Koholā Brewery Burned Down. So Kona Brewing Is Making Beer for Them
The partnership will help the Lahaina brewery survive until it can rebuild.
Photo: Courtesy of @lahainalifestyle
When wildfires devastated Lahaina in August, they took with them one of the first modern breweries in Hawai‘i. But Koholā Brewery has a history of rebirth. Originally built as the first production facility of Maui Brewing Co., Koholā opened as a brewery and taproom under new owners in 2015, closed during the pandemic and reopened under different owners in 2020. Now it’s rising again: Kona Brewing Hawai‘i is brewing Koholā’s core beers until the Lahaina brewery can rebuild.
Koholā Brewery’s taproom before the fire. Photo: Courtesy of @lahainalifestyle
The historic partnership means the first of Koholā’s rebirth beers will be available on tap at some restaurants soon, and you should see its cans back in stores around the state in early 2024. “Without the expertise and aloha spirit of Kona Brewing Hawai‘i, we would not have a path to start selling our craft beer in restaurants, bars and our local markets,” Koholā president Mary Anderson says. “Sometimes, it’s just the little things that keep you going, the things that feel familiar and normal in some way. We’ve just been really determined to brew again and hope it brings a little bit of joy to our community and fans.”
The first batch of Koholā’s Talk Story Pale Ale is already in the tanks at Kona Brewing Hawai‘i’s production brewery in Kailua-Kona. It should be on tap at Monkeypod Kitchen and Moku Kitchen locations by the end of this year.
SEE ALSO: An Ode to Lahaina’s Beer Scene
There’s more good news: Koholā Brewery is opening a taproom at The Shops at Wailea and expects to begin pouring there in early 2024. “We look forward to one day rebuilding in Lahaina,” Anderson says. “Bringing back our wholesale business and opening a new taproom in Wailea will allow us to do this.”
Kona Brewing Hawai‘i calls the long-term partnership “a milestone in the making.” Koholā’s Anderson says it “will allow us to keep Koholā Brewery alive and even thrive through this period of uncertainty.”
koholabrewery.com, @koholabrewery
