A summer vacation that I will never forget for so many reasons. The beautiful island of Maui captivated my heart from the time the plane landed until the day we had to say goodbye. The many blue shades of the ocean that catch your eye’s attention from the beach and also the boat we took on a fishing excursion. The hills that are filled with all of the tropical flowers and trees. I could spend weeks just hiking there!

There are so many things to do in Maui, but I can imagine you know two that were at the top of my list - coffee and craft beer!

My son Noah was on the hunt for coffee places and we found some good ones for sure. I really enjoyed our early morning walks in the search of local coffee shops. Our favorite was Bad Ass Coffee. They had awesome coffee and logo wear items!

The two breweries of Maui are Kohola Brewery and Maui Brewing Co.

Kohola Brewery was established in December of 2016 in Lahaina. The taproom is part of the brewery located in a warehouse. I loved the vibe as we walked up towards the building. As you enter the brewery, there were many people enjoying an afternoon beer. We headed towards the bar which has a very nice concrete top. I really dig this type of simple yet very functional bar top. Jess, who is the taproom manger greeted us and answered our questions about the beers on tap.

If you look at the glass, you will see a whale’s tail in the logo. Kohola means “humpback whale” in Hawaiian. The brewery was named after the many whales that can be seen in the local waters around the island.

So many selections of lagers, ales, and IPAs. We ended up trying a couple of the IPAs. I really enjoyed the Lahaina Haze. Lots of citrus and tropical fruit flavor. A solid hop profile of Cascade, Mosiac, and Simcoe hops!

My favorite of the day was the Mean Bean Coffee Stout. This stout has locally grown, medium roast Red Catuai coffee. The flavor of the coffee is very rich and well balanced with the dark malts and hints of chocolate in the stout. I couldn’t stop thinking about this stout the rest of the time I was on the island!

The largest and oldest brewery on Maui is Maui Brewing Company. Established in 2005, Maui Brewing has been a favorite on the island and the mainland. I was lucky enough for the family to agree to go to the brewery in Kihei.

The brewery is impressive with a couple of patios, taprooms, and restaurant space. What you can’t see from ground level is that the complete roof of the brewery is covered in solar panels providing the power for the brewery.

We went outside onto the smaller patio to enjoy a flight that had a West Coast styled IPA, the Pink Boot’s Society Hawaiian collaboration brew, a hazy IPA, and a coconut porter.

The first two were very light and easy drinking. The hazy IPA packed full of citrus flavor. I also really liked the dry hopped Big Swell IPA. This one comes in at 82 IBUs and packs a little bit more of a hop punch which caught my attention.

The Coconut HIWA Porter was my favorite and ranks up there with Oskar Blues Death By Coconut, and 5168 Brewing Hawaiian Porter . There is something about having coconut with the chocolate malt that really brings my taste buds to life!

I found it to be very interesting that it seemed there were chickens all over the place just like the rabbits we have around my neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. The chickens though seemed a lot tamer.

Some say the population explosion started after the hurricanes Iwa (1982) and Iniki (1992). The storms destroyed the chicken coops where they were being raised. As the chickens ventured out on their own, they began breeding with some of the wild, native fowl. I enjoy a rooster crowing in the morning but didn’t expected to hear it my first day on the island!

Here are just a few more pictures of beautiful island of Maui…

What a great trip! If you make it to Maui, you must check out the breweries. I know you will have a great time.

Okole Maluna!