squeakyrita, Squeakytiki and Squeakyspritz. Squeakytiki is a tropical fruit punch. Squeakyrita is Baja Lime with salt, and Squeakyspritz is “kind of like an Aperol spritz” flavor. They are wine cocktails and 6% Abv. People find that the flavor is surprisingly light and refreshing. 

Sqeakywheel at the Petaluma Music Festival

Herlinda will be at the Petaluma Music Festival, with a tasting tent featuring all kinds of refreshing beverages. Especially at these brew fests, when people are drinking a lot of beer, these drinks can really hit the spot. Also, they are gluten-free. They work with Paul Scotto, a winemaker from Lodi. Yet this is very different and not like wine at all. They start with a blend of a light white wine, unbaked, then they add some water to regulate the alcohol. All of the flavors are lightly effervescent, with a clean finish and no sugar aftertaste.

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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.
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Music and arts belong in the schools and schools without the arts are no schools at all. It’s a cheapening of our entire culture. So these fund raisers are sometimes our only chance to make a positive contribution.

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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
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Cliff Eveland from the Petaluma Music Festival and Alex Mendoza from Hiveworks Mead join Herlinda and Daedalus on Brew Ha Ha. Alex has been on Brew Ha Ha before, the last time was this episode on January 3, 2025, when he was here with his colleague Sean Duckworth. Herlinda’s father is also in the studio today.

ProChiller is a new sponsor of Brew Ha Ha. It is a refrigeration system that uses Co2 instead of other refrigerants. They were on Brew Ha Ha on this recent show. They are making a presentation on July 22 at Hanabi Lager. Check out ProChiller.com for all the info. 

Alex Mendoza tells how he discovered mead and Cliff Eveland tells about the Petaluma Music Festival. Alex grew up on a ranch in Sonoma County with a lot of fruit trees which means there were bees around. He knew about mead and since Sonoma County is the hub for craft brewing and winemaking, he experimented with fermentation and liked the results.

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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.
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John Burton is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell to present the 2nd Annual Grace Bros. Breweriana show. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode one year ago. John Burton is an eminent beer historian who has a vast personal collection of beer memorabilia.

Russian River Brewing Co. has a slate of fun events this summer. Visit Russian River Brewing for all the events and dates. Come see a real NHRA drag racer, on Wednesday July 15, from 4-7 PM at the Russian River Brewing Co in Windsor. And visit Russian River Brewing on Instagram

This Saturday July 11, from 9am to 2pm, there will be the 2nd Annual Grace Bros. Beer Can, Breweriana & Antique Advertising Show at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building (1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404). Get all the event information from the organizers at this page.

There will be exhibits from all over the country of antique beer branding, labels, cans, bottles, signs and other kinds of memorabilia, all for sale.

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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.
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Grace Bros. and John Burton

John Burton worked as a bartender for many years in many of the finest establishments in and around Santa Rosa. He also ran the Burton’s Bartending School for 47 years.

There will be a beer can and bottle show, with lots of antiques and collectable memorabilia. Exhibitors are coming from all over the country. The Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial building has free parking and spacious facilities.  Admission is free and to be a vendor the fee is only $20.

Grace Bros. was in operation from 1897 to 1966. John Burton became friends with Virginia Grace more than thirty years ago. It was the largest local employer for a long time. They also had breweries in Los Angeles and Fresno, at their height. 

Mark Legree with the Stumptown Russian River Beer & Rib Revival joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. The event is a fund raiser for the Russian River Senior Center. Stumptown Brewery is located near the Russian River. The Russian River Beer and Rib Revival is a large event with many tents hosting beers, cider, mead and about twenty barbeque teams. Herlinda was in the competition for nine years.

The basics are, there are 30 plus breweries and 20 plus barbeque teams. There is a great music lineup too. They have barbeque oysters and sometimes pit barbeque. They allocate over two pounds of meat per person.

Herlinda’s team actually came in second one year for their wings. Some of the professional barbeque people are on the scene in the middle of the night before, getting ready.

Herlindas suggests not to wear white. They normally sell out every year and as of today’s show, June 25, tickets are going fast, so check it if you are interested. Get tickets at Eventbrite here.

