About us

At the heart of it all, Kalihi Beer is about bringing people together who love beer. 

It’s about passion, dedication, and most of all, community. We seek to explore the potential of beer.

From neglected traditional styles to hot new styles, to innovative beers that push the potential of brewing in new directions. Respect for tradition · Authentic Innovation.

ABOUT THE BREWER

My philosophy is simple. Try to make something good happen. If you don't, then figure out what you can do better then go again. If you do, then figure out how you can do it better and go again. Beer is a fun arena to apply this in because making beer involves so many different disciplines. Understanding how flavors are produced in beer involves understanding how Barley is grown and malted, how hops are bred and processed, how minerals affect water chemistry, and the metabolic pathways that occur when yeast metabolize fermentable sugars. And this is just a summary. Beer is way more complicated than this.

I began making beer in my carport in 2008 thanks to a generous gift from my brother-in-law... to my wife. Those first few batches were... not good. So, I read, I learned. When I encountered a strangely medicinal band-aid flavor that didn't belong in beer, I looked it up, figured out how to eliminate the flavor, and adjusted my process. Some time and a lot of bad to mediocre beer later, I began to look for ways to make the beer good rather than just drinkable. How do I get the aroma of New World hops to express better in my IPA? How do I get more clove and less banana in my Belgian Ales? How do I get my beer to be more crisp or more malty? The process has always been the same. Try to make something good happen. Figure out how to do it better. Go again. After 8 years of homebrewing, I received a near-miraculous opportunity to become the brewer for a start-up brewery on O'ahu. It was almost like starting over... the professional system I was brewing on had an exponentially greater level of control than the pots and buckets in my carport. And so I engaged the process again. We made some good beers, and maybe a couple of great ones. After a couple of years of brewing professionally, I decided to open my own brewery. I learned to navigate the permitting bureaucracy, how to lead a team, and how to run a business. After 2 years of planning and building, the unthinkable happened. A pandemic. Back to the drawing board. Instead of making a good beer, now it was learning how to make a strong business amidst adversity.

Try to make something good, and figure out how to do it better. Go again. What Ive learned is that while beer is about ingredients, preparation, and process, business is about relationships. We've built this understanding into our mission statement: "To improve the vitality of our communities". We seek to thrive by helping others thrive. We approach every interaction with the mindset that we can improve the situation of those we deal with. We can deliver a better beer. We can meet your needs better. We can make it easier for you to supply us. We can offer you a respectful place to work. And so we've adopted my process of making beer to our model of doing business. Try to make a relationship good. Figure out how to make it better. Go again. It all started with a determination to make great beer. How does it end? Stay tuned.

OUR PASSION FOR BEER

We love beer. We love the beverage. We love the community. We love the culture. Beer has a long and fascinating history going back to prehistoric times and likely originating during the agricultural revolution when our distant ancestors traded a nomadic lifestyle for an attachment to the land and a dedication to farming and community. The lore of beer is long and storied and mysterious enough to spark the imagination.

The beverage is a cacophony of flavors that must be balanced to be enjoyable. The malt brings sweetness, nuttiness, and/or roastiness that must be balanced against the bitterness of the hops. But the hops also bring resinous, floral, and even tropical fruit notes to the aroma. These can be accentuated by any of hundreds of yeast strains that can remain subdued or offer their own flavors from tropical fruit to citrus, to strong flavors of clove or even bubble gum. The mineral content of the water can support or negate any of these flavors, and at the end of the process comes the carbonation which offers a subtly crisp acidity and those magic bubbles that scrub your pallet making each sip fresh. Beer is an amazingly complex beverage with endless possibilities through the permutations of its ingredients and the processes used to bring them together. There is an understated culture of beer that we all understand but rarely acknowledge. Beer is a great facilitator. It's not the star of the show, it's the theater. It's the context that sets up our time with loved ones and close friends. We catch up over a beer. We go to the game and grab a beer. We crack a few with our crew when it's time to celebrate, and we grab one with a friend when it's time to get heartfelt. We love the community of beer. The way it brings us together joins us in commonality with our loved ones and cherished friends and helps us find commonality with others because beer is a great facilitator.

Other beverages are more celebrated, but beer is the common denominator. It has been there in some form or another in just about every culture that grows grain as a staple and it has extended to those that don't. The people who are a part of the beer industry are amazingly collaborative, caring, and fun. We are all motivated in some way or another by our love for this beverage. Here at Kalihi Beer, we express our love for the beverage through a dedication to tradition and innovation. We say "Respect for Tradition · Authentic Innovation" because we recognize the invaluable contributions made by those who have brought passion to the craft before us, and we are dedicated to adding to the incredible traditions they have created. So please come and join us. Raise your glass to the future of this great beverage and this great industry. Gather up your loved ones and share a story or two. Help us discover the small but hopefully meaningful ways we will carry on the great traditions of this incredible beverage. Cheers!

Kailihi Beer 4 Life!

Kalihi Beer is offering an opportunity you only need to take once in a lifetime. With one purchase, you get beer for life!

Kalihi Beer is on the rise, and we need your help. We're looking to expand our taproom with a dedicated stage and sound system for live music and events, open up outdoor seating on our lawn, bring in some games to enjoy with your friends and install more tanks so we can keep the good times pouring. All of this takes investment, so we're offering you the deal of a lifetime. One purchase gets you free beer for the rest of your life. All you gotta do is join Kalihi Beer 4 Life. For $699 you'll get a 10oz free pour on any day you visit the brewery.

$999 gets you a 16oz free pour on any day you visit the brewery.

And for bargain hunters, $1249 gets you a 22oz free tall boy pour on any day you visit the brewery.

But we're not stopping at the free beer. Your purchase gets you elite status in our Insider Loyalty Club. This membership gets you access to special events, first peeks at new beers, and special access to offers and discounts available with the swipe of your card any time you dine at the brewery.

If all this isn't a sweet enough deal for you, we'll make it sweeter. For those of you who want to buy Kalihi Beer 4 Life memberships for your friends, we've got some stretch goals for you. Anyone who buys at least $4900 in memberships will get to help us brew a beer and help us name it. And for you High Rollers out there, purchasing $9800 in membership will get you the right to name a beer in a style of your choice outright (some restrictions will apply, but we're gonna give you a lot of creative license here).

And, you'll be helping the brewery grow and getting to participate in everything we accomplish together.

If we can raise just $50K, we'll install two new tanks and increase our brewing capacity by 50%. This means more beer in more stores near you, more varieties of beer here at the brewery, and more brands in more cans to share with your friends.

At $100K we can install 4 new tanks and double our current capacity.

At $150K we blow the roof off this thing. We find a good new (nearby) home for Homebrew In Paradise - your one-stop shop for everything you need to brew beer at home and shameless plugs - and expand our warehouse into a multipurpose fun zone with games, events, live music, and whatever other shenanigans we can dream up together.

All you gotta do to get all this is pre-purchase your first beer for the rest of your life. Who's in?

PHONE (808) 888-2404

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