HOPPY SAYS,
HOPPY SAYS,
“
KOHOLA BREWING – WAILEA, HI
Kohola Brewing opened in December 2015 at the former brewhouse of Maui Brewing in the heart of Lahaina, Maui. Their entire brewing facility and taproom burned to the ground during the Lahaina Wildfire in August 2023. (All of their employees survived the catastrophe, but approximately 75% lost their homes.) As a result, within three months of the fire, they developed a contract brewing partnership with Kona Brewing and have continued in-state production at their Kailua-Kona facility on the Big Island. It is their intent to eventually reopen a brewery in Maui.
On July 21st, 2024, just under a year after the fire, Kohola opened a Taproom/Eatery in Wailea, Maui. Hoppy had the pleasure to visit this location recently.
While there, Hoppy drank The WaterMan IPA described as being a west coast style, refreshing and well balanced. It carries hop aromas of grapefruit and tangerine with slight tropical fruit in the background from Simcoe and Summit hop additions. 6.8% ABV, 70 IBU.
Pictures from the visit follow:
MAUI BEWING – KA’ANAPALI, HI
Maui Brewing opened this location in the summer of 2023. It is located directly on Ka’anapali Beach which was listed by TripAdvisor as the top beach in the U.S. in 2023.
Pictures from Hoppy’s visit follow:
MAUI BREWING – KAHANA, HI
Hoppy also visited the Maui Brewing location in Kahana. Brewing began at this facility in 2006, but it is currently a restaurant and pub since they moved their brewing to Kihei.
Pictures at this location follow:
MAUI BREWING – KIHEI, HI
In a recent visit to Maui, Hoppy visited the three locations of Maui Brewing on the island. The first visit took place at their brewery location in Kihei. They are the largest craft brewery in Hawaii, and they opened a restaurant at their brewery location in 2018. (They opened their original brewery in Lahaina in 2005 and relocated to Kihei in 2014.)
While he was there, Hoppy quaffed a Double Overhead Imperial IPA, which he drank at all three locations. It is brewed with El Dorado and Amarillo hops and described as having a rich, slightly malty body that provides the base for this generously hopped Imperial India Pale Ale. 8.5% ABV, 85 IBU.
Pictures from this visit follow:
THE SNEAKY BEAGLE BREWPUB – MYRTLE BEACH, SC
Hoppy next visited THE SNEAKY BEAGLE BREWPUB in Myrtle Beach. Their brewery opened on July 19th, 2024, making them become a brewpub. Prior to this they had operated as a restaurant/bar since 2019. They call themselves, “A little weird. A lot of fun. Always fresh.”
They had a number of craft beers on tap including six of their own.
While there, Hoppy enjoyed a Sneaky Beagle Something Sour, a Mango Passionfruit Sour described to me as not being very sour. 5.7% ABV, 19 IBU.
Pictures from the visit follow:
BIG RED BUS BREW OCTOBER FEST – MYRTLE BEACH, SC
Hoppy attended the BIG RED BUS BREW OCTOBER FEST in Myrtle Beach. Transportation was provided to four Myrtle Beach breweries via an English double-decker bus that had the top removed in order to create an open-aired upstairs. The event takes place every Friday in October.
The tour began at VOODOO BREWING. They opened their doors in May of this year, and they are a veteran owned franchise. Here Hoppy drank a Good Vibes West Coast IPA. It is described as being hopped five times in the kettle and double dry hopped to produce bodacious dank fruit notes using gnarly amounts of Galaxy, Amarillo, Mosaic and Apollo hops. 7.3% ABV, 85 IBU.
The next three breweries on the tour had been visited by Hoppy previously, and more information about them can be found on this website.
The second brewery on the tour was NEW SOUTH BREWING. Here Hoppy imbibed the following:
Dirty Myrtle Double IPA – Described as packed ridiculously full of Mosaic, Simcoe and Falconers Flight hops. 8.9% ABV.
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Big Wooly Mammoth Imperial Stout 2023 – Blantons – Aged in Blantons Bourbon barrels for one year. 10.5% ABV, 65 IBU.
The next visit was at TIDAL CREEK BREWHOUSE. Here, Hoppy drank a Coastlines West Coast IPA described as a modern take on a west coast style IPA, with a citrus forward hop aroma accented with notes of pineapple and evergreen, carried along by a light but sturdy malt backbone to deliver a clean, hoppy bitter finish. 6.5% ABV, 60 IBU.
There is a lack of photos from this location as this is where Hoppy ate his dinner.
The last visit on the fest was at GRAND STRAND BREWING. During this visit Hoppy quaffed a Sandy Cheeks West Coast IPA described as a classic West Coast style IPA with a bit of a modern twist using modern hops. Citrus aroma from the hops and a solid malt backbone help round out the IPA. 6.9% ABV.
