Hemp stars in a week of events presented on Maui

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COURTESY MAUI HEMP INSTITUTE

A Maui Brewing Co. employee brewed a batch of English-style pale ale made with hemp last month. The brew will be available for sampling at a Hemp History Week kickoff event this weekend.

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Could hemp be the great green hope for Maui’s agricultural future?

The multipurpose plant used since ancient times for everything from paper and clothing to building insulation will be in the spotlight when the Maui Hemp Institute for Research &Innovation celebrates Hemp History Week, with kickoff events this weekend.

Now in its seventh year, Hemp History Week is a grass-roots campaign that has gained added significance on Maui with the impending closure of Hawaiian Commercial &Sugar Co. and recent legislation allowing hemp as an agricultural crop there.

This year’s theme, “Grow Our Future,” is a nod to the variety of uses for hemp — including in food and drink — and how the plant can contribute to healthier lifestyles, regenerative agriculture and new uses for green technology on the island.

Maui Brewing Co. will be offering tastings of a new batch of English-style pale ale made with hemp during a free event at 5 p.m. today at its Kihei brewpub, 605 Lipoa Parkway. The evening, co-hosted by the Maui Hemp Institute, will feature a talk by Doug Fine, author of “Hemp Bound: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution,” as well as a “Hemp Movie Night” accompanied by live music.

“Hemp is a great food resource as well as textile and building material,” said Maui Brewing Co. CEO Garrett Marrero. “We’ve been making hemp beer for 11 years now. We did a hemp brown ale called Hemp Man from ’05 to ’08, and we did a smoked hemp beer for Taste of Hawaii about five years ago.

“It’s more about awareness than anything else. This is our way of being able to show its versatility.”

At 5 p.m. Sunday the Hemplicious Fundraiser Dinner at Sugar Beach Events, 145 N. Kihei Road, will present Maui’s Hempster of the Year award alongside a multicourse dinner showcasing hemp as the featured ingredient, and live entertainment by Fulton Tashombe will provide live entertainment. Tickets are $150 each.

Official Hemp History Week events include free hemp product tasting at Mana Foods in Paia on Tuesday, Whole Foods in Kahului on Wednesday and Down to Earth in Kahului on Friday. Call the Maui Hemp Institute at 463-4042 for times or check the group’s Facebook page (facebook.com/MauiHemp).

Thursday, the Maui Hemp Institute will partner with the Maui chapter of the Hawaii Farmers Union for a potluck dinner at Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu starting at 6 p.m. Fine will be in attendance as well. Those who don’t bring a dish to share will have to pay $10 at the door.

Hemp History Week 2016 will wrap up June 12 with a working visit to Maui’s first “hemp-infused food forest” in Lahaina. Maui Hemp Institute representative Steve Rose said while there will not be any actual hemp in use just yet, participants will help prepare former pineapple and sugar cane fields for the organization’s sustainable forest project.

Registration begins at 7 a.m., and the visit will be followed by an off-site pizza lunch. Cost is $40 general admission, $25 for Hawaii Farmers Union and Maui Hemp Institute members. Call 463-4042 for location and more information.