Brew Ha Ha

Tienda Salsita founder Kathleen joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell in the studio on Brew Ha Ha today. This is her first time on the show. She produces shelf stable salsas in glass jars, in a wide range of flavors, using almost all locally-grown ingredients. Kathleen has brought in some salsas and mezcal. Tequila is a type of mezcal, produced only in the state of Jalisco from local agave. Other mezcals are made elsewhere. Kathleen from Tienda Salsita in the studio with a big table full of salsas and mezcal. Kathleen tells how she fell in love with salsa, beginning with her great grandparents from Colombia and through living in Mexico. She studied Spanish in a full immersion program in Healdsburg in school. Then after college she moved to Mexico to live with her aunt. There she fell in love with Mexican table culture. “It’s my love language.” She started making salsa by hand eight years ago with her own mortar and pestle. She supports local farmers and others in Mexico. “We are a flavor-forward salsa company.” She does a lot of pairings with salsa and beverages like mezcal. Salsa and Mezcal Herlinda remembers when her friends introduced her to mezcal while she was on a beer judging trip to Mexico. The passion fruit flavor is her favorite. ++++++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.++++++ Kathleen has brought a Salsa Macha, which is an oil-based salsa. It can be a finishing sauce or an ingredient. It doesn’t have a lot of spice but it has a lot of flavor. The Salsa Macha is a sauce born of two worlds, the Spanish and the Mexican. The Spanish tried to plant olives in Mexico, which did not take off on a large scale. But this is where Spanish olive oil and Mexican chiles came together. There are two types of mezcal and they will drink from a traditional gourd called a jicara.  ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** Next they taste the Salsa Verde Asado. Usually green sauces are thin but they add no water to this one. It would go with pork, roasted chicken, an avocado, or a brothy soup. Shoutout to their supplier Longer Table Farm. 

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. ++++++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 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. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** 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. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** 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. ++++++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.++++++ 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. ++++++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 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. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** Bruce calls his product a California sake, using locally sourced water and rice. Bruce explains that he wanted to do things that they won’t do commercially. Other brewers won’t do something that is not tested. A small brewery allows for this kind of creative freedom. Then his son suggested they expand their product line into two popular styles. He saw salzers and low-alcohol cocktails. People can enjoy the flavors of sake in different ways. Gravenstein apples, Meyer lemons, prickly pear/ dragon fruit. They are experimenting with agave and monk fruit. They also are using finger limes for their unique flavor and texture. 

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. +++++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.+++++ Then on Sunday, there are thousands of records for sale, along with used gear, band shirts, live DJs, a live broadcast, an outside flea market and Micheladas. *****Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.***** Spontaneous Beer Steve and Jason have brought three beers, all of them in un-labled growlers. One of the beers is called Hella Citra, a west coast IPA with Citra hops. Hella is just the west coast and rocky mountain slang term, not the beer style. It just has a lot of Citra hops. In the ‘80s they might have called it “Rilly Citra” but they didn’t have good beer back then yet. One of their beers is a "spontaneous beer" which is one that is 100% fermented by yeast that is in the environment, none added. It takes a dedicated and skillful brew master to pull this off. 

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.  +++++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. ++++++ 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. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions Chiller.****** 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 [email protected] 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. ++++++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.++++++   Lagunitas made a classroom at the brewery available for the Craft Beer Appreciation class that Herlinda organized for Sonoma State University. Herlinda remembers some of her students were people interested in starting a craft brewery. There was also one student to enrolled so that she could talk to her son about the beers that he liked. Herlinda’s class taught her about flavors and terminology for that. The roster of guest speakers for that class included important brewers like Mark Carpenter, formerly of Anchor Brewing, and Pete Schlossberg, as well as Ron Lindenbusch who came to describe Lagunitas’ marketing, which is like no other. ******Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.****** Daedalus notes that their mandate is to have something cool going on all the time. That means that Tyler and Larry have great jobs, and busy ones. Jeremy Marshall The Brew Monster, from Lagunitas, was also on the show recently, on this episode. A good Oktoberfest beer has to pair well with food. Beer pairs so well with food, better than wine, for some people.   

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. 

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. 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. Jeffrey 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. Jeffrey 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 Jeffrey introduced Fritz Maytag to the Fuller’s people in England. He was the first to put Anchor beer on tap in Britain. Jeffrey 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. Jeffrey 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 Jeffrey agree that “there’s nothing like the ambience of a good pub or taproom.” After the break they discuss the second edition of Jeffrey’s book The Cider King. 

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).