How To Spend American Craft Beer Week in Hawaii

Live the postcard!

American Craft Beer Week is coming up May 16-22.  Why not spend it in Hawai’i?   Why not plan your trip to see both Maui and the Big Island of Hawai’i?

Get an early start to ACBW on the island of Maui. Hawai’i Nui Brewing and Maui Brewing Company will be sponsoring the Maui Brewers Festival on Saturday May 14.   The Maui Brewers Festival is the perfect opportunity to taste fine craft brews, sample local food, and rub elbows with fellow beer geeks.

Why are we teaming up?  Hawai’i Nui Brewing and Maui Brewing Company are the only two local companies to brew and package craft beer right in Hawai’i.

On the Aloha Friday of American Craft Beer Week itself, May 20, Hawai’i Nui Brewing is hosting a tasting reception at the brewery in Hilo.  We’ll have all of our small-batch craft brews on tap and will also serve a variety of pupus to complement the beer styles.  Stop by at pau hana time.  Spend an evening under the stars, listen to some great music by a local artist, enjoy the freshest beer in town and talk story.  Tickets will be available for advance purchase at the brewery for $10, or $20 at the door.

Save these dates:

• Saturday May 14 on Maui
• Aloha Friday May 20 on the Big Island of Hawaii!

Visitors, make your travel arrangements now.

Find us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter for more news about how to spend American Craft Beer Week in Hawai’i.

Visitors to Maui can see the sun rise from atop Haleakala

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Visitors to the Big Island of Hawaii can see the sunset from amid the observatories on the summit of Mauna Kea

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Theres more to Hawaii than beer alone!

Can’t you see yourself in Hawai’i for American Craft Brewers Week?

Kona Brewers Festival 2011

It was our pleasure to participate in the Kona Brewers Festival 2011.

Mahalo to the organizers and volunteers who rallied quickly to avoid areas damaged by the tsunami generated by the Sendai earthquake. The Kona Brewers Festival 2011 was moved up mauka from our traditional gathering grounds at the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i to the parking lot outside Kona Brewing Company. Thankfully for Kona BrewFest attendees, this new venue was only a short walk away.

Kumu Keala Ching and Halau Na Wai Iwi Ola opened the event with a ceremony of Hawaiian blessing.

Kumu Keala Ching opening the Kona Brewers Festival

Hawai’i Nui Brewing was strongly represented. Some of the team members were too hot and sweaty to be pictured here. LOL! Others on the team remained photogenic longer…

Hawaii Nui Brewings Madison, Dannie, Head Brewer Kaiao, and Leah -- all looking cooler than they felt at the Kona Brewers Festival 2011

The Daniel Thiebaut restaurant of Waimea offered a delicious preparation of Big Island grass-fed beef. Chef Thiebaut braised the beef brisket in Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale. It was served atop a puree of potatoes and butternut squash, was garnished with a papaya chutney. Ono!

Chef Daniel Thibault and his team emphasized eating local. The popular Waimea restaurant presented Big Island grass-fed beef brisket braised in Hawaii Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale

Humpy’s Big Island Alehouse served Tahitian ceviche — tiger shrimp and local fish marinated in lime, cilantro, tomato, fresh herbs and coconut milk. Each flavorful serving was presented on top of a taro chip. Cool, refreshing, delicious!

Team Humpys offered an unforgettable ceviche at the Kona Brewers Festival

Café Pesto delivered a mouth-watering preparation of beef braised in Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale. It was accompanied by local mushrooms simply cooked for an unforgettable taste.

Café Pesto offered a beautiful dish of local beef braised in Hawaii Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale

As a palate cleanser between the offerings of so many talented Hawai’i chefs, I passed often by the stand offering a selection of Big Island fruit and locally grown edible flowers.

Big Island fruit and edible flowers

Volunteers poured Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale and Sunset Amber Ale, along with Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale and Volcano Red Ale. Our assigned spot was one of the few without a tent. Because the whole event was located this year in a parking lot on top of a black lava field on a very warm day in Paradise, our spot felt like an oven. As luck would have it, we were downwind of the smoker at the next stand. A special shout-out of thanks to the volunteers who were assigned to pour our beer. They deserve a medal of honor!

No shade in a hot parking lot at mid-day... What did these volunteers do to deserve to be assigned to our stand?

From time to time, we were able to wander around the BrewFest, but our volunteers had to stay put, roasting in the sun.

