A long story short: I hit a "wall" about 18 months ago, shortly after filming the GABF in 2009. I hired a contractor to work on my house, and let's just say, I believed the company made some egregious mistakes. After a lengthy litigation process, it cost my family a small fortune, (and exhausted all of my time and energy). A settlement was agreed to as of yesterday.

So now, with that major distraction and bear of a financial drain mostly out of the way, Beer Pioneers is back in production. I have two re-shoots planned before the summer is over, a West coast venture in the US and Canada, and another that jumps through the South and up the East Coast. I'll also be editing from today on forward, picking up from where I left off months ago. My rough cut deadline is September 2012, with a final cut going into the fray of entries for the 2012-13 film festival season. That should wrap-up this monster.

Thanks for all of the kind words over the months (to my friends on facebook and twitter, too), I really appreciated the support!

Cheers, Jay

Here's the latest news: Not much has happened. My freelance camera work has picked up immensely, so I've been on other people's projects (all quite positive things) as of late. Of course, this means that post-production of Beer Pioneers has been zilch for the past month. I also expect that this hiatus will probably continue through mid- November.

One reason for the continued delay is because "Beer Guppy" and I are on the move. The next time I blog, I'll have moved the company to its new location in North Hollywood. (The Burbank mailing address won't change, however.) It'll be exciting to work in the new digs.

The best news in all of this is that I do not foresee any delay in the documentary's debut next Summer. Everything is as scheduled.

For now, peace...

Studio shot, behind the scene of me playing around.

Studio shot, behind the scene of camera operator Matt Berning.

Studio shot, behind the scene of me (waiting in the interviewee chair).

Mayor Hickenlooper spoke to the media during the Brewers Association Media Luncheon.

Tables stand ready for beer and food pairings at Brewers Association Media Luncheon.

Denver's best pitchman Marty Jones led media across LoDo on a jam-packed beer tour.

Open house at Great Divide Brewing Company showcased its beer line up to the Beer Bus' thirsty media.

Firstly, let me send out a HUGE thanks to everyone who we interviewed during the GABF for Beer Pioneers! They were fantastic stories for sure. And the hospitality of the Brewers Association was first-class! The plethora of media events and the ample access to the festival made not only for a great time, but made for a wealth of story content. I am most grateful to you all.

Secondly, my hat's off to the Boulder Beer Company for allowing me to come in on a very busy afternoon and take over the brewery to film its founders, David Hummer and Stick Ware! The two beer pioneers had some very revealing stories of the earliest days of the brewery. Thanks to everyone involved!

The other side of my Denver trip story was a bit disappointing. Actually, I'm somewhat bitter about this. I was blown off by almost a dozen-and-a-half confirmed interviewees on Saturday, the "big" studio day. It truly sucks to have been stood-up by so many friends. This, compounded with the fact that I shelled out thousands of dollars to rent extra motion picture gear, and I rented a conference room from morning to afternoon in the uber-historic Brown Palace Hotel, specifically to craft those 20 world-class interviews. Yeah, it's quite disappointing. Just gotta move on, I guess.

Happily, I managed to get a total of four studio interviews- - and they look fantastic-- and a handful of ENG-style interviews from the festival that also look great. Glad, I am, for that.

The best part of all was making it home safely after the seventeen hour truck drive back to Los Angeles. Cameraman Matt and I were both able to make it back in time for "real" work on two different feature films. And hey, thanks for the great looking footage Matt! Well done.

The shooting schedule will be tight, but do-able if disciplined. Every evening we'll be scouting the floor of the GABF for pioneers of beer. Next Saturday will be a revolving door of interviews in the studio downtown. Other feature stories throughout the week will take us all over the greater Denver area. Hopefully there will be enough time in between for some relaxation-time beers.

I'm psyched. Cheers.

I've lined-up a great cast of interviewees so far. Humbled, I am, with the response. I can't wait to hear their stories. In less than two weeks from now I'll be on my way to Denver. I bet a lot has changed since my 1996 and 1998 shoots, but I bet it'll be a blast to the past as well. Can't wait!

I'm hoping for a healthy amount of interviews, as many folks have already said that they'd be willing to participate. I'll be sending out all of the proper invites this week via e- mail and facebook. The studio address will be on the invite. It's not a very large place, so I can't accommodate unexpected visitors. If you want to drop by, e-mail me for the invitation.

After I wrap up the interviews, cameraman Matt and I will be off to cover the GABF ENG-style for the rest of the evening. Big shot list to do there, and perhaps, some impromptu interviews as well.

On a more general note, I'll be in town covering the GABF and local events from Wednesday through Saturday. Wednesday is booked solid as well as Friday. Both days are loaded with a frenzy of media events, so hopefully imbibing will be kept to a minimum to maintain some sense of journalism. (Yeah right.) I'm really looking forward to this trip. See you there!

Update: If you read this post earlier this month, you'll notice that the original date (9/24) of the studio event has been rescheduled to Saturday 9/26. Had to change it-- please DO NOT show up at the location on Thursday.

For a PDF copy of your very own, just click the graphic at BeerPioneers.com. Please help spread the word! Thanks!