Maui Brewing Company

When most of us think about Hawaii, our thoughts drift to surfboards, gorgeous scenery punctuated with various fruit plantations, and adventure. Others reminisce about the wondrous craft breweries that continue to spring up across the various islands. Maui Brewing Company, located on Maui in the city of Lahaina, is one such brewery. In many cases, it establishes the gold standard for Hawaiian Breweries. Started in 2005 as a brewpub, Maui Brewing Company continues to surge into every state’s market places like an unstoppable tsunami. In terms of quality, it produces some of the finest ales and beers in all of Hawaii.

Maui Brewing Company embraces green practices and donates 50% of their profits to the Maui Humane Society. The Brewery runs of solar energy, all spent grain gets turned into compost for local farms, and all oils used in the restaurant get converted into biodiesel. Maui Brewing Company only produces canned beers in order to prevent broken glass from fouling the beaches of Hawaii and to increase the likelihood of recycling. Maui Brewing Company also firmly embraces the religion of home brewing. They offer a wide variety of equipment and supplies to local home brewers at their tasting room.

CoCoNut Porter combines both the robustness of a porter with the creative flair. Created with six types of malts, hops, and hand-toasted coconut, CoCoNut Porter is a decadent and elegant treat for porter lovers. CoCoNut Porter continues to win numerous awards and praise, and boasts the success of winning the Worlds Beer Cup in 2006 in the category of Herb and Spice Beer. It is rare for a brewery to achieve this level of success after just a single year of operation.

Consisting of a gentle 6% abv, CoCoNut Porter offers a great escape from the monotony of standard porters. As it fills the glass, it produces a dark and enticing flesh and a magnificently creamy espresso colored head that lunges for the top of the glass with ferocity. After what seems an eternity the head settles into a thick clumpy lace that clings readily to mustaches and beards.

Once the can of CoCoNut Porter opens the aromas of coffee, chocolate, and a hint of sweetness rush out of the can eagerly invading the nostrils and thrilling the senses. The flavors of chocolate and coffee dominate the front of the taste, only to give way at the last moment to allow the flavor of coconut to punctuate the end of the taste. The mouth feel is that of a thick velvety cream.

CoCoNut Porter is the perfect beverage to enjoy while lying on the beach as the sunsets and the cool ocean breezes rush over your body. For pairing suggestions, it is an outstanding partner to Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate, Black Forest Cake, and hearty fish such as Tuna and Swordfish.

There is nothing that catches the eyes like a bikini-clad beauty running across the beach, inspiring both lust and love in a single heartbeat. With that said it is just as easy to fall in love with Bikini Blonde Lager. Bikini Blonde lager is a Munich Helles Lager, a style that sprang up across Bavaria in the1800s in order to compete with the pilsners emerging from Eastern Europe.

Holding a 5.1% abv Bikini Blonde offers a refreshing beverage to enjoy by itself following a robust run or between catching waves. Once released from the can the flesh emerges as a hazy straw color, similar in some regards to a wheat beer and provides a medium white creamy head. The head settles into a thin lace that firmly clings to the flesh like a hula skirt.

The aromas that pull the nose into euphoria offer the scents of citrus, vanilla, and a slight hint of grass. For some strange reason the aromas spark the memories of succulent New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Wines. The flavors offer a rich mixture of citrus, grass, and an almost cookie like flavor. The flesh feels thin in the mouth and the flavors linger dryly on the tongue.

Bikini Blonde pairs well with Key Lime Pie and scallop dishes. It pairs remarkable well with raw oysters and light delicate sushi.

Mana Wheat consists of unfiltered American wheat ale infused lovingly with Maui Golden Pineapple, offering a unique and intriguing twist to this amazing ale. Released in 2009, Mana Wheat is keeping pace with its siblings and is quickly earning acclaim and praise from all who sample it. Due to its unique nature, it is ale you will either love or hate.

Mana Wheat holds a 5.5% abv. Once stripped from the can it exposes a rich hazy orange colored flesh that illuminates the glass. The head produces rich foam that produces rocky like peaks as it rushes to the top of the glass. It subsides unwillingly into lace as it clings to the sides of the glass in a magnificent fashion, after roughly a minute wait.

The aromas of pineapple and wheat intertwine in an alluring dance as they drift out of the glass. Once tasted, Mana Wheat presents itself with the rich flavors of pineapple, wheat, and coriander that linger delicately on the tongue. The mouth feel offers a grainy sensation with a slight creaminess.

Mana Wheat pairs well with all pineapple dishes, though it is breathtaking with a pineapple and ham pizza. Other recommendations consist of dishes featuring delicate white fish and of course fish and chips.

Big swell IPA is a dry hopped IPA that delicately balances the effects of both bitter and aromatic hops. Holding a 6.2% abv, Big Swell is a hard hitting critically acclaimed IPA that holds four awards since its release in 2009. Big Swell IPA hugs the boundaries of both a Strong Pale Ale and American Style Pale Ale, making it an enjoyable odd ball. The ingredients consist of Northwestern hops and malted barley, making it one of the few beers in Maui Brewing Company’s line up that does not include some native ingredients.

When poured into a glass it displays a firm hazy amber body. The head quickly springs forward as a thick creamy off white foamy mass, like a wave breaking across a beach. The aromas of citrus (most notably grapefruit), pine, and floral reach out of the glass and pull the mouth willingly to the lips of the glass. Big Swell creamily fills the mouth with the flavors of sweet malts, pine, some notes of harmonious peach, and a soapy flavor. Following true IPA fashion offers a dry and tragically bitter after taste.

Big Swell IPA pairs well with Polynesian dishes, fish and chips, Indian, Thai, and Chinese food.