Aloha Beer Company's Lager Love

Last weekend, Aloha Beer Company held a tap takeover event at Grace in Growlers where they previewed a few new selections coming soon.  Dave Campbell has always been one to enjoy drinking traditional styles and he strives to make the best examples of each.  For anyone who's visited their brewery, the love of the craft is everywhere. 

I was invited to meet up with Dave this week and try the new beers coming soon. A quiet Monday evening is the perfect time to talk story and think about what's in the glass in front of you. Dave's love of the craft is infectious, be sure say hello if you stop by. Releasing 'probably' this Thursday, October 4, 2018, are two lagers, which are based on some of his favorite recipes, both from other breweries and his own from past ventures. I have to say, I personally love these styles and am happy to have them pouring locally.

Queen St. Pils

First is the Queen St. Pils, a Czech style Pilsner with an American hoppy twist. Coming in at 5.2% ABV and 28 IBU, it's a light and refreshing beer perfect for hot weather, yet full-flavored to avoid that "lager is water" stigma.

Blackish Bier

The second is just finishing up in the tanks, their Schwarzbier named Blackish Bier. Coming in at 5.6%, it's full-flavored with chocolate malt notes, yet easy drinking. He laughed about the misnomer of the style that inspired his name for it: although schwarz is German for black, the beer is more of a dark brown with red hues. The full head was almost nitro like, leaving a great mouthfeel with the complex flavors.

Both recipes are subject to change in future iterations based on what people like and how Dave and brewer Kaiao Archer feel about how the final product turned out. Dave said he'd like to get the ABVs on both down a little bit.

Froot Lupes

As an added bonus for hopheads coming mid-October is a new double IPA: Froot Lupes. Coming in at 7.8% ABV with 40 IBU, it's not an overwhelming bitter beer, but it is misleadingly strong. With a fruity aroma, the mild bitterness is perfectly balanced with a full malty profile. The name is fitting: "Froot" for those complex fruit tastes, and "Lupes" for the generous lupulin.  Be sure to give this one a try!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the friendly bartenders Isabel and Roberto who made the evening fun!  Cheers!

Paradise Ciders: New Taproom Opens in Kalihi

Paradise Ciders is a prime example of what you can do with a dream, opportunity, and a lot of hard work. The cidery is the first in the state of Hawaii. Located in Kalihi, it's certainly off the beaten path, but well worth the trip for any fan of locally brewed alcoholic fruit cider. Paradise just recently opened a taproom, where you can taste all their offerings right at the source. It's bring-your-own-food, but they plan to add their own offerings in the future. They have a few parking stalls out front, otherwise street parking is free in the neighborhood.

Two former Yard House bartenders, Shaun Peck and Kasey Sulheim noticed there was no local cidery, so they filled the niche and have since been selling kegs to many local restaurants and bars as an alternative to beer (cider is much sweeter and less bitter). All their ciders are apple juice based with other local fruit adjuncts added. Guava, pear, mango, calamansi, and many others make a wide array of colors and flavors to try. At the taproom, you can order ciders to taste, either $2.50 for a single glass, or $8 for a flight of 4. Every detail has been thought of, including marking the flight trays with what you're drinking, purse/bag hooks under the bar, super clean restrooms, comfortable seating, and games. Impressively, everything here was homemade by the owners: wood walls are reclaimed shipping pallets, the dart board backing is wine corks, and bar stools were broken ones from Yard House recovered to contrast their decor. Cozy lighting really adds to the ambiance.  Their pride and enthusiasm are infectious, be sure to ask questions and talk story!

The logo design is perfect and is seen on everything from the glasses and growlers, to bottle labels, and even on the tables. They've created a unique local brand. I've enjoyed trying their ciders at Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room, Maui Brewing Company Waikiki, and other locations, but there's something extra special about going right to where it's made and served by the people that made it.

Hawaii Beer Fest 2018 and BJCP Exam Class 2

It's been a busy week for beer! The 2018 Homebrew Competition committee is busy planning and we're looking forward to a fun event this November.

