Tap Handle 156: Waimea Brewing

June 13, 2012

Tap Handle 156: Waimea Brewing - Luau Lager

Tap size: 12.25"
Rarity: Very Rare
Mounting: standard 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

When I started the blog, this tap was on my list of 20 taps that I wanted to acquire the most. The colors are bright and beautiful, and there are little details that really make the tap stand out, like the carving of the headdress and the flowers on the sides of the base, and the matte finish is perfect. There are no eyes on the tiki - the headdress covers them. I've seen a few other taps like this one, but they are very hard to find and expensive to boot. I like the hula girl on this label more than the surfer on the Pale Ale version.

Click through to read more about Waimea Brewing, their Luau Lager, and to see more photos of this gorgeous tap...

Waimea Brewing was founded in 1998 in a plantation-style cottage on ResortQuest Hawaii's 27-acre Coconut Grove resort on Kauai's west coast by four Boeing engineers in Seattle in a partnership with local Robert Faye. They originally tried to build a German-style brewery in an old Waimea Sugar Mill Co. building in 1995 but did not have the $2.5 million they needed, so they settled on the Coconut Grove site. The cottage was a tiny brewery with only enough room for ten kegs. It nearly shut down in 2008 when its owners stopped ordering ingredients in a failed attempt to sell, and taps ran dry for several weeks. It also dabbled in contract bottling through Beermann's in California, but ultimately it suffered from recipe and cost glitches and closed down in mid-2011.

In 2012 the brewery was reborn as Kaua‘i Island Brewery (KIB) & Grill in Port Allen Center in ‘Ele‘ele. Bret Larson and his wife, Janice, who were part of Waimea Brewing's ownership group, partnered with former Waimea brewmaster Dave Curry and his wife Christina to form the new brewery. The search for expanded space eventually led to the 23,600-square-foot Port Allen Marina Center, in which KIB is leasing a 4,000-square-foot warehouse with a mezzanine area.

Luau Lager was a premium lager that was brewed and bottled at the Beermann’s Beerworks Brewery by Waimea employees. It had a rich golden hue, and was delicately hopped with an assortment of the freshest hops available.