Street Art and Breweries in Honolulu
After staying on the island of Hawaii for a few days, I went to Oahu. I only had one night in Honolulu, and, having been to Waikiki before, I headed for the non-touristy neighborhood of Kaka’ako, the center of several local breweries. Incidentally this is basically the hipster section of Honolulu – which I did not know before hand – so the area also had a lot of beautiful street art, an urban trend I’m fully behind. I ended up walking around the area for several hours, visiting breweries and looking at the art.
Here are the breweries I visited – for art I suggest you just wander around. You’ll see some great stuff.
This was my favorite brewery in Honolulu and possibly my favorite in Hawaii (I’ve been of 8 different Hawaiian breweries over the past few years). It was a fun place, where everyone seemed to be happy to be there and not too polished. I struck up a conversation with the bartenders and the woman sitting next to me and just chilled out. The beer itself was phenomenal – particularly the Waimanalo Farmhouse. But to be honest I tried eight of their beers (gotta love tasting flights) and all of them were good. Even the ones in styles I’m not a fan of. Finally, the music was awesome – solid classic rock including some more obscure songs - and no one looked at me weird when I sang along quietly. An excellent time all in all.
Just passing through the warehouse …
This was the first place I went to on my tour of the neighborhood and it was a close second to Aloha. It’s was a much funkier and felt very Hawaiian – chill, friendly, and unpretentious. It’s a neighborhood place. The beer was also the most adventurous I’d seen in a while. They had one with both citrus and honey, a beer that was aged in old hot sauce barrels (I did not try that one) and an oatmeal amber made, I believe, with spruce (my personal response to that one “weird and I love it”). I highly recommend a visit where you just sit and soak in the place.
Waikiki Brewing Company was fine. The beer was good, it was only a couple blocks from where I was staying. But, especially after the other one’s I’d been to, it felt too polished, a little to “corporate approved.” It’s like you just know the beer isn’t made on the premises and the décor was chosen by a group of people in a conference room. That might not be technically true – I honestly have no idea - but that’s the vibe it gives. That said, the bar is in Waikiki and needs tourists probably more than locals so, I can’t exactly blame them. And like I said, the beer is good.
No pictures of Waikiki Brewing so here’s some more street art
Technically not a microbrewery, but it is associated with the Home of the Brave Brewing Company. It’s actually a dive-ish bar, which make the WWII theme/memorabilia atmospheric and fun, rather than kitschy. I feel like Captain America would have enjoyed drinking there, rather than be horrified. The reason it’s last on the list is that there were only a couple beers from the associated brewery and the one I had was merely ok. So probably worth a stop if you’re in the area, but not required.
