Hawai'i never ceases to amaze. With a relatively small population and
isolated geography, you can literally find a club or group for any
interest. O'ahu has a few homebrewing clubs. I personally don't have the
space to brew at home, but it seemed like a great way to meet
like-minded people and learn more about the process of making beer.
I
jumped in at the right time. Homebrewers on Pacific Shores, or HOPS,
had a pub crawl last weekend. Right from the start, people were friendly
and ready for the day. Decked out in beer gear, we all met at Waikiki Brewing Company's Kaka'ako pub for lunch and a tour. It was very well
organized thanks to Cindy and Siri: name tags provided, arrangements
made with breweries, and just a well thought out full day. The club is
an all volunteer organization that supports the hobby. At
Waikiki, we learned about the new facility with headbrewer Joe
Lorenzen. They were clearly proud of the restaurant/bar area and their
gleaming new equipment. The larger space gives them more room for
canning and the ability to brew more than they ever could at the
original location.
From there we walked to
Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room, a usual haunt. Tim Golden talked
about his concept for the place, which is why we like it so much there.
"I'm done with dank."
We then walked to Aloha Beer Company where we had some pups. We met owner Dave Campbell for a
beer history lesson, which was fascinating. He's been brewing for
decades and owned the first homebrew store in Hawai'i. They graciously
extended us their new British pint promotion: larger size glass with
normal priced refills, plus take the glass home!
Last
but not least, we headed to Home of the Brave Brewing Company /
Brewseum. Here I finally got to try the Wiki Waki Woo Brew Hefe and some
other newbies on tap. It's such a festive and fun place, all the
newcomers loved it. We spent time in the Wiki Waki Woo Speakeasy too!
Owner Glen Tomlinson was working his cocktail magic.
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