Saturday, Nov. 29.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I spent mine in Hilo, checking out the town and finding me and Jess a place to live. Hilo is a cool, funky town with a lot of character. It's truly old-school Hawaii. The picture to the left is from the parking lot at the airport. It probably would have been way cooler if I would have walked in between those two trees and got a shot of the huge volcano. I had a good time in Hilo. The first day I got there I was wiped out, felt like crap and spent the first four hours walking around in the rain. After I got checked into my hostel, I passed out and then woke up feeling refreshed. For those who haven't stayed in a hostel before, it's an experience. A weird experience. It's like staying in someone's house with a bunch of strangers. In most cases, these strangers are from different countries and speak very little English. Imagine 15 to 20 people, all from different backgrounds -- speaking different languages. Lot's of head nodding and confused looks. I only wish the Latvian guys thought it was a good idea to wear clothes in the bathroom. They were waaaay free and easy. The hostel was set up in a way in which you could stay in a dormitory setting or get a private room. After taking a tour, I went with the private room. It's pretty basic -- you get a bed, a night stand and a lamp. For $60 a night, what do you expect really? So, after my nap, I got some dinner and then hit a local bar for some drinks. The bar was pretty packed and I ended up drinking with some local folks. The people on Hilo were a lot more friendly than those on Kauai. I drank my share and went back to the International House of confusion and culturally acceptable nudity. Woke up the next morning, and got some coffee from the only place open in Hilo on Thanksgiving. The weather was great on Thanksgiving, so I took my boogie board and headed down to the local surf spot, Honolii. The waves were decent and I had some fun and then headed back to hostel, hoping not to catch Claude and Veeder after their showers. I went back to the bar that night and drank my dinner, as there were not any options for food on Thanksgiving night. It's no big deal, I am capable of roughing it. Oh, I nearly forgot. Early on in the day on Thursday, I went and looked at a house for me and Jess. It's a great house, 3bdrm, 2.5 bath, about 1,700 sq feet on a nice lot. The house is in a great neighborhood, about a 10 minute walk from downtown and about 2 miles from the brewery in Hilo. It's got an ocean view from the front and was perfect for me and Jess. As luck would have it, I locked up the place and left Hilo feeling pretty damn accomplished -- and slightly scarred from my encounters with Claude and Veeder. I got back into Kauai about 11 a.m. on Friday and went straight to the beach. Today, I kegged out 1,000 gallons of beer, ate some dinner and am now relaxing. Looks like I'll have most of tomorrow off, before some filters on Monday. Take it easy, everyone. Aloha.

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Hey Everyone... How's it? Doing fine here. Just got done with two double brew days and now I am bound for Hilo tomorrow morning. I am going to spend a few days there checking things out. There's supposed to be a southerly swell starting tonight that will produce some decent sized waves. So, I am bringing my boogie board with me. I know I'm in the right place when a boogie board is my checked bag. Our brew days went pretty well, but I am looking forward to some down time. Dave Campbell, our head brewer, has also invited me to his home in Waimanalo on Oahu. So, instead of coming back to Kauai on Friday, I may divert to Oahu until Saturday night. Not sure yet, we'll see what the trip to Hilo brings. Dave has a 7-acre farm about two miles from the beach with his wife and two daughters. He's also about to open a cafe, so he's got a lot going on right now. I know this is short, but I am short for time. Will either post from Hilo if I can or when I get back. Aloha.

Sunday, Nov. 23

Well, I just got done with work. I started at about 8 a.m. and just wrapped everything up. Tomorrow I start back to back double brew days and will have put in 41 hours by 6 p.m. on Tuesday. But, I have my trip to Hilo to look forward to on Wednesday. We double filtered two batches of our Gold Ale today. The first batch went through really well, but the second one took forever, like two hours longer. The second tank obviously still had a good amount of yeast still in suspension, which clogs the filter and makes days long... long and slow.. That's how some days go in the brewery. You only have so much control over a living organism. I missed my daily workout today, so I will get up super early tomorrow and do that. I have a few things to take care of prior to the brew day. I know this one is short and not that interesting, but it's all I have right now. How about a post from Jessica?!?! Let's see some pictures from that new camera -- Ha. aLOha.

