Episodes
May 11, 2023
Browar Fortuna and Browar Grodzisk of Poland
Herlinda, Krzysztof and Marcin. Marcin Ostajewski from Browar Fortuna and Krzysztof Panek from Browar Grodzisk in Poland join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Krzsyztof and Marcin have just arrived from Nashville, where they attended the World Beer Cup. Both of their breweries are located in western Poland, not far from Posnan. Browar Grodzisk is based in Grodzisk Wielkopolski and Browar Fortuna is in Miłosław. The Grodziskie style is Poland’s own, originating in the town of Grodz...
May 4, 2023
Mercedes Hernandez of SOCO Market at Freshtival
Herlinda, Sayre & Mercedes Mercedes Hernandez founder of the SOCO Market and Sayre Piotrkowski from HenHouse, are our guests on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. The Freshtival is this Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Somo Village in Rohnert Park. Get tickets here, they are going fast! As the show begins they open a Moonlight Death and Taxes that is only a few days old. Brian Hunt from Moonlight and Vinny Cilurzo from Russian River were the pioneers of quality and freshness. Today the bi...
April 27, 2023
2023 Freshtival with Zach Kelly from HenHouse
Zach Kelly The 2023 Freshtival is today’s subject, as Zach Kelly, the brewmaster at HenHouse Brewery joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Fal Allen also calls in from Booneville later in the show. The Freshtival takes place on May 6 at SOMO Village. Zach Kelly has been the brew master at HenHouse for about a year and a half now. The Freshtival, May 6, 2023 In addition to all the breweries, many artists will be at the Freshtival, who are responsible for the art work for th...
April 27, 2023
25th Annual Booneville Beer Fest
Fal Allen Fal Allen of Anderson Valley Brewing Co. joins Harry Duke and Herlinda to discuss the Booneville Beer Fest, this Saturday in Booneville. Fal Allen is the brewmaster at Anderson Valley Brewing Co. in Booneville, which is sponsoring the 25th Annual Booneville Beer Fest. There will be 80 breweries there with at least 180 different beers. All the proceeds go to local non-profits in the area. They have raised over $1.25 million dollars for local charities in the last quarter century. The...
April 20, 2023
Eel River Brewing Company
Herlinda & Ted. Ted Vivatson from Eel River Brewing Company is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. He is the owner and co-founder of the brewery, which is located in Humboldt, California. They opened in 1995. About two years after that, they were pioneers in organic practices. Ted grew up in Danville, California and was deployed in Germany in the US Army and there he got to know high quality beer. After he left the service, he noticed that there was no good local beer, ...
April 18, 2023
Griffo Distillery and Lagunitas
Herlinda, Jenny and Bryan. Bryan Donaldson from Lagunitas and Jenny Griffo from Griffo Distillery join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Bryan Donaldson is the Brewing Innovation Manager at Lagunitas and Jenny Griffo is a co-founder of Griffo Distillery. Lagunitas and Griffo Distillery have collaborated on a single malt whiskey accented with hops. The two companies are located a half a block away from each other. Jenny and Bryan describe the process of distilling the mashed beer wit...
April 13, 2023
Indian Valley Brewing
Indian Valley Brewing co-founders Joe and Matt Tachis visit Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Their story begins in the 1950s when their father came back from Korea and went to work for Hamm’s brewery in San Francisco. He was their west coast sales manager, there was beer around the house. From the back room to the taproom. They started Indian Valley in 2017. They were home brewing with their father and brothers. People liked their beer, so they started the brewery in back ...
April 13, 2023
Anchor’s San Pancho Mexican Lager
Anchor Brewing San Pancho Mexican lager Dane Volek from Anchor Brewing calls in to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras to talk about their new San Pancho Mexican lager. Dane is the new Brewmaster at Anchor Brewing, so he has the job that used to belong to Brew Ha Ha founding father Mark Carpenter. Joe and Matt Tachis from Indian Valley Brewing in Novato are also in the studio today during Dane’s call. Their full interview with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras is available on their own p...
