6-7 Thursday, June 22, 2017 QUALITY HOPS Hilo Brewfest pours it on with big variety of beers The Rotary Club of Hilo will host its fifth annual Hilo Brewfest from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at the Wainaku Executive Center. It’s a single afternoon showcasing samples of more than 70 brews from Big Island, neighbor island and mainland breweries, in addition to food and live entertainment. Upon arrival, festivalgoers are given their souvenir pilsner glass that they can fill up with eight 4-ounce pours, and as they walk the grounds, enjoy free food sampling, too. “With over 40 breweries offering more than 80 different ales, IPAs, lagers, stouts, ciders and other beer styles, it can be hard to choose, but it’s a great opportunity to try something new,” says Brewfest chairman and festival founder Bob Hanley. “And while you are taste-testing beer and food, we will have numerous live bands playing blues, country and rock ’n’ roll.” Look for lots of local brewing houses as well as selections from New Belgium Brewing, Redhook IPA, Widmer Hopfruit, Goose Island, 10 Barrel, Stella Artois, Elysian, Four Peaks, Shock Top, Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Rogue, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, Lost Coast and Deschutes Brewery. You also will find Coronado, Green Flash, Modelo, Pabst, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Brewing, 2 Town Cider House, Blue Moon, Samuel Adams, Sapporo, Guinness, Heineken, Mike’s Harder Lemonade, White Claw Hard Seltzer, Best Damn Brewing Co., Bud Light Lime-a-Rita, Spiked Seltzer and Omission Lager and Pale Ale. Anheuser-Busch and Paradise Beverages will provide all the equipment and draft technicians to help troubleshoot throughout the day. Without them, Hanley says, the event couldn’t happen. Complementing the beer selection are food samplings from more than 15 local restaurants, including Liko Lehua Café, Pineapples, Chapter 27, Akmal Foods, WikiFresh, Millies, Hilo Medical Center, Hilo Burger Joint, Park City Café and Delicatessen and Conscious Culture Café. AJ & Sons and Naniloa will be serving up food in the VIP area as well. “The Hilo Brewfest seems to have grown every year,” Hanley says, noting that last year’s event saw more than 1,300 in attendance. “In addition to festivalgoers, it seems to be growing in popularity amongst craft breweries. I think all the different beer festivals going on throughout the state have helped in promoting that trend.” Hawaii craft breweries will be out in force during this year’s festival, including returnees Big Island Brewhaus, Mehana Brewing, Hawaii Nui Brewing, Lanikai Brewing Co., Kona Brewing Co., Maui Brewing Co. and Honolulu Beer Works. They will be joined by event firsttimers Kohala Brewery, Paradise Ciders and Kauai Beer Co. “There are a lot of different flavors and beer characteristics out there, and craft beers can showcase a wide variety,” Hanley says. “For example, a lot of craft breweries are experimenting with aging beers in barrels that had other types of beverages in them at one time so they extract some of those characteristics. There’s a lot of that type of experimenting going on in the industry right now. Craft beers are always evolving and brewers are trying different things.” Tom Kearns, founder and brewer By KATIE YOUNG YAMANAKA Special to the Tribune-Herald See BREWFEST Page 9
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