Andy Baker and Renée Cettie (background) following our fearless leader Keith Kinsey as he sidled into a neighboring stand, seeking a little shade.

The Kona Brewers Festival was a great opportunity to try beers from around the country. My hands-down favorite on that hot day hailed from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales.

Ninas favorite new flavor at the Kona Brewers Festival. Not the most artistic photo, but I wanted you to have the info to track this down for yourselves.

The Kona Brewers Festival is a time to reconnect with friends and remember those we’ve lost. Here we raised a toast to Hawai’i homebrewer Rocket Rod.

Remembering Rocket Rod and all the ones weve lost along the way

The King Kam Hotel was sorely missed, not only for its hospitality, but also for its ocean breezes. The hotel suffered considerable Tsunami damage, but the art collection was unharmed. See our Facebook page for photos of the damage to the grounds of the King Kam Hotel.

Sand, seawater and broken glass in the lobby of the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona. Thankfully the tsunami of March 12, 2011 did not damage the art collection.

Aloha, Nina Lytton

Hawai‘i Nui Brewing honored at United States Open Beer Championships

The #1 Brown Ale in America

Winners in the 2010 United States Open Beer Championships – the only brewery competition to include professional breweries and award-winning home brewers – were announced in Atlanta. More than 700 beers in 50 different categories were submitted.

We’re pleased to report that two of our beers, Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale and Hawai‘i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale, were honored with medals.

Hawai‘i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale won the US Open Beer Championship Gold medal in the American Brown Ale category. Introduced just a year ago, Hapa Brown Ale is the beer that surprised the world by winning a silver medal winner at the World Beer Cup earlier this year

Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale was awarded the Silver medal in the American Pale Ale category at the United States Open Beer Championships.

We are proud to see our fellow proponent of truly local Hawai‘i beer, Maui Brewing, show the mainland breweries how it’s done! Like us, Maui Brewing produces, packages and brings to market authentic Hawai‘i products. Maui Brewing, of local canning fame, was named Grand National Champion by winning two gold, five silver, and two bronze medals. Hana hou!

Mahalo and contratulations to our team at the Hawai‘i Nui Brewing ohana brewery: Keith Kinsey, John Walsh, Kaiao Archer and Chris Heit.

We always knew Mauna Kea Pale Ale would someday be appreciated a world-class brew!

Why brew a porter in Hawaii? Isn’t it too hot to drink porter in Kona?

In a recent blog post, Beer Obsessed asked, “Why do people brew porters in this climate?”

A root beer float, not

We can offer a few thoughts on this topic, in defense of our beloved Mehana Hawaiian Crow Porter.

The Big Island of Hawaii has one of the most diverse climates on earth and there is ample room for heavier beers such as porters.

Sure, it can and does get really, really hot at sea level in the lava fields around Kailua-Kona where most of the resorts are located.

If you’re in Kona or elsewhere at sea level on the dry side of the Big Island during the heat of the day, AND you’re determined to try a Hawaii-brewed porter, what you probably want is said porter served as an ice-cream float for dessert.

That said, you could also choose to go somewhere and consumer your porter wearing fleece. A rotisserie climate is not representative is not representative of the entire Big Island.

AlohaIsles.com has a good page on Big Island weather. They put it this way:

“There are 13 climate zones on Earth. The Big Island has all of them except the Arctic and Saharan. Pressure variations, rainfall, wind, elevation and topography combine to create distinct variations across the island. Some of the climates you may encounter in Hawaii are humid tropical zones, arid and semi-arid zones, temperate zones, and alpine zones.To fully appreciate this you must experience it. Within one day on the Big Island, you can travel through rainforests, snow covered mountain tops, deserts and beaches.”

At the brewery in Hilo, for example, there was a record cold temp last Saturday. Down to 64 degrees Farenheight. A 20 degree drop from what we’re used to. This is fleece weather and eminently porter-worthy.

Many local residents of Hawaii island choose to live in cooler microclimates. There’s so much choice here on the Big Island! Our fearless leader Keith lives in Kailua Kona at around 1,000 feet above sea level. That’s good, cool sleeping weather every night of the year. And of course some local residents prefer microclimates such as Volcano or Waimea that are cooler both day and night.