April 6, 2023
Horse and Plow Cider
Herlinda & Suzanne Suzanne Hagins from Horse and Plow Cider in Graton is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Horse and Plow makes cider and also wine. All of their cider comes from Sebastopol-grown apples. They are dry and naturally carbonated and they show the quality of the Sonoma County fruit. They are based on the famous Gravenstein apples that are mostly grown in Sebastopol. It is a blend of 12 different apple varieties and is very dry. Horse and Plow started as a...
April 6, 2023
Heidrun Meadery
Gordon Hull Gordon Hull from Heidrun Meadery in Pt. Reyes Station joins Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Heidrun Meadery is a 26-year-old company. They are open 7 days a week, from 5 to 11. They specialize in Mead, which is wine made with honey instead of grapes. Their mead is unique because it is sparkling, made the same way as champagne. They also make different flavors of mead from different varieties of honey. They also have beehives and make honey that they use to make me...
March 30, 2023
Flagship Taproom, Ghost Town Brewing, Civilization Brewing
Matt, James & Cassius. Herlinda Heras visits Ghost Town Brewing in Oakland, plus we have three other guests on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Matt Inlow from Flagship Taproom, Cassius Camus from Battle of the Brews and James Holt, owner of Civilization Brewing are also in the studio. The Battle of the Brews is Saturday April 1, from 1 to 5 pm. It is the 26th annual beer event hosted by the Active 20-30 of Santa Rosa. In addition to a fund raising event it is a BJCP Judged...
March 23, 2023
2023 Pliny the Younger with Natalie Cilurzo
Harry & Natalie. Natalie Cilurzo brings the 2023 Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing Co. to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. This is the 19th presentation of the new Pliny the Younger. This version is a little bit different than the one that premiered in February. The Pliny the Younger base recipe is fairly stable, at about 10.25% ABV, but there is a tweak to the hops and this year that is a new hop from New Zealand called Nectaron. Vinny decided to put a little mo...
March 16, 2023
Kapu Bar New in Petaluma
Herlinda and Bee. Kapu Bar house manager Bee Baker is our in-studio guest on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Kapu Bar has taken over the Tuttle’s Drug Store location in downtown Petaluma. They have done extensive redecoration and it is a marvel to see. The first weekend they were open in January they had over 1000 people through the front door. Business has been brisk and there is a line out the door almost every day. The first use of Tiki décor was Don the Beachcomber’s,...
March 9, 2023
Peter Lopez and Tyler Laverty in studio
Peter and Tyler. Peter Lopez and Tyler Laverty join Harry Duke on Brew Ha Ha today. Co-host Herlinda Heras is visiting England and will call into the studio. We begin with a phone call from Herlinda who is in England to be a judge in the British Pie Awards. Herlinda Heras is in England judging the British Pie Awards again. We also hear about her travels to breweries in different places. She also got lost and ended up in the oldest pub in England. It is in Nottingham, under an 800-year-old cast...
March 2, 2023
Tara Jasper, SipSong Spirits
Herlinda & Tara Jasper Tara Jasper, owner and creative force behind SipSong Spirits, is back on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. The last time she was on Brew Ha Ha was this episode of July 30, 2020. Tara grew up among the coastal redwoods of northern California. After studying culinary arts and raising a family, she started making gin. She begins by shaking up a cocktail with SipSong Spring Gin, one of her seasonal gins and they toast to all the hospitality and medical work...
Feb. 23, 2023
Mike Schnebeck from Fort Point Beer Co.
Mike Schnebeck of Fort Point Beer Co. Mike Schnebeck from San Francisco’s Fort Point Beer Co. visits Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today. Fort Point is an independent San Francisco beer company. They have become one of San Francisco’s best known independent breweries by following their calling to make craft beer more accessible. Herlinda begins by describing the Fort Point SF Beer Week Dim Sum beer and cider pairing. She mentions their Kolsch beers, which is their specialty. Th...
