Koholā Brewery in Lāhainā won a bronze medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the largest commercial beer competition in the world.  The event recognizes the best beers produced in the U.S.

A wide range of quality beer at Koholā, a new microbrewery in Lahaina. Photo by Kiaora Bohlool.

The top three winners in the competition’s 96 beer-style categories were announced Oct. 8 at the GABF awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

Lōkahi Pilsner was recognized in the German Pilsner beer-style category. Out of 115 entries, Lōkahi took home the bronze medal.

The Lōkahi was conditioned for six to eight weeks to give it a perfect flavor and aroma profile to complement the island of Maui. Lōkahi is the Hawaiian word for “in unity, harmony and peace.”

“We’re thankful to all who supported us through this journey; we share this honor with our great staff, talented head brewers Justin and Brittany Brouhard, and the craft beer community on Maui and state of Hawai‘i. We strive to brew more award winning beers for you,” said Christine and Ian Elumba, co-founders of Koholā Brewery.

The 2016 GABF competition winners were selected by an international panel of 264 expert judges from the record number of 7,227 entries, plus 88 Pro-Am entries, received from 1,752 U.S. breweries.

“The innovation, creativity and flavor of American beers was well showcased at this year’s Great American Beer Festival,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, GABF.

“This was the most competitive competition to date, with a record number of entries. Congratulations to all the winners who truly demonstrated the best of America’s beer culture.”

To find out which other breweries from Hawa‘i made the list, including the full 2016 winners list and photos, visit here.