The cool climate of Waimea is immortalized in the Hawaiian mele, Ka Ua Kip’upu’u. The duo Nā Palapalai includes this mele on its Na Hoku Award-Nominated Album, Nanea. <– Click this link and listen to track # 13, Kau Ua Kipu’upu’u. Here’s the translation…

Beautiful is Waimea
In the chill, in the cold
Beautiful indeed is Waimea
In the chill, in the cold

Refrain:
In the kipu’upu’u rain of Waimea

Love for that place comes happily to me
Maunakea is seen
Beckon to me, majestic Maunakea
The home of Poli’ahu

Sung is my song for the Kipu’upu’u rain
In the chill, in the cold

I am listening to Nā Palapalai’s album, Nanea, as I write this post. It’s a great addition to my library of Hawaiian music.

In the Hawaiian language, the word ‘alalā — Hawaiian Crow — can also be used to refer to a style of chanting or singing. Hence, it only seems right to defend our porter with a song.

Aloha, Nina Lytton

What’s the best way to toast a World Cup Football win? Same way as to toast a tie!

World leaders agree to disagree on their beer

“President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron may agree on weighty issues like Iran and Afghanistan but their “special relationship” stops when it comes to soccer,” according to the Reuters News Service.

“Obama and Cameron had just finished a call that covered foreign policy issues and the BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The president ‘affirmed his deep commitment to the special and historic relationship between our two countries,’ the White House said.

Then beer — and a little bit of friendly ribbing — entered the chat.

‘The president noted that the historical record of previous World Cup matches between the United States and England favors the United States and the president wagered the best lager against the best beer in America on an American win over England,’ the White House said.”

Now that the result is a tie, what’s the appropriate brew to use for a toast?

We humbly submit that there are three clear choices for the official US toast — all three brewed and bottled here in Hawai’i.

• For you beer guys and gals, we offer Mehana Brewing Humpback Blue Beer.
• For the lager lovers among us, we suggest Mehana Brewing Hawai’i Lager.
• For those who inclined to celebrate a battle of football equals, we propose Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale: Inspired by the traditional British method of combining brews; Winner of the World Beer Cup 2010 Silver Medal for American Brown Ale.

What’s your verdict?

Big Island beer judged world class, Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale awarded Silver Medal at World Beer Cup®

April 10, 2010 was a big night for the Big Island of Hawai’i.

Why? All eyes in Hawaii were riveted on the finals of the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, a touchstone of Hawaiian culture.

The Merrie Monarch Festival is dedicated to the perpetuation, preservation, and promotion of the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture through education. Over its nearly 50 year history, the Merrie Monarch Festival has led to a renaissance of the Hawaiian culture that is being passed on from generation to generation.

The Merrie Monarch Festival attracts worldwide attention the week after Easter every year. Those who weren’t lucky enough to be in Hilo with a ticket in hand for the finals on April 10 were glued to the TV and the Internet. KITV streamed the Festival live to viewers in on the mainland, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, India, the Middle East, Indonesia, Australia and Japan.

But the Merrie Monarch Festival wasn’t the only reason to feel proud of Hawaii on April 10, 2010.

On April 10, most of Hawai'i was watching world-class hula live on KITV from the Merrie Monarch Festival

Far away from the Hawaiian Islands, another culture celebrated its best and brightest on April 10, 2010. Our company president, Keith Kinsey, travelled to the Windy City of Chicago to participate in the Craft Brewers Conference.

A craft brewery is small, independent and traditional. More than 75% of the craft breweries are, like ours, still owned or controlled by an actual craft brewer, a proud and unusual breed.

Craft beer had been forgotten in the last century as giant companies gained market share for supermarket beer. The beer industry became all about turning out lowest-common- denominator product at the lowest possible cost, and marketing it with ads about horses, mountains and lemon slices to folks who sat on the couch watching sports.

In the last 40 years, craft beer has experienced a cultural renaissance. Traditional approaches have been revived. Time honored recipes and styles have been rediscovered. And people around the world are learning to appreciate authentic hand-crafted ales and lagers and to pair them with local food to create unique dining experiences.

The Brewers Association is one of the leading forces behind this global renaissance. From humble beginnings in the 1940s, the Brewers Association grew through the involvement of home brewers, passionate men and women who kept brewing culture and authentic diverse flavors alive despite the dominance of globally branded beer. The Association’s Conference, the Craft Brewers Conference, is an important force for education and perpetuation of the art and science of craft brewing.

And that’s not all. Every two years, all eyes in the craft brewing world are on the World Beer Cup®, a bi-annual international beer competition sponsored by the Brewers Association.

