(8/27, pt. 2 of 2) Barry Bicker, Moonlight Brewing co-owner and President, joins Herlinda Heras and her other guests on Brew Ha Ha. Also in the studio for today’s show are Ron Silberstein and Kim Sturdevant from Admiral Maltings. This is part two of their conversation. Part one is right here.

On September 19, Admiral Maltings is putting on a promotion called “It’s the Malt!” Moonlight Brewing will be one of the breweries at the party on September 19.

Moonlight Brewing Co. will be holding their 34th anniversary party, on Saturday, August 29. Brian Hunt founded Moonlight Brewing in 1992. They are releasing a new beer called Deep Cut Lager, with Deep Cut Cascade hops from Yakima Valley. They have DJs and live bands. It is family friendly and dog friendly.

Herlinda first met Barry Bicker when he was at Lagunitas. She remembers bringing Moonlight and Lagunitas to a beer festival in Lithuania. The Moonlight beer never got out of customs, but the Lagunitas got through and it was a hit. They were so excited to get Lagunitas which they had only heard of at that time. Sweden was Lagunitas’ first export market. Herlinda met Ron when he was doing Thirsty Bear Beer in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the pandemic got it. 

Change Is the Only Constant

Herlinda has seen so many changes in the craft brewing business since she started doing this show over a decade ago. Firestone-Walker has taken over the brewing for Stong. She has seen Kim’s career progress too through several different breweries. Herlinda noticed a comment on Sayre Pietroski’s blog saying that things are going local. The guests agree.

++++++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++++

As people drink lower ABV beers, lagers are more popular again. Hop farmers are also planting grain. Growing barley is a great rotator crop for farmers. Some people can make beer from hops and grain from the same farm.

As the great imaginary pendulum of changing tastes swings slowly back and forth, lagers and subtle flavors are more popular again.

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

Herlinda notices how the careers of her three guests have progressed. Barry sees more consolidation happening, but not for Moonlight. They believe that local is important and there is more quality and good, fresh products. There is great beer being brewed in a lot of places now. But now that people are used to having craft beer, the bar is set higher for quality. Also, the personal touch of local people is priceless.

They taste a Moonlight beer called Working for Tips, which is flavored with the tips of redwood trees. Ron says it is the best non-hopped beer he has ever tasted. Brews have been flavored with spruce and juniper branches in Nordic countries.

As people drink lower ABV beers, lagers are more popular again. Hop farmers are also planting grain. Growing barley is a great rotator crop for farmers. Some people can make beer from hops and grain from the same farm.

As the great imaginary pendulum of changing tastes swings slowly back and forth, lagers and subtle flavors are more popular again. 

(8/27, pt. 1 of 2) Ron Silberstein and Kim Sturdevant join Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today to talk about Admiral Maltings It’s the Malt! coming September 19. Admiral Maltings was also on this episode of Brew Ha Ha on June 20, 2024, and again last year on May 1, 2025. This is part one of their conversation. Part Two, with Barry Bicker of Moonlight Brewing, is here.

Kim Sturdevant is back on the show today. He is doing technical sales for Admiral Maltings and has worked as a brewer in several local breweries. Famous for creating the Brut IPA style of beer, he was the featured guest on Brew Ha Ha once before, on this episode in 2018, when Mark Carpenter was co-hosting the show.

On September 19, Admiral Maltings is putting on a promotion called “It’s the Malt!” which will feature beverages – beer and whiskey – made with malt from Admiral Maltings. Watch their website and socials for news and details.

Beer is made from grains which are dry and hard. Malting is the process that lets the seed start to germinate and break down the complex components. They stop the process soon after germination. Then, the malted grain becomes beer and whiskey. They use chillers to cool their floor, to keep the process slow and cool. “We don’t want to grow grass,” he says, and they are only modifying the grain.

++++++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++++

Kim Sturdevant

Kim Sturdevant is famous in craft brewing circles for having created the Brut IPA style. He won a Gold Medal for it in 2015 at the Great American Beer Festival. Mark Carpenter was so impressed that he asked Herlinda specifically about who had made that beer. For Kim it was an honor to meet Mark and to be a guest on Brew Ha Ha back in 2018.

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

Admiral Maltings serves beer and whiskey that their many clients make with their malt. Some of the pre-Prohibition breweries in San Francisco had their own malting facilities attached to them. Historically, brewers would get their ingredients locally. At one point, New York grew more barley than any other state, and between 1860 and 1940, barley was California’s most important agricultural crop. We used to export barley to England. They thought our barley was sun-kissed. Ron has a 1901 English floor malting handbook that mentions sun-kissed California barley. 

