‘Made in Hawaii’ labeling tiff now involving brewers of beer

Hawaii’s coffee producers have been dueling with legislators for years over "Made in Hawaii" labeling standards, and this year local beer distributors hopped into the ring.

Senate and House bills would require beer packaging to state where it was produced if labels give the impression that it was made in Hawaii when it wasn’t.

"There are several products that are on the shelves that look like they’re from here or made here, and we want to protect the appellation that is ‘Hawaii,’" said Garrett Marrero, founder and owner of Maui Brewing Co. "So if it says Hawaii, if it says Hawaiian, it alludes to the fact that it may be from here. We just believe that it should be disclosed where it’s from."

The "Made in Hawaii" issue has been around the Capitol over the years with various products. Coffee has been the subject of bills dealing with Hawaii-grown coffee inspection and certification standards.

Producers of coffee blends selling their product in the state have been required since 1991 to include on the packaging the percentage of Hawaii-grown coffee. Attempts since then to require producers to include the origin and percentage of the remainder of the beans included in the package have failed.

On the beer measure, House Bill 1126, Rep. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley), vice chairman of the House Economic Development and Business Committee, said he thinks the bills stem from a turf war brewing between Maui Brewing Co., a relatively young craft brewery that prides itself with creating and canning beer in Hawaii, and Kona Brewing Co., an older, more established brewery that has outsourced the majority of its creation, canning and bottling to mainland breweries.

"I got the impression that it was sort of an act of jealousy by smaller brewers," said Ward, who voted in the committee hearing recently to pass the bill with reservations.

But Marrero said it’s not about jealousy; it’s about making sure the consumer knows where a beer was brewed.

"As big as we’ve gotten and in all the states that we are distributed in — 11 states and five countries — now we’re starting to get the question, ‘Well, where do you brew now that you’ve gotten so big?’ Because they automatically assume because of our size, much like Kona and others have done, that (we’d) start outsourcing (our) productions to the mainland and shipping it back," Marrero said.

"To protect the value of what is a local beer, we believe that if you’re making it on the mainland and shipping it over here — not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that — but if you do do that, you need to give the consumer the opportunity to make their choice based on accurate information," he said.

Kona Brewing Co. President Mattson Davis said Kona is actually doing pono by outsourcing its operation because it is better for the environment.

"We import all the grain, all the hops, all the yeast, and then we package all the water here and then turn around and ship it back? I mean, it really doesn’t make sense," Davis said. "So what we’re trying to do here is protect the aina and be pono with Hawaii."

Davis estimated in his testimony that Kona saves more than 2.5 million car miles a year in fuel consumption and emissions by brewing on the mainland. He said Kona doesn’t hide the fact that the company brews on the mainland because all four of its brewing locations — Kona, Hawaii; Portland, Ore.; Portsmouth, N.H.; and Woodinville, Wash. — are printed on its label.

"Why would we put all those locations on the bottle? Because we brew in all those locations," he said.

But Marrero said the locations could be confusing to consumers who don’t know whether the beer is sold in those locations, made there or if there are Kona pubs or restaurants in those cities.

Rep. Clift Tsuji (D, South Hilo-Puna-Kurtistown), chairman of the Economic Development Committee, said he wanted to pass the bill to the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee because that is a more appropriate committee to hear the bill.

Rep. Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-North Kihei), chairman of that committee, said he is a strong supporter of the bill.

"It’s hurting the businesses that are actually out there (producing in Hawaii)," he said. "Because now they’re competing against beer that’s brewed on the mainland."

McKelvey said taste is everything, and he doesn’t think making Kona change its labels will hurt the brand’s business because the company already makes good beer and has loyal followers.

McKelvey said Kona already prints the words "Brewed by Kona Brewery, Portsmouth, NH for Kona Brewery, Kona, HI" on its bottles in Texas. Davis, however, said the bottles McKelvey referred to are old bottles that were made to comply with legislation passed in New Hampshire, and bottles sold in Texas now feature the updated label with the four locations.

Senate Bill 1260, which mirrors the House bill, died in the Senate Agriculture Committee because the state attorney general’s office brought up concerns regarding the bill’s constitutionality.