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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.
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Russian River Brewing Company will be there. It is one of their favorite events. All of the breweries love coming to the Revival. It is also an opportunity for local brewers to meet each other. There are awards for people’s choice there are also judges. 

Carmen Snyder from the Gravenstein Apple Fair 2026 joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. She has brought lots of goodies including an organic Gravenstein apple pie from Cameron at the Gentle Hearth. He is a local who uses his grandmother’s apple pie recipe. He will be at the 53rd annual Gravenstein Apple Fair this August 8th and 9th, selling pie by the slice. He also makes mustard and barbeque sauce. Get tickets at Eventbrite dot com at this page. 

(Speaking of barbeque, part two of today’s show features Stumptown Brewery and their Russian River Beer and Rib Revival.)

The Gentle Hearth promotes Gravenstein apples by supporting local growers and maintaining pride in Sonoma County’s orchard heritage.

The Gravenstein Apple Fair is the annual fund raiser for Farm Trails which promotes Sonoma County farmers, ranchers and producers. Get tickets at this page on Eventbrite dot com.

The Gravenstein Apple Fair had 16,000 people in attendance last year and they only generated two cubic yards of landfill trash. This year they will have another strong roster of chefs and bakers. There will be a craft cider tent at the Fair as well as sausages and cheese from Valley Ford Cheese.

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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.
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Rob Loverde is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell for another round of Beatles and Beer. The first Beatles and Beer show was this episode last April. Rob is an audio engineer and a Beatles expert.

Today is Paul McCartney’s 84th birthday. Herlinda made her original list of Beatles tunes and beers together with Rob, six years ago and he joins Herlinda today for the second Beatles and Beer show.

Rob is a mastering engineer for Mobile Fidelity, aka MoFi. That is the last phase of audio manipulation or editing. It is also the first step in production by producing a master recording for duplication into different media.

Today Rob and Herlinda will pair beers with Beatles and Wings songs. Herlinda and Rob have seen him perform in concert. When I’m 64 was the first song recorded for Sgt. Pepper. Meanwhile, the Scots are drinking Boston dry during the World Cup.  

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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.
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Jim Vander Giessen with Prochiller PROGreen and Nick Gislason from Hanabi Lager join us on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Nick has been on the show before, the last time was this episode last January. Jim Vander Giessen is a co-founder and CEO of Prochiller. He is in California for the ProGreen50 Showcase in Napa. Jim Weatherwax from ProChiller is also in the studio today. 

ProChiller manufactures a wide range of refrigerant systems. They have a new product line called PROGreen Solutions which uses refrigerants that have a negligible global warming potential.

Herlinda discovered this company at the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. ProChiller was showing their PROGreen systems at the conference. Herlinda was there with a friend who introduced her to them.

They mentioned that they were coming to California soon to present their products in Napa and they have just arrived.

ProChiller and Hanabi Lager

Nick Gislason is the owner of Hanabi Lager. He is also a professional winemaker and he knows the ProChiller company from using their systems in the winery. Refrigeration is important to both industries. Nick is doing a six-month experiment with a ProChiller system.
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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.
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In brewing or winemaking, you need chilling for different steps in the process and up to the finished goods. In both cases, there is fermentation which produces heat. If you let the fermentation run away, it ruins the product. You have to pull the heat out and move it from the tank to a radiator outside.

The ProChiller PROGreen system is a CO2 based chiller that does not use traditional chemical refrigerants. Those chemicals have a high global warming potential if they are ever accidentally released. But the CO2 has a negligible index, about 1, compared too 500 or more. Nick explains his reasons for chosing to work with this new system. CO2 chillers actually produce boiling water as a “waste product” which is very useful around the brewery. ProChiller will be demonstrating the PROGreen chiller on Thursday, June 11, at Hanabi Lager in Napa. Soon they will hold other demos in the Sonoma County area. 

Jeremy Marshall from Lagunitas has brought their Trooper West Coast IPA to Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Jeremy was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of November 22, 2018.

Lagunitas is putting on an air guitar contest to celebrate the release of their Trooper West Coast IPA. Jeremy will pour from a growler of the Trooper West Coast IPA, drawn straight from the tank.

The  air guitar championship is set for 6/6/26. That’s Saturday, June 6, 2026, the same day as the beer release. Herlinda will be one of the judges. It’s a collaboration with Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickerson. He is a beer guy, an entrepreneur, and a motivational speaker too.