Saturday, Nov. 22

I thought I posted a blog last night, but apparently, I did something and it didn't post. Oh well. Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I worked a half day and then gave three brewery tours, so i guess I worked a whole day. For the most part, the people on the tours were nice. I had two separate groups of people from Pennsylvania and one from Colorado. The tours here are pretty basic and consist of a 15 minute general rundown of what we do here and then talking about the equipment if they are into it. After that I pour samples and let the people hang out for awhile and answer random questions. It was raining, so I didn't have anything better to do. As you can see in the video above, we have a storm system over Kauai right that is expected to dump some rain on us for a few days. At certain points yesterday, we were getting about 1 inch an hour. Flood advisories are in effect until late tonight. I got up pretty early this morning, went to the YMCA for a workout and headed to the Super K-Mart to pick up a few things and get a new towel. The washing machine at the laundry ripped my towel up last time I washed it and in its ripped form, it just wasn't getting the job done. I headed back to work and cleaned our brew kettle and Mash Tun which is a two-hour process. I actually get into them and scrub them out by hand, then rinse them down and flush all of the manifold pipes with hot water. I also dropped some tank temperatures and got a few things in order for the double brews on Monday and Tuesday. I resume my work week tomorrow, although I really didn't get a day off at all this week. I think it's difficult to get time off when you live at the brewery. As such, I am going to Hilo on Wednesday for a few days to check things out. I fly out really early on Wednesday and then come back around noon on Friday. Right now, I am listening to a Phoenix Coyotes game on the Internet and will switch over to listen to a Wings game shortly. I think that's it for now. Aloha.

Thursday. Nov. 20

Finally, a day off tomorrow..... Well, sort of. I have about 3 hours of work to do tomorrow and then I get the day to play. I went well over 60 hours for the week by the end of today. We are set to double brew again on Monday and Tuesday. Everyone is then planning on taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving, which I totally forgot about. Weird. Other than working today, I went to the YMCA this morning and hit the beach for a few waves this afternoon after work was done. The weather was pretty nice today, sunny and hot. I also listened to a Red Wings game over the internet tonight. I sure do miss watching those games. Alright, I've been staring at this screen for five minutes without typing anything and I think that's my cue to call it a night. Aloha.

Hey everyone. Hope things are well in your various corners of the mainland. Things are Maika'i (good) here. Been super busy. The long days keep rolling along. I've put in about 51 hours since Sunday and will easily do 10 more tomorrow. I'm hoping to take Friday off, but we'll see how things go. I did a S*i* load of kegging today, cranking out 125 for our distributor, who will pick them up tomorrow morning. We're also going to filter and blend our Gold ale with another beer that I am not allowed to talk about over the Internet. It's nothing crazy, just something we need to keep under our hats for now. After three inches of rain in three days, we got some sunshine today. It was nice and about 82 degrees. Anyone seen snow yet? I know I've said this before, but I can hardly believe that it's about to be the holiday season. That just seems crazy to me. It feels like summer here, even though we're in our "Winter" season right now. I was told today that they ship in Christmas trees from Oregon every year. I can't imagine having a Christmas tree in this climate... It just doesn't seem right. I guess in a way, it also doesn't seem right to be in the 80's with tropical trade winds in mid-November. Somehow, I think I can get used to it. Everyone who knows me knows that I HATE snow and cold weather, etc. For the past 8 years in Arizona, it never really felt like Christmas due to the climate. I can only imagine what it will feel like this year. Thanks again to my folks for a killer Christmas last year. That was an amazing trip. I am toying with the idea of heading to Hilo for Thanksgiving and checking out the town. Who knows though... Well, time for one more cocktail and then I am gonna go to sleep. Aloha.

Tuesday, Nov. 18

After three days of island rain, the sun came out today and dried everything up a bit. We had a pretty big storm system over Kauai and it looks like it's almost gone. I thought I'd have a mellow day today after the two double brew days, but that wasn't the case. We did a filter and pre-washed some kegs in addition to the 5 hours of cleaning I did in the morning, so it was an 11 hour day after everything was pau. I picked the president of the company up at the airport today. He flew in to talk to me about my transition to Hilo. We had a good talk and it looks like I may be there as early as Dec. 15 or as late as Christmas. I will know more in the next week or so. Moving over to the Big Island sooner will actually be a good thing and will put me into a leadership position earlier than expected. When we assume control of the Mehana Brewing facility, the Head Brewer and myself will be responsible for setting up all brewing procedures and protocols and I will be brewing 11 different beers, not to mention the ones for the Japanese market. I am pretty excited and looking forward to seeing my soon-to-be home island and getting to work. I also found out today that we will be releasing a brand new line of Merchandise (t-shirts, pint glasses, hats, etc). I will send some stuff out as soon as I can get my hands on it. I am wiped out, so I will close here. Aloha.

