Hawaii brewers find strength in numbers

Maui Brewing Co. founder Garrett Marrero is one of the more active Hawaii brewmasters on social media. His Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with adventures in beer making, a lot of shoes (he’s a kicks guy, too) and travel photos — plus a few cute dog shots for good measure.

What really struck me, however, was a recent Instagram post from the inside of an elevator at the State Capitol. The way Marrero tells it, our local brewing industry took a bit of a hit about five years ago, but has bounced back in a big way.

When Maui Brewing opened in 2005, Marrero said, Hawaii had six breweries, a number that dropped to three over the next eight years or so. “Now in 2018 we’re sitting at 16 with two more in planning, so it’s definitely changed quite a bit,” he said.

As a founding member and past president of the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild, Marrero was used to showing up at events not only as a representative of his own business, but the local industry as a whole. For the last few years, he’s also made annual visits — always by himself — to the Legislature as an advocate for the local industry.

Not this year.

“This is first legislative session I’ve been to where other brewers showed up to testify arm-in-arm,” said Marrero. “We filled up an elevator! It’s such a rewarding feeling. I did feel like I walked those halls alone for so long.”

As a result, four bills currently remain active in the Legislature that aim to redefine industry rules and make it more attractive for breweries and distilleries to do business in Hawaii.

One bill would clarify the definition of a growler, allow breweries to expand production outside their primary manufacturing facilities (under certain circumstances) and allow for direct shipping of all forms of liquor (instead of just wine) with the proper license.

A second would allow a more family- friendly environment at breweries by making it legal to allow minors inside before 10 p.m. when accompanied by a legal guardian over age 21, while two others adjust tax rates for local brewers and appropriate funds for a small craft-beer producer income tax credit.

IT’S HARD to say if these new laws — like another Marrero helped pass in 2014 that removed annual production limits on Hawaii brewpubs and created a new class of liquor license for small craft-producer pubs — would have saved previous Honolulu breweries, including Brew Moon, which closed at Ward Centre in 2009; or Sam Choy’s Big Aloha Brewery on Nimitz Highway, which ceased production in 2013. But there’s no question they will help brewpubs now in business.

Three of the four bills are up for discussion today in House and Senate committee public hearings.

To help keep the momentum going this week at the State Capitol, Marrero and more than a half-dozen other local brewmasters were at Square Barrels in downtown Honolulu on Feb. 28 for a tap takeover that highlighted a variety of locally produced beers.

Big Island Brewhaus brewmaster Thomas Kerns was among those on hand to soak up the good vibes — and share a keg of his Dark Sabbath Belgian strong dark ale.

“I’m not just a single face in the crowd! I’m actually part of something bigger that more and more people get,” he said. “It’s been fun to watch others be able to add to the color of Hawaii’s beer landscape. We’re growing the diversity of demand in Hawaii as well as the palates of beer drinkers.

“People are discovering beer isn’t just the mass-market stuff, but it’s also many other types of beer. Over the course of weeks, months and years, it adds up to a societal sort of change. People are still discovering what brewing can be and how it fits into their life, you know?”

Along with Big Island Brewhaus, the neighbor islands were well- represented in the tap lineup that night, with four beers coming from Kauai Beer Co. (Black Limousine dark Euro lager and Tropical Armadillo pale ale) and Kaua‘i Island Brewing Co. (Captain Cook’s American IPA and Wai‘ale‘ale golden ale), plus two more from Maui’s Kohola Brewery (Red Sand American amber ale and Lilikoi Saison farmhouse ale) and an easy-drinking Ali‘i imperial pilsner from Maui Brewing.

OAHU DIDN’T disappoint either, with Moiliili’s Beer Lab Hawaii sharing a Eureka’s Castle amber ale and Waikiki Brewing Co. bringing a keg of Aumoe Black Rye IPA. Honolulu Beerworks had three beers on tap: Surf Session IPA, RIPL red India pale lager and Pepe Le Brew black saison.

But of all the beer flowing that night, my favorite had to be the HoniHoni Me sour ale from Lanikai Brewing Co. Made with fresh Kula strawberries and yuzu from Hawaii island, it was served from a keg charged with nitrogen gas to add a creamy smooth mouthfeel to go with the expected pucker effect.

I continue to be impressed by the creativity coming out of this brewery, and after sitting for a few minutes listening to brewmaster Steve Haumschild talk about an upcoming project — making beer with yeast that recently spent time in space with NASA pilots — I know Lanikai Brewing will continue to come up with innovative beers in the months ahead.

“Everybody here is coming together for a common cause. It’s great to see the progress,” remarked Stewbum & Stonewall owner and brewmaster Darren Garvey, who sold his Kaneohe brewery operation to Inu Island Ales last year and is working toward reopening in a new space in Chinatown by May.

“When I started three or four years ago — us, Lanikai, Waikiki, Beerlab and the Brewseum — we all opened within two or three months of each other.

“I’m waiting for even more more breweries to open up. The more the better. The last two or three years, it’s turned a lot. We’re starting to build steam and grow exponentially.”

Jason Genegabus has written about the local bar and drink scenes since 2001. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @honolulupulse or email jason@staradvertiser.com.