In the last several posts, I’ve highlighted a few breweries (Baerlic, Ferment and Thunder Island) and two great bars (Holmans’ Bar and the Hi-Top Tavern).  This edition of Thebeerchaser will just take a miscellaneous stroll through some random musings and relate a great week-long trip to Kauai in late February.

Upon returning, my wife and I decided that for the rest of March and April, we wouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages except on weekends (Friday and Saturday). This may not seem like much of a sacrifice, but I often enjoy a gin martini on weeknights while watching the Portland Trailblazers. (There were times when it assuaged the pain…).

And I have to say, besides ingesting fewer calories, the few non-alcoholic beers I’ve had are pretty good.  It’s a trend.  According to an article last month in The Beer Connoisseur:

“Non-alcoholic beer is booming as more consumers seek flavorful, alcohol-free options for social drinking and wellness.”

External photo attribution at the end of the post (#1)

I wondered what the reaction would be in the first dive bar I requested one and thought the conversation might go like this:

Beerchaser:  “I’d like a pint of your best non-alcoholic beer.”

Bartender:      “Sure buddy.  You want to show me some fake ID?”

And Speaking of Kaui….

Kauai is our favorite Hawaiin Island and we had perfect weather.  Besides just relaxing on the beach, we explored the island.

And speaking of relaxing, one of the best methods was on the beach – with a cold brew or an exotic drink with a little umbrella in it – reading a good novel.  And that raises a good news – bad news situation.

The good news was that I got immersed in Warren Easley’s, last novel Deadly Redemption – a great read. The bad news is that I finished it and have now enjoyed all ten of his books. There aren’t currently any new Cal Claxton novels to read.

Friends had recommended an interesting and unique way to see the sunset on the north part of the island.  We would certainly recommend the two-hour sunset golf tour on the Princeville Makai Golf Course. It was well worth the $60 per person fee.

There were about nine golf carts – each seating two – and the charismatic golf pro led the entourage with about six stops where he related the history of the island and other great anecdotes. 

We saw amazing natural habitat including several fascinating albatross families and just reveled at what is a beautiful (and incredibly challenging) golf course.

“The final stop on the tour is truly one of the most stunning locations in the world to witness a sunset… our signature par 3, seventh hole on Princeville Makai that makes for the perfect viewing spot….”. 

And we learned, among other facts, the wild chicken population – an estimated 450,000 compared to 80,000 people residing on Kauai, evidently dates back to Polynesian settlers in 1200 AD.  Although strikingly colorful and perhaps keeping the bug population down, the constant crowing of these scavengers is annoying. 

The golf pro also told us about a more recent infestation of large green parakeets when we saw one in one of the trees by the golf course. There are no natural predators.  

“Along Kauai’s resort-studded south shore, thousands of wild rose-ringed parakeets with bright green feathers and brilliant red beaks obliterate hotel parking lots and vehicles daily with their poop. Full of seeds, the bird dung attracts rats. If not quickly removed, it can ruin car paint.

Transported to the Garden Isle as pets and then either intentionally or mistakenly released into the wild in the 1960s, the birds now number at least 11,000 on Kauai, according to the scientists who study them.”  Honolulu Civic Beat – 6/2/21

Given this bleak history of infestations, it made me wonder if the Kauai Legislature might start restricting lawyers from visiting the Garden Isle. (#2 – #4)

And on the way back from the golf course…..

Some friends told us about a relatively new brewery we should check out for dinner and beer when returning.  It was a good tip (although how often does Thebeerchaser not have that assessment when it involves a watering hole…).

NaPali Brewing opened in 2023 and is a family enterprise – the dream of Blake and Kati Conant.

“Our journey to create this space has been one of passion, dedication, and a deep love for the island we call home. We started this brewery with a dream to share the flavors and spirit of Wailua with every person who walks through our doors.”

It has an expansive floor plan, good live music and food you’ll enjoy. Janet and I sat at the bar and our bartender, Quade, was very personable and told us the story of the brewery.  I still salivate when thinking about the Poke Bowl I had that night. (#5)

Leaving the Island

As we parked at our hotel on the return from the golf cart tour and brewery visit, we were approached by a couple who I initially thought was just trying to avoid one of the chickens roosting by the cars. 

They stated, however, that they had been staying with some friends who stocked up on “salty snacks” and they were leaving for the airport for their night flight home.  “Did we want them – otherwise they were going to have to throw them away?”

Janet puts rigorous rations on my consumption of these, but I quietly whispered to her that it would be rude to refuse their kind offer.  Did we want to add to the Kauai landfill?  And we were not leaving for another day and one-half.

Since we didn’t order a meal on the six-hour flight home, I enjoyed some Doritos and Lays Barbecue Chips.  They paired well with one creative offering of Alaska Airlines – it’s new Cloud Cruiser Beer.

“(It’s) created exclusively for the airline through its partnership with Seattle-based brewery Fremont Brewing….this exclusive India pale ale (IPA) has been brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes. It’s served in cans designed with bright and colorful artwork that pays homage to the Pacific Northwest region.” (emphasis supplied)

The statement “brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes” may mean the intoxicating effect of a 6.5% ABV at 30,000 feet, but I took one can home and really enjoyed the beer just as much at our residence in West Linn, Oregon which is just 105 feet above sea level.

As we got home and reflected on the superb weather we had, I skimmed the Darwin Theory Winter Newsletter named appropriately, “Monkey Business,” which had arrived in the mail. No it’s not a recap of the Scopes Trial.  Darwin’s Theory is one of my favorite dive bars – in Anchorage, Alaska. We visited it when we were on an Alaska cruise in 2014.

Talk about a contrast.  The newsletter told the tale of the weather conditions they faced at the beginning of the year:

“One of the worst snowstorms ever, and there have been many, came through the first week of January. Solid hard rain for two days, winds that reached 100 miles per hour (that’s Hurricane level) followed by a cold front that froze the standing water.  

Darwin’s did something that it has never done in the 45 years of operation, that’s closed its doors for the safety of its staff and customers, the glare ice was incredulous.  Best never to see the likes of this storm for another 50 years.”

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Bartender – Malmö-1992.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.  Author:  John Leffmann – 1992.

#2.  NaPali Brewing Website (Napali One Year Anniversary -capturedbyjolie-05-3aef4a24.jpg (1920×1280)).

#3.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Green Parrot Cairns-1and (4197620649).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Sheba_Also – 13 December 2009.

#4.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Red Junglefowl by Tisha Mukherjee 06.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Tisha_Mukherjee  – 21 March 2025.

#5.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Martin Lipton, McGraw Hill lawyer, cropped.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  This work is from the Bernard Gotfryd collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work. Author: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer – 1979.