Monday, Nov. 17

After putting in about 30 hours in the past two days, I am wiped out. We doubled brewed batches of our Sunset and Gold Ale on Sunday and today. On Sunday, I picked up Dave Campbell at the airport and we got to work about 10 a.m., I got done about around Midnight. We got started this morning at about 5 a.m. and I am actually still working, doing some cleaning and prep for tomorrow. I think I am just catching my second wind. Strangely enough, I don't feel tired at all. I'm sure if I stopped working, I'd pass out in about two seconds, but for now I will write this blog and keep going. The brew days went really well. I started to truly get the hang of things today and did most of the second brew without any help from Dave. He's going to evaluate me next time he's on Kaua'i. I am starting to feel very confident on this system and really enjoy how nice it feels to be somewhat self-sufficient. It's strange, I know how to make beer, I understand all the necessary components and know how to execute the technical steps. But this is a completely different system than what I was used to. I've been taking notes and also taking every opportunity to test my knowledge of this system while Dave is here. This guy is an amazing brewer and teacher. I truly feel lucky to have him around. I got my first taste of being in charge and alone here today. We had some trouble with our hot water tank and by the time the water came back up to temperature, it was time to take Dave to the airport. So, it was time for me to sink or swim. I was able to handle everything and the beer is in the tank safely. If all goes well, it will be fermenting when I wake up tomorrow morning. Speaking of tomorrow, my plan is to get up and go work out. After that, I've got about 7 hours of cleaning to do and then I will pick up Hawai'i Nui President Keith Kinsey at the Lihue Airport. Tomorrow may very well be a big day for me. Keith is coming in to talk to me about my transition to Hilo. I will keep you posted. Time for a drink and then some sleep. Aloha.

Saturday, Nov. 15

Sorry for the lack of posts, my head has been elsewhere these past few days. I've been getting things ready for the next double brew days which start tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Everything is pretty much in order, except for a few minor things that I will take care of in the morning. So, what have I been up to for the last few days other than work? Not all that much. I went to the YMCA both days, did some shopping and spent time at the beach on Friday and also today. I spent about 5 hours on Kalapaki Beach today. It was great until it started to rain. I waited the rain out, but the clouds didn't pass so I went home and proceeded to pass out for an hour. I also got my very own Boogie Board on Friday. Unfortunately, the waves have been super flat on the East side of the island, so I haven't been able to use the board all that much. I thought about driving up to the North shore, but the surf up there has been rough, according to the local surf reports. Check out the video of a cruise ship leaving the harbor in Lihue on Friday. This thing was huge. It was actually pulled out of the harbor by a tug boat and then headed out into the open ocean. You can always tell when there's a ship in the Nawiliwili harbor. Other than the massive boat docked up, there's people everywhere. It's fun to watch them run off the beach when the boat blasts it's horn to tell the tourists to get back on board. I wonder what happens if you the miss the boat? As most of you know already, I changed my phone number. I don't want to post it on the blog, but if you didn't get it, e-mail me at Jwalsh@commspeed.net and I will get you the number. I woke up this morning to the sound of Keoki the cat meowing on top of the camper. She likes to sit up there when I sleep and then look down into the camper through a skylight and let me know she's hungry. I think she's really starting to enjoy having someone around here all the time. The second video marks a pretty big day for Hawai'i Nui Brewing Company. Check that one out as well. I probably won't post again until Monday night after the brew days. Until then, Aloha.

