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Beer in the Aloha State
Beers, Breweries, and Brewpubs of Hawaii
Friday, November 22, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Hana Koa Brewing Co. – Hawaii's Newest Brewery!
Hana Koa Brewing Co. opened its doors this weekend to a
series of private events for friends, family, industry, and others who shared
in Josh Kopp and Chrissie Pinney’s adventure into building a community brewery.
The grand opening will be held on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, and will be open
six days a week 11am to 11pm (closed Tuesdays) thereafter. Huge mahalo to the
husband and wife team for the invitation to preview the food, beer, and atmosphere
that await Honolulu.
Hana Koa is located in Kaka’ako off of Ward Avenue on Kawaiaha’o
Street, close to Blaisdell Center and Whole Foods. They have a dedicated free
parking lot of a dozen stalls, otherwise street parking or a ride is necessary.
The space was an old Coca-Cola bottling plant, so it was the perfect location
to brew beer. They transformed the old warehouse into a gleaming comfortable
living space. Inside the doors is a lounge area with half barrel tables and leather
furniture, the perfect place to enjoy a few beers and maybe a pupu or two. For
the full menu, see the host stand inside to be seated in a half booth, traditional
table, or high top; all the seating is comfortable for a long stay. The bar is
the best seat in the house if you’re looking to try one of their beers. For the
soft opening, they had four styles on: a Blonde (my personal favorite), Pale Ale,
IPA, and a Coffee Stout. There will be many mores styles coming starting Wednesday,
with small batch, barrels, and blends coming in the future. The goal is to have
up to thirty Hana Koa beers on tap at once!
Upstairs is a loft bar with less handles but a better view.
Natural skylights add to the bright and open feel here. As Chrissie tells it,
it’s all about a spirit of adventure: the lounge area is the sandy beach, the restaurant
is the nourishing earth, and the loft is the sky. This is all summed up in
their slogan “Brewed for Adventure.”
The menu is already well developed. We tried a number of
small plates and main dishes: the steak fries, panko crushed tofu, smoked
marlin on toast, tonkotsu ramen, boneless short ribs brisket, house burger, and
spaghetti. There’s truly something for everyone with a fusion of all the styles
that make the Hawaii culinary scene an exciting place for the palate. Prices
are reasonable, this isn’t a place to break the bank while going out to eat. It’s
also family friendly with a kids menu and dessert.
If you stop by, be sure to ask for a tour. The production
facility is easy to see through windows behind the bar. Also check out their store
with t-shirts, bandanas, crowlers, and other goodies to take home. I already
can’t recommend Hana Koa enough; I’m sure you’ll find me here often!
Friday, November 8, 2019
Brew Oahu Homebrew Competition & Brew Camp 2019
Best of Show |
HIP Fermenters threw their third annual Brew Oahu Homebrew
Competition and the newly dubbed Brew Camp in time for Learn to Homebrew Day.
The judging was AHA/BJCP sanctioned again this year, with judges coming from
around the islands. October 24 and 25 we all met at Homebrew in Paradise in
Kalihi to taste almost 100 entries. It was two full days of beer, with
delicious meals donated by Waikiki Brewing Company and Square Barrels.
Judging Essentials |
On the two judging days, we judged lots of standouts, with
delicious quality beer, cider, and mead. You can see the full list of winners
here: WINNERS LIST. Justin & Jenn Rivera’s Ilio IPA took home Best of Show.
In conjunction with Learn to Homebrew Day, the club also had
a BREW CAMP complete with brewing demonstrations, a chili cook-off, and the
awards ceremony. Another great event, I'm looking forward to next year!
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
There and Back Again: Our New Zealand Road Trip
Hobbiton in Matamata |
It’s impossible to write about everything we saw and did.
For anyone interested enough to be reading my blog, I thought I’d do an abbreviated
rundown of all the beer related stops. We went to New Zealand for a little over
two weeks in September. We tried to see as much as we could, but it’s a big
country. Our trip made us want to go back and see more; we know where we’d love
to go back and which new places would be worth another adventure.
Brewers Co-Op Auckland |
New Zealand hops and beer have been having a boom the world
over. I learned from brewers there that procuring NZ hops is difficult as big
brewers gobble them up before the little guys can order. Despite this, every brewery
had many beers with NZ hops, namely NZ Pilsners and Pale Ales. Like authentic
brewers the world overs, many use the hop varieties appropriate for style: Old
World for English and German styles, American for ours. In general I learned
that the NZ beer drinker seems to have a UK sensibility: malt forward and lower
ABV. I remarked about this a few times and it didn’t seem to occur to them; it’s
just what they drink. The popular breweries in Auckland and Wellington skewed
more toward IPAs and higher ABV; I suppose that’s what a city and condensed population
demands. I was also shocked and thankful how cheap the country is and beer is
specifically. Many breweries had flight options under $15 USD, with single Imperial
pints costing $5USD or less.
