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Maui Craft Beers, Spirits and Wines

January 18, 2016 by AJ

It’s no secret, the Jeffsetters enjoy a good drink, specifically, craft beers, spirits and wines.

During our stay on Maui, we were able to partake in all three.

Craft Breweries

The only brewery open to visitors on Maui is the Maui Brewing Company.

Please correct me, if I am wrong on this point. We were on Maui in August 2015. Something new may have come along, or opened its doors to the public.

Beach and Brewery-1188
Kihei Brewery and Tasting Room

Maui Brewing Company has two locations:

  • the Kahana Brewpub in Lahaina and
  • the Kihei Tasting Room in Kihei.

We went to the Kihei Tasting Room twice and the Kahana Brewpub once.

The tasting room offers a brewery tour, 32 beers on tap (sometimes a barrel or nitro beer), and food trucks. We did not do a tour, but we did sample some beers.

Maui Brewing Company
Sampler Pan

The brewpub offers a delicious full menu, but fewer beers on tap.

We stopped at the brewpub after I took Jeff to see the Nakalele Blow Hole. The delicious pub food is exactly what we needed to refuel after a hot hike to the blow hole. The nachos are yummy, the fries are cooked in duck fat, and Midwesterners – they have tots!! Mr. J was pretty excited about the tots.

Our hands down favorite beer was the Imperial Coconut Porter.

Beach and Brewery-1190
Imperial Coconut Porter not to be confused with the Coconut Porter. The Imperial style really made this beer.

 

If you are into craft beers and on Maui, you should not miss a visit to the Maui Brewing Company.

Distilleries

To my knowledge, Maui has two distilleries.

  1. Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery – Kyle mentioned this in his guest post. Ocean Vodka is allegedly close to the Surfing Goat Dairy. We could not locate it at the time we stopped by the Surfing Goat Dairy. The website was not working and google maps or apple Maps had it listed as a different name – Hawaiian Sea Spirits Organic Farm and Distillery. So… we gave up.
  2. Hali’imaile Distilling – When we couldn’t find Ocean Vodka, we ended up here.

We LOVED Hali’imaile Distilling!

Friday Funday-1240

The staff is fantastic, laid back, energetic and knowledgable.

Hali’imaile Distilling produces Sammy Hagar’s Beach Bar Rum, and the following brands of spirits:

  • Pau Vodka, made from Maui Gold pineapples;
  • Maui Moon, a series of flavored vodkas; and
  • Paniolo Whiskey, a tribute to the Hawaiian cowboy in multiple varieties.

We just stopped in, but you can also reserve your tour online.

Friday Funday-1274-HDR

Mrs. J’s faves – Maui Moon Chocolate Macadamia Nut Vodka and Paniolo Brown Sugar Whiskey.

Seeing Double
Seeing Double

 

Mr. J’s fave – Maui Moon Chocolate Macadamia Nut Vodka. Caveat: He would not buy a whole bottle of it.

Blured Lines
Blured Lines

 

If you like spirits and good conversation, we highly recommend a stop here for a tour and tasting. The distilling process is unique, and the atmosphere is engagingly fun.

This is a great stop the near the Road to Hana, the airport or Haleakala Crater.

When hunger strikes after the tour, pop across the street to the Hali’imaile General Store. A great little deli and restaurant.

Interested in craft cocktails?  Checkout the recipes posted on their Instagram feed – @halliimailedistillingco.

Wineries

I am only aware of one winery on Maui – Maui Wine at Ulupalakua Vineyards.

This is another stop that you can make on a trip to Haleakala Crater, or if you are driving the back road to Hana.

Maui Wine

The vineyard is cute and small with nice grounds to explore. The staff is friendly and informative. They offer free tastings and tours (at least they were free when we were there).

We did not take a tour, but we did wander around the grounds.

Friday Funday - Maui Wine
Tasting Room

I can’t say I loved the wine. But, the Hula O’ Maui was a pleasant but sweet sparkling pineapple wine. A bubbly with a Hawaiian twist.

A great little grill and general store is across the street – Ulupalakua Ranch Store and Grill. After you are full of delicious food, you can continue on the back road to Hana, and maybe stop at the Seven Sacred Pools.

And there you have it, craft beer, sprits and wine on Maui.

Remember, ALWAYS drink responsibly and call Uber.

Filed Under: Brewery, Destinations, Hawaii, Tours, Travel Blogging, Trip Reports, Wineries

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Captain Kirk says

    January 19, 2016 at 12:37 PM

    I have been to Maui four times but haven’t made a trip to the brewery yet. I think it’s on my list for the next trip! Thanks for the info!

    • AJ says

      January 19, 2016 at 4:08 PM

      We really enjoyed the brewery. I think it (brewery not the pub) is fairly new, at least it looked pretty new.

      The outdoor seating is long picnic tables. We met some great locals that gave us tips (happy hours, restaurants, scuba excursions,etc), all around just fun conversations.

      They did have a nitro on tap, but they were out of the cask beer.

  2. Kyle says

    January 31, 2016 at 4:25 PM

    That’s a bummer about Ocean Vodka! At least it worked out in the end. Since their website works now, here’s their info:

    Hawaii Sea Spirits, LLC, Producers of OCEAN Organic Vodka and Deep Island Hawaiian Rum
    4051 Omaopio Rd.
    Kula, HI 96790
    808-877-0009 | 866-776-2326
    Fax 808-877-8797
    info@oceanvodka.com

    • AJ says

      January 31, 2016 at 6:21 PM

      Thanks – we will have to check it out next time. It was just one of those days, but things worked out :)

      • Kyle says

        February 1, 2016 at 9:59 PM

        Hey, sometimes the best experiences come from disappointments! But you guys know that well! ?

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