Justin Green, head brewer at Steele and Hops is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Mark Carpenter. Herlinda Heras is also in the studio today. Mark Carpenter was head brewer for Anchor Brewing in San Francisco which started in 1896. Next month is the 84th anniversary of KSRO, the home station of Brew Ha Ha. Anchor made a beer called "Steam" which is a type of beer which was brewed as a type of beer that they could make, since they could not make lager because they did not have refrigeration. The beer had a lot of foam and got the nickname Steam from that. After refrigeration, Steam beer went out of fashion but it survived in San Francisco because the climate was cool enough to allow it. Fritz Maytag, son of the washer and dryer family, bought the brewery in the late 60s when it was in distress and Fritz made it successful. Mark stayed there for his whole career. Fritz has vineyards in St. Helena and another million projects.

Justin Green joins Steve, Herlinda and Mark on the phone. Justin tells how he became the head brewer at Steele and Hops. He started as a corporate restaurant manager, then worked for Jupiter, where he did brewing while also being a manager. He got to make beers but on a small scale, 3 barrels, then he worked for another brewer ten times larger. Then he started at Steele and Hops which was already operating as a restaurant and was adding the brewery. Herlinda mentions a beer labeled "F**k Cancer" and Justin tells the story. He and a fellow brewer each had a cancer scare, Justin's was caught early but his friend had to go through treatment. So Justin wanted this beer to help raise awareness for early detection. The beer has sold out from the Sonoma Springs location but they have some left at Steele and Hops. It's also in other brewpubs throughout the Bay Area.