150 mil New Zealanders |
Our Airplane |
Our trip wasn’t about beer. I’m a huge Tolkien fan and saw
as many of the major locations as time allowed. Our first day we stayed on a
farm outside Cambridge, a brief drive from Hobbiton in Matamata. I believe this
was my favorite day of the entire trip; it was surreal to be on that real-life
set, we had a great tour guide, an some exclusive beers at the end of the tour.
In Wellington, we went to “Wellywood” and toured the Weta Workshop, where all
the props, makeup, and effects for the films were done. After we visited Te
Papa, the national museum of the country and saw the Gallipoli and Natural New
Zealand exhibits. My other half is a photographer, so we spent many hours on road
pulloffs to get those perfect shots. It’s a great country in which to eat, with
warm hearty and extremely flavorful food. I unfortunately had a stomach bug for
the first few days of the trip; food and beer just didn’t taste or feel good so
I got bottles to go and skipped a bunch of places. I tried to make up for it
after I felt better. Highlights were
meeting my Untappd friend John in Wellington, where we went brewery hopping
together. We also saw our friend Ritchie who took us all around the
Christchurch countryside including an impromptu brewery visit.
Geysers |
Again, I don’t want to make this super long and overly
detailed. Below please find the breweries I visited and a few comments about
each. Please see my Instagram for more photos and background information.
Specific beers I got to try are too numerous to write about, a complete list
can be found on my Untappd (although admittedly, some nights I may have gotten
a little confused). As always, thank you for reading! It feels great to be back
sipping beers in the warmth of the Aloha State again.
Green Dragon Inn |
Matamata: Hobbiton – exclusive beers brewed by Good George
in Hamilton, 4 are on tap at the Green Dragon Inn and only available for
purchase here. Any one pour is included with the tour.
Lakeman Brewing |
Lake Taupo: Lakeman Brewing – I had some in Turangi and
posted to Instagram, the private family business invited me to drop by, see the
farm, and taste some beers.
Rotorua: Croucher Brewing/Brew - this bar is the only taproom for Croucher, which is a private facility outside the town. We had amazing hearty food and too much food; I didn't realize I was starting to get sick here.
Napier: Zeelandt Brewery – One of my worst health days, I
still tried a few samples and bought a variety pack and 3 limited releases, many
of which made it home with me.
Havelock North: Giant Brewing – a pre-arranged visit due to
being closed the day we were in town, we met the owner and tried all their
beer, taking a few for the road.
Wellington Harbour |
Black Dog Brew Co |
Wellington: HUSK/Choice Bros Brewing – thanks to my friend
John, we met here and had a few flights. All beers here are made on their nano
system; it was an eclectic and cozy spot, even sitting outside on a freezing
evening.
HUSK |
Wellington: Garage Project - both the OG actual car garage
location, and the new taproom facility across the street. The bartenders took
the time to let us try every beer on tap for free, before we headed to the
taproom where we were met with even more options. I appreciated John’s historical
explanation of the area and NZ’s beer culture.
Christchurch: Eruption Brewing - On our long drive around the
area with Ritchie, we eventually stopped in Lyttelton for a drink; of course
there happened to be a brewery across the street and we went in for a flight. This
was a tiny place with a great view of the old port town.
Christchurch: Two Thumb Brewing – After our long day, I quickly
headed around the corner from our hotel to check out this brewery. The
bartender was super friendly and let me stay as long as I needed. The flight
glasses here were huge, so he let me try all the rest on tap free as he explained
about the business. One unique thing here is they offered four of their main
beers on beer engine, hand pulled to glass giving a faux-nitro profile that
paired perfectly with the English styles. This was another evening I
appreciated being inside as it was freezing cold.
Eruption Brewing |
Searchlight Brewing |
Queenstown: Searchlight Brewing – Queenstown is very
touristy and beautiful. It’s filled with bars in town, but the two breweries in
the area required an Uber. I was thankful for the tranquility of Searchlight,
with a knowledgeable bartender and view of the mountains. I tried every beer
they had and had a few pretzels along the way.
Dr Rudi's |
Auckland: Dr Rudi’s Rooftop Brewing – We saved Auckland for
the end and were met with two days of rain. It didn’t spoil the fun. Auckland’s
breweries are almost all outside of the city in industrial suburbs so we didn’t
make it to the famous ones. I did go to a few micros in town, as well as some
amazing bars. Dr Rudi’s was a gorgeous rooftop space overlooking the marina and
waterfront. They had 4 beers on tap, so I tried them all.
Shakespeare Hotel |
Auckland: The Shakespeare Hotel & Brewery – Our final
brewery visit was the oldest micro brewery in the country. This old hotel
opened a small brewery almost 40 years ago and rotates a few selections, as
well as a handful of bottles. It was the perfect final place to enjoy a few $3
happy hour beers made right there, listen to the anguish of the Rugby World Cup
waters, and listen to the rain.
Cheers, thanks for reading!
A Very Tired Author |
Labels:
Brewery Tour,
New Zealand,
New Zealand Beer
Location:
New Zealand
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