“It’s The Malt” is their largest annual celebration of products that use Admiral Maltings' malt. There will be over 30 beers flowing. About 10 of those will be festbeers, or Festbier in German, which is malt-forward amber lager. Modern ones are like a hefty pale lager. In Munich, Germany, the main breweries each make their own special beer for Oktoberfest. 

 

Felipe and Wendy Bravo from Fox Tale Fermentation Project in San Jose join Herlinda Heras on Brew Ha Ha today. This is their first time on the show for them and for their dogs too. Herlinda met them at the Freshtival, when Sayre Pietrowski introduced her. They drove here all the way from San José. They will be at Suds Francisco on August 23, 2026, which the Bay Area Brewers Guild is putting on at Salesforce Park. So if you are still in time, tickets are available online, here.    Wendy and Felipe are married and are also the co-owners of Fox Tale. Wendy is the chef and Felipe is the brewmaster. Felipe remembers starting as a home brewer 15 years ago. Their location has been on the Guy Fieri show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network and also on Check, Please! on KQED.   Felipe explains that Fox Tale is a business based on the exploration of all all things fermented. This includes foods and beverages. Vinegars, syrups and kombucha are just three examples. There are flavors and aromas to be created in foods as well as beverages. A lot of the food they serve is grown locally. Tale in the name represents a story, a narrative of the diverse food culture in the Bay Area.   ******
Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions. ProChiller Green will be performing a Proof of Concept test at Hanabi Lager on August 20, 2026, to demonstrate the ProGreen Chiller in a brewery.
******

From Holistic Nutrition to Fox Tale

Chef Wendy moved to California from Michigan at 18 and got a job in a vegan and craft beer bar. There, she learned about what made her feel healthy and she continued on the path of plant-based foods. She studied Holistic Nutrition at Bauman College and it was “absolutely life changing.” Then she worked in the kitchen at the book of face. She worked in massive kitchens and considered it R&D. “How do you make super foods for like 300 people, for lunch?” She had to produce a new menu every week, so that required her to come up with lots of ideas.   ++++++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++++   Felipe went to undergraduate and graduate school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he studied electrical engineering. Firestone Walker brewery was there so he began to like craft beer then. He wanted to make an aut0mated home brewing system for a Master’s thesis. His advisor asked if he had worked in a brewery. He decided to look into brewing to learn about that, and loved it and stayed with it. It was a tough decision but he progressed his career as a brewery. He started at Central Coast Brewery in San Luis Obispo. Later he worked at Devil’s Canyon in San Carlos and then ended up at Fort Point in San Francisco.

Experiences and Hospitality at Fox Tale

Wendy explains what the “Project” part of the Fox Tale Fermentation Project means to them. They come up with ideas that are sometimes new sometimes familiary. She likes to experiment with fruits, flowers, grains and herbs. They aren’t vegan themselves but they feel really good about serving all plant-based food.   

Renee De Luca is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras, calling in from Cleveland, where Herlinda recently visited her. Here is Renee's article on Substack about Herlinda's visit to Cleveland. She was also on these two episodes along with Don Barkley, part one and part two in July of 2024. That was when the Museum of Sonoma County was launching its exhibit On Tap, about local brewing history, which was a big hit.

Renee De Luca is the daughter of Jack MacAuliffe, who was a pioneer in craft brewing. He was one of the founders, and the brewer, of New Albion. Renee has been on Brew Ha Ha three times before today. On this episode in July 31, 2025, she remembered her father after his passing that year. Herlinda and Renee talk about a lot of cool exhibits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There is a room where they have instruments that anyone can come and play. Some people come in and really jam. 

ProChiller Green

Herlinda begins by describing the ProChiller Green system, that uses only a small amount of Co2 instead of a larger amount of dangerous refrigerants. They are holding demonstrations at Hanabi Lager in Napa, the next one is August 20. Visit the ProChiller Green website for more information.   ++++ Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++   Both of the beers Herlinda will open today come from Cleveland. They are a Shandy from Market Garden Brewery and a Great Lakes Stout. Herlinda introduces her friend Renee De Luca, calling in from Cleveland. Renee’s father was Jack MacAuliffe, who founded New Albion brewery. Her dad’s recipe was famous and led the way in showing people how good a well-made local beer could be.   ****
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
****   Herlinda visited Cleveland recently, when Renee scored VIP tickets to the opening of the Wings exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Renee's article on Substack tells about it. Market Garden Brewery is next to the Market Garden in Cleveland. Herlinda will have one of their partners, Sam McNulty, on the show soon.   Herlinda describes the lineup along the shore of Lake Eire, from the Cleveland Browns stadium, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Cleveland Guardians. The city has embraced the new name. It comes from the Guardians of Transportation the line the Hope Memorial Bridge. It is an entryway to the city and depicts neolithic gods holding various forms of transportation. When you cross the bridge there is the Guardians' stadium.    