On Thursday, June 14th, the second BJCP Exam preparation class was held at Homebrew in Paradise in Kalihi. The group turnout was smaller, but was met with more discussion and in-depth learning. Again led by Cindy Goldstein of HOPS Homebrew Club and the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild, with esteemed Certified Cicerone instructors Scot Ahlers and Alyssa Gundersen, the class took a deep dive into descriptive language and how to complete a scoresheet. We then focused on three mores styles, filling out a sheet for each one and sharing our scores and descriptions. We covered: American IPAs, American Porters, and Blonde Ales, with a commercial or homebrew example of each. The highlight for me was seeing how close all the scores ended up being, of course with outliers and a discussion into the differences.  If you're interested in joining our next session in July, please email hops@hawaii.rr.com , there is no cost to attend, only the cost of beer samples.

Then came Saturday, June 16th and the first Hawaii Beer Fest held on the Great Lawn at the Bishop Museum. Offering a view of Diamond Head and Waikiki, it was a picturesque fresh air festival. A ring of tents around the lawn provided shade for all the Rotary Club of Honolulu volunteers who poured a never ending stream of the good stuff (a portion of the proceeds went to the club for their community projects). Sponsored by Paradise Beverages, ABInBev, local media and tourist companies, the festival had a mostly big beer presence. I was happy so many local breweries were represented: Inu Island Ales, Honolulu Beerworks, Waikiki Brewing Company, Lanikai Brewing Company, Ola Beer Co., Kohola Brewery, Maui Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch Honolulu, and probably a couple I'm forgetting. In short, we had a fun time trying a bunch of new and hard to find beers for the island. The music was good, games were everywhere, a fire dancer performed, and everyone was laughing, happy, and enjoying themselves. If you'd like to read my complete review of the event, both positive and negative, please check it out here on Yelp.

The summer weather is here; it's the perfect season for some cold beer! Mahalo for reading!

BeerAdvocate: "How to Drink Your Way Around Honolulu"

I'm excited to announce that I wrote a city profile for BeerAdvocate Magazine, titled "How to Drink Your Way Around Honolulu!" Look for it in Spring 2018 issue #132, on newsstands and shipping to subscribers now! The hardest part was limiting the featured locations due to space or not fitting on the map area; it's a great time for local beer when there's too much to talk about! If you'd like to order a single copy for the island beer goodness, you can do so here: BeerAdvocate Shop.

Also, congratulations to Inu Island Ales for being named among the 50 Best New Breweries in the same issue! 

I'll post a link to the electronic version of the article when it's available.

Next weekend is the first Hawaii Beer Fest at the Bishop Museum, tickets are still available. We'll be there!

BJCP Exam Classes - Free Beer Judging Seminars

For anyone that's been stopping by the blog the last few months, there hasn't been much activity here. Chock it up to being busy; sometimes I just feel like there aren't huge happenings to talk about. New brewery openings are few and far between (but there are some exciting ones coming soon). In this exciting time of lots of craft independent breweries already operating in the islands, there's too many new releases to write about each one, so Instagram and Untappd do a great job of sharing what I'm drinking.

With the summer beginning, there's a lot more time to drink new beers and study what makes them amazing. If you have a basic interest in beer and want to learn the complexities of styles and how to describe that new favorite, I invite you to come to the free beer judging classes being offered by Cindy Goldstein of HOPS Homebrew Club and the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild. With the assistance of local BJCP Judges, Certified Cicerones, brewers, and enthusiastic hobbyists, they're offering an invaluable service to teach about the exam, content, and judging beer. These sessions are held monthly leading up to the tasting exam on October 13, 2018. In order to take this tasting exam, you must first pass the online exam, details of which can be found on the website below.

What is the BJCP? The Beer Judge Certification Program is the recognized standard of how to rate, describe, and educate about beer and beer styles. Ranked judges are present at homebrew and brewery competitions to ensure a judged beer is true to style and determine which are the best examples. Even if you don't plan on taking the exam or judging competitions, the course and style guidelines are the perfect resource to help you learn more about what you already like and maybe help you discover something new. Tonight's first session was held at Honolulu Beerworks in Kaka'ako. Future ones will rotate around to other breweries on O'ahu.

It's not all work and reading from manuals. The class has a tasting component, which is important to develop your palate, nose, and eye. Tonight's first session was broken up with three beer style tastings. The first was the classic Saison; a Saison Dupont was paired with the local Pia Mahi'ai from Honolulu Beerworks to show a clear example, a local take, and the differences and similarities of the two. Later in the session we talked about a Weissbier and finally a Foreign Extra Stout.  These classes are being taught for free; the only cost is paying for the beer and tips as necessary.

For more information, to request the syllabus, sign up for emails, or receive information about the next session on June 7th, please email hops@hawaii.rr.com.