Maui Brewing Company to Build Brewery in Kihei

Artists rendering of the new Maui Brewing Company building scheduled for construction in the Maui Research and Technology Park in 2013. Courtesy photo.

By Sonia Isotov

Maui Brewing Company (MBC) announced Saturday that the company will building a new brewery in 2013 at the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kihei.

Groundbreaking on the new production facility is expected in February and should take approximately one year to build. Shortly after completion of the new brewery, MBC expect to begin construction of a new brewpub.

Once the Kihei brewpub is completed, MBC expects to add approximately 80 more jobs. Currently, MBC employs 61 between the brewpub location and the existing production brewery locations.

Currently, founder Garrett Marrero and his wife, Melanie, operate a seven-barrel brewpub at their Kahana location as well as a 25-barrel production brewery and canning facility in Lahaina.

The new location will allow MBC to increase production fivefold and to be in closer proximity to the port. MBC’s facility will be located on a five-acre plot of land in the Maui Research and Technology Park and will house a new brew house and eventually a second brewpub.

Garrett Marrero, Maui Brewing Company founder. File photo.

MBC is making sustainability of paramount importance in their design and has plans to include photovoltaic, solar thermal, “cogen,” and potential waste-to-energy conversion.

In 2012, Maui Brewing Co. produced approximately 22,000 barrels of beer and expects to produce over 24,000 this year.

“If we find a way to brew more, we will; we simply cannot make enough beer to meet demand,” said Marrero, in a written statement.

“It’s a good problem to have, but still a problem. No new markets have been added recently and none will be until Kihei is fully up and running, we are experiencing tremendous growth in our home market, our community and visitors want more real local beer.”

In addition to brewing more craft beer, the Kihei location will allow MBC to expand into other areas. Plans include distilling as well as producing handcrafted sodas, ciders and meads for folks that cannot drink beer due to a gluten-free dietary restriction.

“We’ll always be a craft brewery at our core, and as times passes we are evolving into a ‘craft beverage’ company. There is so much opportunity to support local agriculture and to create exciting products that showcase what the farmers and the ‘aina provide.”

Once the new production facility is completed, MBC expects to immediately add a tasting room and offices. Shortly after completion, construction on the new brewpub will begin.

The project will be financed largely through reinvestment and a US Small Business Administration Hawaii Economic Development Corporation (SBA/HEDCO) business loan through First Hawaiian Bank. HEDCO is a non-profit organization certified and licensed by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to administer their SBA’s 504 loan program in Hawaii, Guam and parts of the South Pacific.

“I’ve always wanted to be ‘Hawaii’s craft beer’ so we may give the opportunity for Hawaii residents to own a piece of the company,” Garrett added, referring to the potential for a Hawaii equity offering, allowing Hawaii residents to share in the company’s future.

“I think it’d be cool that our community could be a part of what they’ve helped us build, we’ll see.”