Wednesday, Nov. 12

Aloha. Hope everyone is well. The weather here today was absolutely perfect. Mid-80's, light trade winds and not a cloud in the sky. As usual, I went to the YMCA this morning, did my workout and then started work. I did more tank cleaning, did some stuff on the phone, got a keg ready for a customer pick up and then made sure everything was in order for our distributor to pick up tomorrow. This will be the first load of beer to go out under the Hawai'i Nui name. In some ways, it's a pretty big deal. I have also been working on a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) manual for our filtration process. I have about 10 pages of notes that I am working through, in the effort to get the official procedure documented. Headbrewer Dave Campbell is coming to Kauai on Sunday, and we will brew two double batches in a row. The last batch of the back-to-back double brew day is always interesting. We usually finish about 5 minutes before Dave needs to be at the airport. We're always keeping our fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong. I am looking forward to the brew days, I am curious to see how much I retained from my initial run through. After I was done working, I went to Kalapaki Beach and got some sun and swam around for a bit. It's nice having a beach less than a two-minute drive away. It looks like I'll have some time on Friday, maybe I will head south to Poipu for the day. Poipu is about 13 miles from Lihue. I haven't heard anything more about when I'll be heading to Hilo, guess I will just have to wait and see. I will likely be switching my phone number to a Hawai'i number in the next day or so. So, I will send out e-mails and text messages, but if you see a phone number with an 808 Area Code, it's probably me or someone else you know who lives in Hawai'i . Alright, back to work with me. Aloha ahiahi.

Tuesday, Nov. 11

Hello everyone. That is if anyone is even reading this.... After a killer day yesterday, today was much more mellow. I got up and worked out and then came back here and cleaned two tanks and did some general housekeeping items. After that I drove into Kapa'a and hit the beach for about three hours. After that, I became a member of the Lihue Costco. I haven't been in a Costco in years and this place is insane! I bought a lot of food.. I mean who in their right mind could pass up 96 granola bars for $9.99 or 18 Veggie Burgers for $11? Don't even get me started on the 5lbs of Hawaiian pineapple I got for $4. This place is killer. After my success at Costco, I figured I'd better go back to the beach in Lihue. So, I did just that. The waves were much bigger and I got tossed around pretty good a few times. It was great. I also went and looked at a studio apt. for rent today. The place is pretty nice. It's the bottom portion of a house in Nawillilli, which is a part of Lihue. It's about 45 second drive from work and the landlords seem really cool. It's $500 a month and includes all utilities and cable, wireless, etc. Fruit trees (avocado, orange, mangos) are all over the property. So, I was ready to call it pau (finished/done) with the camper...... and thought I would let my boss know about my decision. Well, he told me to hold off for a few days. From what he said, I may be moving to Hilo sooner than later. Maybe by January. This is all very tentative, so who knows what will happen. Look for more details, right here on our blog. I love Kauai... I mean I love this island. I don't feel ready to leave. It's where I married Jess. Certainly the happiest day of my life. Being far apart from her sucks, but the fact that we were married here always makes me feel closer to her. I go to beaches we've both been to, I eat at places we've both been to and I always try to call her to reminisce. On the topic of Jessica, I have to say that she's a rock star. She's working like crazy and holding down our Arizona household. I can't even imagine what it would be like if she was here and I was there. I still can't believe I'm here. I feel soo lucky to have her in my life. She has been and continues to be my main source of support during this separation and transition. I am looking forward to the day when I meet her in Kona and we drive to Hilo to start the next chapters of our life. Aloha.

Monday, Nov. 10

What a day. For some reason, I woke up at about 2:30 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep. So, when you live three steps away from work, it only seems natural to get up and start working. That's exactly what I did. I knew I had a big day of kegging ahead of me, so I started washing kegs from about 2:30 a.m to about 5 a.m. and then headed off to the YMCA to work out. I got back to the brewery around 7 a.m. and starting cleaning more kegs. I had to keg out 1,000 gallons today, which is the equivalent to two full days of brewing. I filled 80 5.2 gallon kegs and about 32 15.5 gallon kegs. After that, I cleaned the keg machine and immediately started to clean an fermenter and break down the tank that I was kegging out of. I finally ended my work day about 6:30 p.m. I should have an easier day tomorrow, and will spend a good deal of time prepping for two double brew days later this week. I am hoping to squeeze in some time at the beach tomorrow. The waves are supposed to be pretty nice. During all the craziness at work today, i also learned how to drive a fork lift. By the end of the day, I was moving 2,000 lbs of kegs around with limited disaster potential. I've learned the basics and in some cases the very advanced parts of brewery work, but learning how to drive the fork lift is one of the final pieces of the puzzle. It's kind of fun, but it's also a bit intimidating when you have several thousands of dollars of beer suspended on two metal forks. In the end, I got everything done and will hopefully sleep like a baby tonight. If not, I guess there's always some work that could be done. I'm starting to feel at home in the brewery here, which good. I was hoping it wouldn't take too long. I also got word today that I might be over in Hilo as soon as the middle of January. More tomorrow. Aloha.

