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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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.”

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.

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.

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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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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.

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.

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. 

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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%.

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.

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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions Chiller.
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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.

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.

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.

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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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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.

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.
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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.

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.

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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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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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Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
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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). 

(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. 

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.

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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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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.

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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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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.