The World Beer Cup is the world’s largest professional brewing competition. The 2010 World Beer Cup was held at the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago the week after Easter – the same week as the 48th Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo. Like the Merrie Monarch Festival, the World Beer Cup is a touchstone. It’s da kine event for aficionados around the world!

Also on April 10, Hawai'i took a bow on the world stage in another way besides hula. Keith Kinsey of Hawaii Nu'i Brewing accepting a Silver Medal in the American Brown Ale category from Craft Brewers Association and World Beer Cup® founder, Charlie Papazian.

The World Beer Cup aims to identify the best of the best in the various styles of craft beer. In 2010, 3,330 beers from 642 breweries in located 44 countries were grouped into 90 style categories. Entrants were judged by an international assemblage of 183 judges from 26 countries. The World Beer Cup is just that, a world-class event focused on the brightest stars in craft brewing around the globe.

Hawai’i Nui Brewing president Keith Kinsey had a hunch that our Hapa Brown Ale deserved a place on the world stage. So the brew was entered alongside with 39 other contestants in the American Brown Ale category.

Bold, rich and inviting, Hapa Brown Ale is a new product, introduced in July 2009. “In creating Hapa Brown Ale, the team at Hawai’i Nui Brewing wanted to offer island style ease inspired by time-honored tradition of blending beers in the classic British manner,” according to Beer Kumu Andy Baker of Hawai’i Nui Brewing.

The resulting beer — Hapa Brown Ale, brewed and bottled on the Big Island of Hawai’i — has just been judged world class.

We are pleased to announce that Hawai’i Nui Brewing Hapa Brown Ale has been honored as a Silver Medalist in the 2010 World Beer Cup’s American Brown Ale Category (category #86).

“There is no higher honor than the World Beer Cup,” said Keith Kinsey. “It’s like the Queen Lili’ukolani Outrigger Canoe Regatta of the craft beer world.”

“It is an honor to bring home an award to Hawai’i from the World Beer Cup,” said brewer John Walsh. “We’ve spent a lot of time and energy getting this beer to where we wanted it to be, it’s a great feeling to be recognized at a competition of this level.”

Chris Heit, Kaiao Archer and John Walsh with Keith Kinsey

15th Annual Kona Brewers Festival — 2010

Kaiao Archer of Hawai'i Nui Brewing

The Kona Brewers Festival is an event we look forward to all year.

What better than to sample fine ales and lagers with friends on a beautiful day by the Pacific ocean in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i? More than 1,400 people had the same idea!

At the Hawai’i Nui Brewing stand, we offered Sunset Amber Ale and Kaua’i Golden Ale. At the Mehana Brewing stand, we offered Humpback Blue Beer and Mauna Kea Pale Ale.

Our brew crew made the trip over from Hilo and camped at the King Kamehamea Hotel, the better to enjoy the Brewers Festival and its warm-up events, such as the the Brewers Pa’ina.

Homebrewers did Hilo proud in the Homebrew Contest, an annual event at the Kona Brewers Festival.  Congratulations to Hawai’i Nui Brewing Company Intern Garrett Ornellas on his bronze medal in the Hybrid Beer category.

The Kona Brewers Festival 2010 raised funds for the Kealakehe Project Grad, Kona Pacific Public Charter School, People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawai’i, and the Society for Kona’s Education and Art. Hats off to the Brew Fest organizers for a job well done. Mahalo!

Kumu Hula Keala Ching led the opening blessing ceremony

The crowd swarmed into the grounds of the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona

Local area restaurants dished up ono grinds

Mahalo to the local volunteers for welcoming visitors to the Mehana Brewing and Hawai'i Nui Brewing stands

Touche! Local beer comedians the Two Beer Queers got a rise out of Keith Kinsey

Performers at the Trashy Fashion Show raised awareness for sustainability

The trashy fashions attracted a lot of attention at the Kona Brewers Festival, on and off the stage

Dirndlgwand! Lederhosen! Always in fashion at beer festivals.

Reknowned slack-key artist Makana was the headline performer at the Kona Brewers Festival

Keith Kinsey, John Walsh and Mark Mahuna of Hawai'i Nui Brewing talking story. John is carrying a commemorative sign for Primo Statehood Ale, brewed for Pabst in our Hilo plant this past summer in honor of Hawai'i's 50th anniversary of statehood.