Sunday, Nov. 9

Hello everyone. Not a whole lot to post today. Work was busy, we filtered a batch of beer, which I will carbonate tonight and keg out tomorrow morning. Worked from about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and then headed off to the YMCA for my workout and then back to work to tie up some loose ends. It sprinkled a bit here today, but overall the weather has been just about perfect. About 78-80 degrees all the time and mostly sunny. It's pretty gentle weather. I do believe that i have finally escaped Winter. I have to admit it's strange to see holiday decorations for sale in the stores. It feels like summer here. It's hard for me to realize that the holiday season is right around the corner. I still haven't gotten anyone to bite on the Kaua'i Christmas idea. Let me know if you change your mind. So, please feel free to post your comments on the blog. Jess and I would love to see more of them. Well, I'm getting tired.... Hope everyone is doing well. Aloha.

Saturday, Nov. 8

Today was a big day for Hawai'i Nui Brewing Company. This morning, we announced our merger with Mehana Brewing Company in Hilo, Hi. Check out the story in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin right here. Needless to say, everyone here is pretty excited. Today also marked the first time we filled our new Hawai'i Nui kegs. I had the honor of filling the first 64 half-barrels. I have to say, it felt good to get in the groove and grind out a good-sized day of kegging. Learning the system here is an ongoing process, but it was nice to do something I had done hundreds of times in the past. I only needed about 3 minutes of instructions for the kegging system here. So, I cranked those out and did some yeast management on the next tank to be filtered tomorrow. My next week is looking busy-- We will filter tomorrow, keg on Monday, send out more than 120 kegs on Tuesday, off on Wednesday and then brew 16-hour days on Thursday and Friday. If the weather is good, I'm all about the beach on Wednesday. I might take the ride into Hanalei, but Kalapaki Beach (about a 2 minute drive) is pretty nice. Who knows? Other than work, I hit the YMCA this morning and worked out and pretty much spent the rest of the day at work. My co-worker Curtis is a really great guy. He's been great at providing information on the island as well as Hawaiian history and various words. I try to learn a new word or phrase each day and then tell him what I've learned and see if I'm saying it right. Today, we talked about the word "Haole (pronounced How-Lee)." For those of you who've been to Hawai'i, you may very well have been called a Haole. Like most, I thought it simply meant "White person or foreigner." Well, there's more to it. Curtis told me today that Haole, in traditional Hawaiian, actually translates to "Without Breath." To Hawaiian people, this means you have no heart or soul. So, in many cases, it's a very serious insult. From what I've learned, Hawai'i and Hawaiian culture is really all about the Aloha spirit. Aloha means Love. There are actually no derogatory words in the Hawaiian language. If someone says "Mahalo (Thank You)," the proper response is "Aloha." In short, the exchange says, "Thank you (mahalo) " and in response "Aloha (I love you.) " Aloha also means Hello and Good Bye. I am really trying to learn the language. Curtis has been great to me and is always willing to explain Hawaiian history and culture to me. If you want to see who Curtis is, click here . I talked to Jess for awhile tonight, she and Berkley had a nice day of hiking. I really miss them and can't wait until they're here. More tomorrow. Aloha.

Hello! I hope everyone is well. Today has been a good day. I woke up with some morning yoga. I find it is my favorite way to start the day. After watering the remaining plants in the house, Olive and I did a few chores around the house, while Berkley chewed on a bone. There's really not much left to do. Walshman and Walshmom's visit was so successful that there is just only a bit left for me. And we did it perfectly, I can live comfortably, yet still have a manageable amount of work to do in order to close this place out. I cannot possibly thank them enough. In the early afternoon, Berkley and I went for a hike on Doe Mesa. It was absolutely spectacular. I have been on this mesa before, but not in years. Truly an amazing view of Sedona. We hiked the zig zag trail up the side of the mesa, then hiked around the perimeter of the top. Berkely had a wonderful time, and he wasn't shy about showing it, as you can see. We basically got a 360 degree view of the red rocks during our hike, along with some amazing rock formations. If there is one thing that I am going to miss about living here, it is most certainly the hiking. Now, I plan to clean out a couple kitchen cabinets and possibly have one of the delicious brews John made before moving to Kauai. Take inventory of what I have...plan some meals around what is in the cabinets. I have sun dried tomatoes. Anyone have any great recipes including those? With that, I close. I leave you with this sweet, sweet lovely image that I was lucky enough to capture this afternoon. Good evening....