Old Caz Beer co-founder Bryan Rengel is our guest with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on the Brew Ha Ha today. He has been on Brew Ha Ha before, most recently this episode in January of 2024.

Bryan explains that Old Caz was founded on what he calls the Free Craigslist Model of business development. They were able to build the whole brewery from equipment and furnishings that they got for free on Craigslist. They fixed all their own office furniture, and the whole taproom with a walk-in fridge, and more. It’s an ethos that he has never stopped applying to the business.

The Old Caz Cavalcade

When they opened their location in Somo Village, they conducted a trek to the new place that attracted 300 people for a 3.5 mile walk. Now for the new Petaluma location, they are organizing the Old Caz Cavalcade. This time walkers will leave on the trail then take the train down. Or, bicyclists will have a route that leads to the Smart Train Bike Path, which itself leads right to the Old Caz Backyard. You have a choice of routes.

+++{Russian River Brewing}+++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
+++{Russian River Brewing}+++

The bike route is almost totally flat. Old Cazadero Road is the origin of the Old Caz Beer name. That was their favorite difficult ride among all the local hills.

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

Bryan is the father of two young boys and a lot of other people at the brewery have young families. So it was important for them to make the location family friendly with an area that is safe for children. 

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.

++++RRBC++++
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.
++++RRBC++++

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.

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

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.

++++RRBC++++
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.
++++RRBC++++

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.

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

Jesse mentions that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and Theresa mentions the slogan, and that the brand and the consumers have a voice. The slogan is, “start something, say something, be squeaky.”  It’s “an energetic, stylish brand with an attitude and a voice.” Visit the Squeakywheel Beverages website for all the locations where the brand is distributed.  

 

 

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.

•-• •-• -••• -•-•
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 Petaluma Music Festival

The Petaluma Music Festival is a fund raiser for music in schools. Cliff Eveland is also a band teacher. He organizes the concert with a lineup of great musicians. Find the list of artists right here at the Petaluma Music Festival website.

Herlinda will be organizing a Craft Beverage Tasting, to include brews other than beer, such as mead. Father’s Brewing will be there along with a full Tiki bar from Squeaky Little Beverages, another wine bar, and more. The booth will be decorated Tiki style. Lagunitas and Old Caz Beer are big sponsors too. Fathers Brewing was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode last February. Old Caz Beer has been featured many times as well, their last time was this episode, also last February.

Mead is one of the oldest forms of alcohol that people have made. Mead is made primarily from honey. There are different styles of mead. Some are thick and sweet. Hiveworks Mead style is light, dry and refreshing. The only ingredients are honey and water. It is lightly carbonated. 

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.

•-• ••- ••• ••• •• •- -•  •-• •• •••- • •-•
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.
•-• ••- ••• ••• •• •- -•  •-• •• •••- • •-•

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.

++++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++

Russian River Brewing 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.

****
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.
****

Gravenstein Apple Fair Attractions

Farm Trails organizes many promotions for local farmers. They hold an Apple Blossom Festival in March, then “Blossoms, Bees and Barn Babies” are seasonal tours where people can get out and meet farmers and producers on their own turf. “We want to be megaphones and cheerleaders to elevate our farmers and to promote them so that they can have greater economic viability.”  Clark Wolf will also be chairing a panel about women farmers. There is a pie contest too, and perhaps Herlinda will be a judge. They have adult and youth competitions. “It’s an old-fashioned fair with a modern ethos.”

The Fair is full of attractions. They have lots of arts and crafts and the music lineup is excellent. The event is August 8-9. Locals can take advantage of a deeply discounted ticket. If you buy your ticket from a local partner, the price is only $20.

The piglet races are hilarious. They put four piglets into four lanes with differently colored vests. They are released onto the track and run to the food at the finish line, but sometimes they take the long way around. The audience gets split up into groups to cheer for one racer. It ends with photo ops for the winning piglet. And if that’s not enough, there are also very cute sheep and lambs. Get tickets at Eventbrite dot com at this page.