Blood Brothers eBook available today

This isn't really beer-related--other than the fact that I drank a lot of beer while writing the book--but I wanted to post that I've written a fantasy novel and it's now available on Kindle. Here's a description of the book:

Ostracized by society because of the birthmark that mars his face, Grillis Bloodborn has lived all of his short life in a cottage in the forest, cutting wood and tending pigs. Upon the death of his grandmother, the only family he has ever known, he sets out on a quest to find favor with the Gods for her soul. Grillis’s travels bring him to a city where a young trash-picker named Athemon has just begun to discover the power to punish the men who have made his life a hell. As fate draws the two youths together, they learn that payback comes with a price of its own. Meanwhile, in the depths of the unconquered wilderness a young mystic named Verlvik begins to experience a series of miracles and visions… and the visions lead toward Athemon.

And you can click here to go to the Amazon page.

Please consider buying a copy! Thanks!

Sam Adams Longshot Competition 2013

Last week I shipped four bottles of my Lilikoi Amber to the mainland to have them compete in the Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest. This is the first homebrew contest I've entered. I generally have very little interest in competitions, and I doubt that I'll be entering another competition anytime soon. But my friend Chris (of Lewy Brewing) had a good experience with last year's Longshot, and it doesn't cost anything to enter, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'll post an update when I get the results.

If you're interested in participating, you have until May 26 to enter the contest.

HOPS Big Brew Day

On Saturday, May 4th, the Homebrewers On Pacific Shores brew club (HOPS) organized a Big Brew Day event. Homebrew in Paradise provided free extract-recipe ingredients for either a Belgian Blonde or a Dark English Mild. I went down there with my girlfriend and our friend Matt, and we brewed up a batch of the Dark English Mild. Homebrew in Paradise is also providing kegs to hold the beer, and the plan is to get everybody together on Father's Day (June 16th) to sample the brews.

It was fun to meet a few of the other Oahu-based homebrewers, and to see the gear and techniques they use for their brewing. There was also plenty of homebrew to sample--I tried four different brews in the first hour, and had to put the brakes on after that. A lot of the other brewers seemed to forge ahead without fear, and I was impressed by their ability to keep their brews going while drinking double-fisted. I was also impressed with the HOPS linchpin--I think her name was Cindy, but my memory of the event is somewhat impaired so I might have her name wrong--in her valiant efforts to maintain a sense of meeting order in the face of all the imbibing and brewing and other distractions. There was a rep there from Sam Adams (I think they flew him in from the West Coast) who didn't fare as well.

I'll be sure to post an update on the Father's Day tasting.

Beer in Hawaii website

(Picture taken from the Beer In Hawaii website.)

I stumbled across this website a little while back, and I'm in awe of the webmaster Tim Golden's industry. As far as I can tell, he started the site just a week after I started this blog (his first post is dated January 18th, 2013), and in the time since then he's put up nearly 60 posts (my lazy ass has barely managed 22 posts in about the same time). He seems to be on top of every significant beer event on the Hawaiian islands, which he covers in his weekly Beer Blasts (one comes out every Thursday). He's also got an interactive map that shows all the important Hawaii Breweries and places where Craft Beer is served. If you're looking for the definitive source for information on craft beer in Hawaii, Tim's website gets my vote.

Click here to go to the Beer In Hawaii website.