Friday, Nov. 7

Anyone who has visited Kaua'i has noticed the huge amount of feral roosters and chickens on the island. You literally see them everywhere. Most people suggest that the feral chicken population can be traced back to when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai in 1992. It’s been reported that the hurricane destroyed a number of chicken farms. There are other possible theories -- such as sugarcane plantation laborers in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought and raised chickens (for eating and cockfighting) and many got loose over the years and multiplied. So, in the end, who really knows? I watched a rooster trying to impress a female the other day and it was hilarious. I almost felt bad laughing at him. This guy was trying really hard. Unfortunately, he struck out... That female chicken was smart, that Rooster looked like a real player. Check out the clip at the bottom left to see some chickens that were running around the parking lot earlier today. By now, you're probably wondering who that scruffy looking cat in the upper right hand corner is. Well, let me introduce you to Keoki, the brewery cat. She's been with the brewery since it opened and is quite a character. She likes to wrap her legs around your ankle when you walk by and also enjoys a good play bite now and again. Seeing as I'm here all the time, i have assumed the cat care duties. Had a decent day today. Didn't get everything done that I wanted to in terms of work. Apparently, things move slower here and I am adapting to that. So when you need something, like a refill on your Co2 tank....you call days in advance. This place has really taught me that if I want to live here and survive, I have to slow down a bit. Things are different here and the locals and native Hawaiians want it that way. Other than carbonating beer and giving a tour, I worked out at the YMCA, hit Kalapaki Beach for some waves and did some some shopping. I had some Little Caesar's for dinner. Can you Michigan folks believe there's a Little Caesar's here?? Pizza Pizza. Alright, I am gonna cut it off here. More tomorrow. Aloha.

Thursday, Nov. 6

Pictured to the right is one of seven fermentation vessels at the brewery. As you can see, each one holds 930 gallons of beer. That's about 67 Kegs(15.5 gallon half barrels). We filtered a beer out of this tank yesterday, so I cleaned it today. The cleaning process takes almost an hour and a half. You've gotta figure, this thing holds beer that people are going to ingest, so it has to be incredibly clean. It felt good to do something that I had already done hundreds of times before. The location might be different, but the tanks, pumps and hoses are all the same. After I got the tank cleaned, I hooked up with Curtis, the Keoki Brewing Company Cellarman, and we took care of some odds and ends and ran a few errands. The thing about being a brewer is that there are some days where you don't even touch or make beer. Today was one of those days. Some brewers would call me crazy, but I enjoy every aspect of the job. We broke down and pulled apart a pump, ordered a new seal kit, did a ton of cleaning and got things ready for a big day of kegging tomorrow. After wrapping up work, I figured it was time to finally hit the beach. I haven't been to the beach since last week, so I figured I was due. I went to Kalapaki Beach in Lihue/Nawilliwilli. It's a beach most frequented by locals and tourists who stay at the Kauai Marriot. I found myself a nice spot in the sand and kicked back. The water was warm, probably about 80 degrees, with small waves. As you can see, I had a nice view (I'm talking about the water and the mountains, not the old guy in the foreground of the picture). After a nice swim and some sun, I did some laundry in Lihue. I really miss my washing machine and that sweet wife of mine who always took the extra time to separate the colors and darks. Obviously, I miss her for many more important and meaningful reasons, but I really suck at doing laundry. Dump it all in -- That was my approach. On a different and more important closing note, I just want to say that I am very excited for my brother and Elissa who found out today that they will be having a Keiki Kane (Baby Boy) in March. Congratulations you guys, I couldn't be more excited to be an uncle. You guys are going to make great parents. Well, I think it's time for me to sign off. Tomorrow, I plan to introduce you to Keoki, that is if I can get a picture or video of her. Aloha.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Hello Everyone! It's Jessica, here in Sedona. Things are going well. Berkley, Olive and I miss John so much. We are having a fair time of it though. We have been hiking a lot. Here is a picture of the lovely Coffee Pot Rock, which Berk and I were hiking beside this past Sunday. We have big plans this weekend for both Doe Mesa and Lost Canyon. Received some really amazing news this morning: we will soon have a nephew. Congratulations to Mikey and Elis! He's going to be such a wonderful, beautiful, precious love nugget. Today was a great day. I telecommuted, cleaned the house, hiked with Berkley and did some yoga. We're in good spirits and often day dreaming about swimming in the ocean and seeing lava flow in the night. Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait! Good evening...

