Brewery Visits

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hoppy’s first visit over Labor Day weekend was at Wedgewood Brewing in Middlebury. They opened in May 2016, moved to a larger facility in June 2021, and in May 2022 opened a production facility combined with an event center and concert hall. Their pub is music centered as shown in their decor and beer names and their stated purpose is “to build a brand; crafting high quality beverages while providing memorable experiences for our customers.”

While visiting, Hoppy sampled a Dire Haze Double IPA – Double dry hopped with Citra and Nelson hops. Described as having tasting notes of peach, passionfruit and pineapple. A tropical fruit salad hoppy ale! 8% ABV.

He also enjoyed a pint of Sound Trip American IPA – Brewed with Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Described as having tasting notes of tangerine, melon and sweet grapefruit. 7.6% ABV.

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