Feb. 23, 2023
Spirits Sales Overtake Beer, with Tara Nurin
Tara Nurin Tara Nurin calls in to Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras, to talk about spirits sales and her article in Wine Enthusiast magazine. It shows Spirits replacing Beer as the largest share of the alcoholic beverages market. It’s not a majority of spending, but a plurality by a small margin. The article is on the website of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Its title is “Move Over, Beer: Spirits Are Now Alcohol’s Biggest U.S. Money Maker. The article states that, “sales for 2022 show ...
Feb. 16, 2023
Beer City Festival in Santa Rosa
Tonic Immobility from Old Possum Brewing Matt Wilson from the Santa Rosa Beer City Festival is here, so is Sandro Tamburin from Old Possum Brewing, to join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. This year’s Beer City Festival is on Saturday February 25, in Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa, from 11am to 4pm. Local brewers will be there, such as Russian River, Bear Republic, Hen House, Lagunitas, Old Possum and Third Street Aleworks. Brews News There is big news in the beer business this ...
Feb. 9, 2023
Barebottle Brewing co-founder Lester Koga
Barebottle Brewing Company co-founder Lester Koga is in the studio with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. There are three Barebottle Brewing locations and the one in Bernal Heights is very family friendly, which Lester explains. He visited Germany and France frequently and discovered the German beer gardens. These are large public parks with different stalls offering beer, sausages, pretzels, etc. It is an integrated communal space where alcohol is present as a normal part of l...
Feb. 2, 2023
SF Beer Week 2023
Colin McDonald from Hen House Brewing and Gail Williams join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras to talk about SF Beer Week 2023. Colin was also on Brew Ha Ha last year at this time, to talk about Hen House’s annual Big Chicken release. SF Beer Week started in 2009 and ran every year except for the Covid year. It is back now, including a lot of interesting creative events and de-centralized parties. From Sonoma to Monterey counties, from the city to Livermore, there are events spread out across the E...
Feb. 2, 2023
Pliny the Younger 2023
Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company joins Brew Ha Ha with the first growler of the Pliny the Younger 2023 edition. Later, the subject changes to SF Beer Week, when Colin McDonald from Hen House Brewing and Gail Williams will also be on. That portion of today’s live show will have its own separate podcast page, here. Today’s episode of Brew Ha Ha continues a tradition of Russian River Brewing Co. bringing the new Pliny the Younger into the KSRO studios for its first tasting. Here...
Jan. 26, 2023
Omurasaki Sake plus Hana Restaurant
Herlinda, Michael & Keita. Michael John from Omurasaki Sake Co. and Keita Tominaga of Hana restaurant join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha. Keita was last on Brew Ha Ha on this July 2022 episode. Michael John is VP of Development for Omurasaki sake brewery of Japan & California and chef Keita Tominaga is chef at Hana restaurant in Rohnert Park. Michael has just come off a plane and Keita is taking a quick break from the kitchen to be here. Sake is brewed more like beer, even if so...
Jan. 19, 2023
Maryensztadt Brewery of Warsaw, Poland
Marcin & Artur visit Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Marcin Malecki and Artur Napuripski of Maryensztadt Brewery in Poland are our guests today on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras. Artur is the sales manager as well as a beer sommelier and brewery historian, and Marcin is the brewery’s owner. Herlinda Heras has been a beer judge at the Polish national beer competition for the last few years, along with Artur. Herlinda invited them to California for a visit and for a collaboration ...
Jan. 12, 2023
Mare Island Brewing Company
Ryan Gibbons and Kent Fortner. Mare Island Brewing Company co-founders Ryan Gibbons and Kent Fortner join Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. Mare Island was a naval shipyard since the earliest days of California and Herlinda was actually born there, since her father was in the US Navy. It was the oldest naval base west of the Mississippi, and also has the oldest golf course and one of the oldest Tiffany stained glass windows in the west, in its local church. Read about the histo...