Wednesday, Nov. 6

Had a good day today. I met my other co-worker Curtis. He's originally from Honolulu and has lived in Hawai'i all of his life. Curtis handles a lot of the day-to-day operations of the brewery, like filtering, kegging, tank cleaning, etc. Today we filtered a batch of our Keoki Gold. The filtration process here is much different and a bit more complex, but I'll get the hang of it. Pictured on the right is the brew house, and if you look really closely on the right, you'll notice a shower head that was creatively rigged into the system. It looks primitive, but it's great to have at the end of a day or after a trip to the beach. Other than working today, I hit the YMCA for a workout and then went to the Lihue Mall to check things out and eat dinner. As far as a mall goes, it's pretty decent. If anyone needs any surf apparel, let me know...I gotcha covered. I just talked to my friend Zach tonight and he has a phone interview with Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, based in Dexter, Mich. If I wasn't in Hawai'i, I would be all over that job. Hopefully, he gets the job and I can coax him into sending me Jolly Pumpkin beers. Despite it's nasty weather, there are some things (my family, the Red Wings and Michigan Beer) that I will always love about Michigan. Why couldn't Michigan be an island with great weather and a warm ocean? So, who wants to spend the holidays in Hawai'i? I have room for one more in the camper..... Think about it, tropical weather, beaches, Mai-Tais and that awesome Hawaiian Christmas song. The reservation line is open. Aloha ahiahi ia oukou.

Move Videos/First Days at Work

After working 32 hours in the past two days, it appears that work will be a bit more calm for the next day or so. We just finished up brewing two double batches. Both are fermenting pretty rapidly and should be ready to filter in about two weeks. These videos posted here are from the first batch of beer I brewed with Dave Campbell. If you watch closely, you can actually see small clouds of Co2 coming out from the bucket. I got up this morning at about 5 a.m. and got to work on some cleaning items inside the brewery. The place is looking good and ready for two more double brew days early next week. It looks like we'll be filtering a few batches of beer this week as well. Right now I'm living in a camper at work, like right in the parking lot. So, I find myself working constantly. I am learning a lot and looking forward to getting through my learning curve. The stakes are certainly higher out here and this brewery puts out far more beer than Oak Creek Brewery. Within the next few months, we will be the largest independent Hawaiian Brewery. I spent a good portion of today driving around the island, getting used to things. Did some grocery shopping and went to the YMCA to work out and swim some laps. I also looked at a studio apartment today. It was pretty nice, but is attached to the landlord's house. I'm pretty used to having some privacy, so this place might not be the one. From what I've been told, it's hard to find a detached studio or 1 bedroom apartment in Kauai. So, the search continues and I continue to sleep in the camper.

John arrives in Kauai

Hey everyone... Well, I am here. I arrived in Kauai on Oct. 30 in the afternoon. I spent four days in a resort in Kapaa before I started work on Sunday. It's been pretty crazy, to say the least. Getting off the plane in Lihue and knowing that this was now my home was almost impossible to comprehend. From the airplane window, I saw the ocean and the palm trees. I remembered all the times Jess and I visited and how exciting it was to be there. This time the feeling was different. I was sitting alone on the plane. The couple across the row from me had just arrived to get married on Kauai and of course that made me think of Jess and really miss her. At the same time, it also made me excited to start our lives here. Holy shit, we're going to live in Hawaii. So, I took a cab to the resort and got checked in. After hitting the fitness room to burn off the craziness of day, I planted myself at the hotel lounge and had some drinks. For the next few days, I hung out in Lihue and Kapaa enjoying the sunshine and the warm ocean waters. I started my job on Sunday and they wasted no time putting me to work. On Sunday, i met Dave Campbell, who is my headbrewer. Dave is essentially the "Godfather" of Hawaiian brewing, having more than a decade experience in the business. He's a great guy who I know I'll learn a lot from. We double brewed batches (16 hour days) of Keoki Sunset Ale and the Keoki Gold. So in two days, I worked a lot of hours and got some great exposure to the system here. I dropped Dave off at the Airport today, as he lives on Oahu with his family. He flys in every week and brews several batches of beer. Now, I am at the brewery and will be staying in an RV until I can find a place to live. You'll find a video here....and I will post more soon. I hope everyone is doing well. Keep your eyes open for posts from Jess in Sedona. Aloha.