Rob Loverde, Beatles and Beer

Rob Loverde, Beatles and Beer

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 [https://brewhaharadio.com/beer-and-beatles-with-herlinda/] 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 [https://mofi.com/our-story/]. 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 is Paul McCartney’s birthday. Herlinda and Rob have seen him perform in concert. Meanwhile, the Scots are drinking Boston dry during the World Cup. When I’m 64 was the first song recorded for Sgt. Pepper. Today Rob and Herlinda will pair beers with Beatles and Wings songs. .--. .- ..- .-... Visit Russian River Brewing Co [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/]. 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. .--. .- ..- .-... Since 1966 Paul has owned a farm in Scotland, where he lived with his wife Linda. The Wings song Mull of Kintyre [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mull_of_Kintyre_(song)] was for a while the highest selling single in UK history, (since then only three songs have sold more). The song is unknown to American audiences, where it was released to modest sales and was soon forgotten. That’s understandable, since the song has a strong Scottish character that appealed to UK audiences. US audiences did not pick up on any of that local joy. They toast to Paul with a Scotch Ale. Paul practices yoga and according to Herlinda, “…still stands on his head every day.” In April of 1973 Pablo Picasso passed away. Paul and Linda were visiting Dustin Hoffman then, talking about their craft. They discussed Picasso and his last words, “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.” Paul started strumming the guitar and started writing the song Picasso’s Last Words at Dustin’s suggestion. Herlinda brought a Paulaner Pils, a Bavarian style pilsner beer. The Beatles connection to Germany dates back to when they went to Hamburg, to play steady gigs. They met Klaus Voorman who was an art director and artist. He drew the cover of Revolver. Also, he later became the bass player of the Plastic Ono Band. The Liverpool Beatles Museum that Pete Best and his brother Roag own, has an exhibition of Stu Sutcliffe’s art, through this September. He heard a song from Wings called Old Siam Sir, from the last Wings album. So, Herlinda opens a Chang lager from Thailand. Unfortunately it has been in storage too long. Lagers do expire, especially in green glass. Also, to celebrate Apple Records, Herlinda has brought a cider called WildCide. The Beatles’ last public concert was in San Francisco in 1966. In honor of that location she has an Anchor Steam Beer. Herlinda believes it is possible that the Beatles drank that beer while they were in San Francisco.

ProChiller PROGreen along with Hanabi Lager

Jim Vander Giessen with Prochiller PROGreen [https://prochiller.com/progreen/] and Nick Gislason from Hanabi Lager [https://hanabilager.com/] 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 [https://brewhaharadio.com/hanabi/]. 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. •-• •-• -••• -•-• Visit Russian River Brewing Co [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/]. 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. •-• •-• -••• -•-• 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 [https://prochiller.com/progreen/] 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 with Lagunitas Trooper West Coast IPA

Jeremy Marshall from Lagunitas [https://lagunitas.com/] 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 [https://brewhaharadio.com/jeremy-marshall-from-lagunitas/]. Lagunitas is putting on an air guitar contest [https://lagunitas.com/beer/trooper-west-coast-ipa/] 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 [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trooper-release-party-no-tickets-needed-walk-ins-only-tickets-1990593961123?aff=ebdssbdestsearch], 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 ++++++ Visit Russian River Brewing Co [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/]. 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. ++++++ A US PARTNER FOR TROOPER ALE Robinsons Brewery in England was the first to give the name Trooper to their signature premium ale. There is also a Brazilian Trooper ale. So when Iron Maiden was searching for a US partner, Bruce’s son’s wife told Bruce that Lagunitas was the perfect fit. Eventually Jeremy went to meet them backstage after a concert. He brought a cooler full of samples to share with a who’s who of metal bands. He found that Bruce was quite articulate about what flavors he liked. The Lagunitas Trooper West Coast IPA uses a new hop called Krush. Jeremy likes its flavor profile. He tastes “weed, passion fruit, guava…”  It was HBC586 in development and now it's Krush. Watch out for a 100% Krush Beer for the radio station The Krush KRSH 95.9! Jeremy confirms that Heineken is letting Lagunitas be Lagunitas. Heineken is the only worldwide beer company that is still majority owned by the family. Jeremy went to UC Davis and studied brewing science. Michael Lewis and Charlie Bamforth were his teachers. They taught English ale styles, whereas Seibel in Germany is where to learn about lager beers. Lagers are a colder, longer stored style, like Coors Banquet or Budweiser. He describes the students at Davis as Beards versus Vests. Wine guys wore vests and beer guys had beards. LAGER AND ALE Compared to Lager, Ale is a little fruitier, and louder. If you hop it even more, you get to IPA. They are produced quicker and are more expressive and more popular in America. Wisconsin’s German-American community drove that city’s brewing history, so they made more German Lager styles. After UC Davis, Jeremy’s first beer gig was Lagunitas. Tony asked where else he sent the letter. He wrote to all the breweries that made the beer he drank at Davis. Most were Ales, like Arrogant Bastard from Stone. Jeremy has seen it all at Lagunitas. He knows that in the future, the successful breweries will have great focus and discipline. Other than Lagunitas, Russian River Brewing Co. is an example of that.

8-Ball Tavern’s Three New Owners

The 8-Ball Tavern [https://www.instagram.com/8balltavern707/]‘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. ••••• Visit Russian River Brewing Co [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/]. 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. ••••• 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 The 8-Ball Tavern new owners are committed to making it a safe place for women. There are plenty of security guards and the bar staff are trained to look for signs of bad behavior. They have HenHouse Hazy, Old Caz One-Way IPA, PVA on tap, many beers from Morris distributing, like Bear Republic Racer 5 and Farmer’s Light. There are also have lots of bottles of beers from outside the area. They have seven or eight taps, which are the fresher, local beers. Every Bloody Mary is made by hand and every bartender has a style. Follow the 8-Ball Tavern Instagram page for all the latest info. They have three shifts at their bar, 7 to 12, 12 to 6, then 6 to 2am. Any time is good, and “…the daytime crowd is so cool.” And they would be amenable to a remote broadcast on the back patio, so stay tuned for that!

Russian River Brewing News with Natalie Cilurzo

Natalie Cilurzo joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha, to tell us about Russian River Brewing [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/] News and upcoming events. Her last time on the show was with Pliny the Younger  back on March 18 [https://brewhaharadio.com/first-taste-pliny-the-younger-2026/]. 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. •••• Visit Russian River Brewing Co [https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/]. 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. •••• 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.