Maui Brewing Company, Kihei

[This review is for the recently opened Maui Brewing location on the mauka side of Lipoa Parkway.]

The first thing that will strike you as you drive up Lipoa Parkway to Maui Brewing Company is how massive the building is. Seriously, it looks like an airplane hanger from the outside. That’s because this location is their new state-of-the-art eco-minded brewing location from which they plan worldwide domination. That, and they plan on opening a HUGE restaurant that will surely be to the chagrin of nearby Kono’s on the Green. Until now, I didn’t know buildings this big existed on Maui.

At any rate, the tasting room is really all that is open now, with the owner giving free tours of the brewery when he’s feeling whimsical. (That is, don’t come here expecting to get a tour.) The tasting room features all their brews neatly written on a blackboard over the bar, served

by an emotionally inconsistent staff (more on that shortly). Now, I’m a dark beer man myself and I have to say if you like dark beer, go beyond the already fantastic coconut porter for the Imperial coconut porter. Holy cow, you can chew this stuff it’s so thick! So you grab your drinks and you can grab one of the few seats indoors or you can head out the open bay doors and grab a table for a more communal feel. The view from this patio isn’t all that great; you’d think it be better this far up the road, but, not so much. If you want some grinds though the restaurant isn’t open yet, food carts on the road are currently servicing Maui Brewing’s food needs. So, all’s good. Well, almost.

A few things bothered me here. The female bartenders were unfriendly, the direct opposite of the male bartenders. I don’t know if the ladies are all cycling at the same time or what, but I found this off-putting. Second, Maui Brewing is selling a HydroFlask™ beer growler which clearly does not work. A friend of mine bought one, went through the wringer to get the leaky one he got replaced, and now the replacement doesn’t work either. Beware of the HydroFlask™ beer growler; it doesn’t work, period. Worse, Maui Brewing knows it and is still trying to offload them. That’s not cool in my book. It also doesn’t make sense that I can get almost a full six-pack in the supermarket for the price of one beer in the tasting room when the beer is might on location. Weird.

Still, I love their beers and I’m sure this will be an interesting location once the restaurant opens and the business park this location is part of grows. I’ll probably be back, but only for business lunches I can write off on my taxes.

Open 11 am to 10pm

605 Lipoa Pkwy, Kihei, HI 96753

808.213.3002