Cheers to beers! Honolulu is catching up to the rest of the country when it comes to craft beer, and island-made options are now a legitimate choice. Count Honolulu Beerworks in as a player in this field, with an accessible brewery in Kakaako that also offers bar fare to help the suds go down.
The Experience
Beerworks is a casual place, with bar seating, low picnic tables and a few high-tops. It’s on Cooke Street in Kakaako, in between the Salt complex and Ward Avenue, ideally situated to draw beer lovers from all parts of the district.
On a couple of happy hour visits, the place was full, with a mostly young pau hana crowd there to gulp down a brew and share some grinds after work. During pau hana, it’s family friendly, and there was a child or two there, too.
One thing that’s nice about it: outdoor seating, still far too rare in Honolulu. Beerworks has what could literally be considered a “beer garden” because, you know, there’s beer and a few plants. The outdoor areas don’t seat that many, unfortunately, so grab a spot if you see one open.
The entire place has an indoor-outdoor feel, with its high, warehouse ceilings, an open front and plenty of natural light. You can come as you are; slippers and shorts or aloha shirts, no matter, as long as you’re thirsty.
The Food
The food here isn’t the primary reason to visit, but it hits the spot if you’re looking for a casual bite. Prices put Beerworks in the “happy hour all day” category.
Snacks and dinner items are served from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Nothing costs more than $11.
HONOLULU BEERWORKS
328 Cooke St., Kakaako; www.honolulubeerworks.com, 589-2337
HAPPY HOUR:
Snacks, salads and sandwiches served 4:30 p.m. onward
>> 4-ounce beer sampler, $2
>> South Street Pastrami Reuben, $11
>> Miso Pork Sliders, $10.50
The high-end, $11 items are the roast beef dip, served warm on a toasted hoagie roll with melted Swiss cheese, or the South Street Pastrami Reuben — my pick, tasty and filling, served on locally baked rye.
The Italian Hoagie, $10.75, is made with ham, salami, capicola and provolone cheese, the fattiness cut with Maui tomatoes, sweet onion and house-made red wine vinaigrette. It brought back East Coast memories, and I would definitely eat that again.
One of Beerworks’ more individual dishes is the Miso Pork Sliders, $10.50 — pork braised in Farmhouse Ale and miso, then topped with a creamy, wasabi-spiked Asian slaw, and served on taro rolls.
There are salads here, too ($8 to $8.50) — serviceable, if not standout, but they’ll do the job if you’re counting carbs. (Sorry about the beer, in that case!)
The Drinks
With an ambitious slate of beers in varied styles, Honolulu Beerworks is likely to offer something that appeals, if you are a beer lover. What’s interesting, too, is that the beer you love best might not be what you expect.
I have an abiding love for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and hoppy Northwestern IPAs. But the beer I enjoyed most at Beerworks wasn’t the Northwestern-style Sheltered Bay IPA (6.75 percent alcohol, and 70 international bitterness units, or IBU), or the Point Panic Pale Ale (5.8 ABV, 36 IBU), which I found somewhat sharp, but the Makakilo Brown Ale (6.1 percent ABV, 36 IBU), which tasted perfectly balanced and had plenty of kick, along with a subtle taste of hops that I find so essential.
The other winner, for me, was the South Shore Stout (6.7 ABV, 52 IBU), a smooth beer with great tastes. It combines a touch of sweetness, chocolatey flavor and subtle undertones of roasted hops for an addictive swallow — and was a big reason that I returned to the brewpub within a few days to order another pint.
Most likely, it was easier for me to appreciate Beerworks’ specialty brews when they didn’t compete directly with a style I already drink regularly, so you’re likely to find your own favorite among the brews. A good way to do this is by ordering a beer flight, with 4-ounce glasses for $2.
Beerworks offers a couple of variations on the styles of pale ale and IPAs, as well as a light Kewalos Cream Ale and fruity, saison-style Animal Farmhouse Ale, and other summery beers.
Wine, hard ciders and canned iced tea are offered for those who aren’t beer drinkers.
The Verdict
Honolulu Beerworks is hopping. Owner Geoff Seideman tells me that the operation is increasing its barrel output and planning to add a small canning operation, so that fans of the brew will be able to find it in more locations soon. He’s doing a lot right, so you might need to start early if you want to get a seat at this thriving pub.
