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?

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

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!

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

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?

]]> http://alohaibu.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/us-uk-world-cup-tie-obama-cameron-beer-lager-toast/feed/ 0 Nina reuters http://alohaibu.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/big-island-beer-judged-world-class-hawaii-nui-brewing-hapa-brown-ale-awarded-silver-medal-at-world-beer-cup/ http://alohaibu.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/big-island-beer-judged-world-class-hawaii-nui-brewing-hapa-brown-ale-awarded-silver-medal-at-world-beer-cup/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:47:37 +0000 Nina Lytton http://alohaibu.wordpress.com/?p=1876 ]]> 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

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.

Reason #9: No visit to the Kona Brewers Festival is complete without a trip to both Big Island Breweries.

The Big Island of Hawai’i is known by microbrewing connoisseurs around the world as a great place to sample locally brewed craft beer. The Island has not one but two local breweries, and a long-running brewers festival in Kailua-Kona.

In fact, the 15th annual Kona Brewers Festival is coming up March 13, 2010 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i. Local residents look forward to this festival as a place to reconnect with friends as they sample microbrewed beers from around the corner and around the world.

Truer words were never spoken

Savvy visitors focus a trip to the Big Island to coincide with the Kona Brewers Festival — and we encourage you to plan your trip before the event is sold out. Microbrew enthusiasts will want to plan visits to both the Big Island’s breweries.

Hawai’i Nui Brewing, located in funk-a-licious Hilo, brews the 50th state’s only locally bottled craft beer. Of the countless good reasons to visit the Big Island’s capital city, we like to think our tasting room is one of them.

Local fans have sometimes "improved" the road signs leading to Hilo to point out the location of our brewery and tasting room

We invite you to sample our island-style ales and lagers. They are brewed and bottled locally and available only in Hawai’i.

Our tasting room is open Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 5:30. We’re located at 275 East Kawili Street in Hilo. We look forward to welcoming you.

Aloha! Nina Lytton

Reason #8. Experience the most spectacular drive in Hawai’i, the journey from Hilo to Kailua-Kona over the Saddle Road.

It’s so important to enjoy life’s journey. In Hawai’i, we celebrate holo holo time, or journeys of exploration. Here is some inside scoop on what we consider one of the most adventurous journeys you can take.

While on the Big Island of Hawai’i, don’t miss the opportunity to take one of the most scenic drives in the world, the round trip from Kona to Hilo. In the morning, take the makai route, next to the ocean. In the evening, take the mauka route, over the Saddle Road, to see the sun set.

Time was, the Saddle Road was one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country. It has been improved significantly over the last few years. It’s not going to shake your car to pieces, like in the old days.

That said, it’s a narrow, winding road that stretches over the world’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Kea is taller even than Everest.

Driving over the Saddle Road is an adventure that visitors to Hawaii should not miss. If you are visiting the Big Island and plan to drive the Saddle road, it is worthwhile to download the Heritage Sites & Points of Interest Brochure. (The link is at the top right of the page, just under the nav bar.)

Even for local residents, the Saddle Road is still a thrill. At Hawai’i Nui Brewing, we drive over the Saddle Road almost every time we travel between the brewery in Hilo and the Kona side of the Big Island, where we like to swim.

The mountain looks a little different every time because of the weather or the time of day. And every time I make that drive, there’s always a moment when the sheer beauty of the landscape gives me the chicken skin.

Beginning the descent down Mauna Kea, you can sometimes see the sun setting through a fog.

As you descend the mountain, the view of the sunset changes with your viewing angle and the atmospheric conditions.

Closer to sea level, you might see a spectacular double sunset effect like this one

Our President, Keith Kinsey, who makes the drive from Kailua-Kona to Hilo almost every day, prefers to go both ways via the Saddle. Sometimes pulls the truck over to take some photos…such as the shot of clouds, below.

Enjoy your visit to the Big Island of Hawai’i. We hope you will make time to visit our fair city.

We look forward to the opportunity of welcoming you at our brewery and tasting room in Hilo.

Aloha,

Nina Lytton, Ambassador of Online Aloha

Spectacular cloud formation seen from the Saddle Road on the Big Island of Hawai'i

Reason #7. Life has no finer journey than that to Hilo, Hawai’i

It’s so important to enjoy life’s journey.

In Hawai’i, we celebrate holo holo time, or journeys of exploration. Here is some inside scoop on what we consider to be one of the most enjoyable, interesting and varied journeys you can take.

While on the Big Island of Hawai’i, don’t miss the opportunity to drive from from Kona to Hilo and back. If you choose to do the whole trip in one day, you’ll be amazed by the variety of climate zones you’ll encounter. But of course the journey is even better with a stopover in Hilo, say to take advantage of an Aloha Sunday at the East Hawaii Cultural Center, a trip to Imiloa or the Lyman museum, and a visit to other Hilo attractions such as the brewery and tasting room where you can sample our brews.

The Kona to Hilo round trip is one we know pretty well. Our president, Keith Kinsey, drives this road almost every day.

This post discusses the journey from Kailua-Kona to Hilo. The next post covers the return.

If you’re starting from Kailua-Kona in the morning, we suggest you take the makai route to Hilo, as opposed to the mauka route. (Makai means toward the sea. Mauka means toward the mountain.) We recommend the makai route in the morning so you can reserve the mauka route, the Saddle Road over Mauna Kea, to view the Hawaiian sunset.

In the morning, drive north up the Kohala Coast on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, or Highway 19 . (Locals call this the “Lower Road” to Waimea, as opposed to the Mamalahoa Highway, or the “Upper Road.”) You will be traveling through black lava fields — a distinctively Big Island look.

Go North on Queen K./Highway 19 to Kawaihae. Kawaihae is well worth a stop. Here is a link to the Pacific Roots Project web site that provides a wonderful overview of Kawaihae — the setting, the sea, the land, the native history, and more.

Kids playing at Kawaihae Harbor, image courtesy of Richard Cohen

Capturing an image of a cinder cone, just mauka of Kawaihae on the Big Island of Hawai'i

At Kawaihae, you have a decision point. If you will be taking an overnight in Hilo, you will have time to explore North Kohala.

On a clear day, you can see Maui from North Kohala

Looking inland from Upolu Point on North Kohala, you can see the observatories on Mauna Kea

If you want to holo holo to Hilo and back to Kona in one day, bear right at Kawaihae. Follow Highway 19 to the right toward Waimea. Continue through Waimea and you will eventually begin to see the Hamakua coast on your left.

When you reach Honoka’a, you will have an opportunity to descend to the Old Mamalahoa Highway, a road reminiscent of the Road to Hana on Maui.

The windward coast of North Hawai’i is magnficent country. The cliffs that fall steeply into the ocean were formed out of eroded flanks of the now extinct volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Kohala. Between the cliffs you’ll see lush, stream-carved valleys, some with waterfalls.

There are many picturesque stopping places along this route from Kailua-Kona to Hilo. We hope this sampling of photos inspires you to make the trip.

Enjoy your visit to the Big Island of Hawai’i. We hope you will make time to visit our fair city.

We look forward to the opportunity of welcoming you at our brewery and tasting room in Hilo.

Aloha,

Nina Lytton, Ambassador of Online Aloha