To register as a contestant, you will need to provide your stage name. Sign up at Eventbrite right here under Lagunitas Trooper, or look on Instagram, Facebook. If you’re interested, act fast, since they will cap the number of contestants. The prize is an actual real guitar, a 50th anniversary edition Fender. Contestants must choose the song they will perform when they register. These are the three songs to choose from:
– Hallowed Be Thy Name, 5 to 5½ minutes
– Two Minutes to Midnight, 3 minutes
– Phantom of the Opera, 6 minutes

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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.
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A US Partner for Trooper Ale

The 8-Ball Tavern‘s new owners Julie, Jen and Audrey, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. This is their first time on the show.

They have taken over the 8-Ball, which has been through quite a few incarnations. Julie has been running it for the last 8 years. Cotati is a college town, SSU is nearby. Herlinda has known the bar since university days, and has known Julie for a while too.

Yesterday we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the 1971 California Supreme Court decision that finally allowed women to bartend. Before that, the only women who could bartend legally in California were those whose male family members owned the bar, or those who owned the bar’s license themselves. There were various reasons given for the prohibition, which included some chauvinistic attitudes. Herlinda describes the legal twist. When a bar owner petitioned to open a topless bar, the judgement struck down the previous law as discriminatory. Because of this decision, the state had to allow women bartenders.
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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.
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Griffo Espresso Martinis

There is a new vibe and new umbrellas, and it’s a lot cleaner than it was, but without significant changes to the dive bar look. “We just want to make a happy place for people to come and vibe and just be themselves.” There are food trucks that come. Mondays and Tuesdays there are great tacos. Sunday is Fun Day, with all kinds of games.

They are open from 7am to 2am every day. They are at 8 Charles Street in Cotati.

Some of the old bartenders from back in the day are back, such as Jim and Cassie. This has brought some of the old patrons back too. They have restored the place and positioned it for the future to provide a safe place for people in the community to meet. There is a new coffee machine and they still have three pool tables with a pool league on Friday nights starting June 21.

Customer Safety is Paramount

Natalie Cilurzo joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha, to tell us about Russian River Brewing News and upcoming events. Her last time on the show was with Pliny the Younger  back on March 18.

Natalie has brought three beers to taste, including Vinnie Cilurzo’s first signature beer, Blind Pig.

Herlinda and Natalie were at the Craft Beer Convention in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago. The industry is contracting. Schlitz beer is closing, in Milwaukee. They have been there for 120 years. Somebody might acquire that brand.

Unreasonable Hospitality

One of the speakers they heard was Will Guidara. He talked about his book called Unreasonable Hospitality. Natalie is a fan and describes his advice for companies and people in any industry related to hospitality. He used to own 11 Madison Park, a Michelin 3-star restaurant. His approach is to do things for guests that are unexpected.

For example, he sent his staff outside to get a hot dog from a street vendor, so he could serve it to his guests at his Michelin restaurant. He overheard their wish and did this to surprise them.

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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.
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That made Natalie and Vinnie think a lot about the experience that people get from their annual Pliny the Younger release. Natalie remembers a young family there last year and the mom was pregnant, so Natalie gave her a RRBC onesie. The next year, they were back with the baby, wearing the onesie. The little details and personal touches are what make a customer’s experience special memorable. “It’s not just the beer, it’s the experience,” says Herlinda.

The first beer they taste today is called Stivo. It’s a Keller Pils that they have made in collaboration with Firestone Walker for about 20 years, although this is the first year that RRBC is actually producing it. It has a dry hoppy flavor, but not like an IPA, what they call German hoppy, not as strong.

A Really Fun Busy Summer at Russian River Brewing

Natalie grew up around cars and racing, and when they built the location in Windor with a big parking lot, she thought it would be a great place for a car show. So, they are doing that and there are 4 of them on the calendar this summer. One of the cars on display is an original Volkswagen van, owned by the third generation of the family. There will be lots of cars, a chopper sometimes shows up, a fire engine and an old Highway Patrol car too.

The NHRA top fuel drag races are coming to Sonoma Raceway and they will display the cars on Wednesday, July 15, before the race, Anton Brown’s top fuel dragster will be on display.