Come thirsty: Food, fun, music and more will flow at Kaua‘i Brewers Festival this Saturday

Prepare to imbibe! Nearly 30 breweries from throughout Hawai‘i and beyond will gather on the Garden Isle this Saturday, to celebrate the 2024 Kaua‘i Brewers Festival.

The annual event, which is held in support of local nonprofits, serves up more than beer at the Kaua‘i Philippine Cultural Center in Līhu‘e. Food, yard games and live music also contribute to the event’s popularity.

“It’s a kick-back, cruise time. It feels good. You’re enjoying refreshments with your friends and family,” said event coordinator Lexi Jones, a host on the radio station HI95 Kaua‘i. “The ticket goes right back to the nonprofits that are present.”

HI95 Kaua‘i and Kaua‘i Now are both owned by Pacific Media Group, which is a sponsor of the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival.

This year, nonprofit organizations and community groups volunteering at – and benefiting from – the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival include Kamāwaelualani, Rice Street Business Association, Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala, the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i, the American Cancer Society, Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i, Hawai’i Children’s Theatre, the Alzheimer’s Association, Hālau Ka Pā Hula o Hinano and Leadership Kaua‘i.

“We love having our community come out and support our nonprofits while they get to enjoy a fun-filled afternoon,” said Jones.

VIP attendees who take advantage of early admission will be treated to a performance by musician Chanel Flores at 1 p.m. Local bands Cruz Control and Kaua‘i Kollab will take over the stage later in the afternoon.

Food options will include hamburger curry stew from event title sponsor Salty Wahine. Other vendors will offer sliders, lilikoi pie, lumpia, pancit, musubi and more.

But what about the beer? Local breweries will include Kaua‘i Beer Company from Līhu‘e, Napali Brewing Company from Wailuā, Mucho Aloha from Kōloa and Kaua‘i Island Brewing Company from Port Allen. Nani Moon Mead from Kapa‘a will be present, as well.

“More breweries open up all the time … It’s getting popular everywhere; it’s been popular everywhere,” said brewer Dave Curry of Kaua‘i Island Brewing Company. “Hawai‘i is finally catching up and has really good brewers producing some really good beer at this time.”

Curry’s business is one of the Kaua‘i Beer Festival’s title sponsors. Before the event begins, he will drive to the harbor to pick up a delivery of kegs shipped from another island.

“The camaraderie with most of the breweries is nice,” Curry said. “In this case, you have four different breweries from the Big Island putting all of their beer onto one pallet and shipping it out.

“It is good to see that among the local brewers. In other places, it might be a little bit more competitive,” Curry continued. “But for the vast majority of Hawai‘i, it’s really good camaraderie and we all try to help each other out. That’s a good example of it.”

In total, up to six O‘ahu breweries are headed to Kaua‘i; five from the Big Island; and two from Maui, including Koholā Brewery, which lost its Lahaina facility in the August 2023 wildfires. (Kona Brewing is making Koholā’s beers until it can rebuild.)

Several mainland breweries will be present, too, including popular brands like Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and the non-alcoholic Athletic Brewing Company, among others.

Just three days before the event, Curry had yet to decide which of his own brewery’s beers will be available at the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival.

“I’m not 100% sure, but I think we’ll send our hazy IPA … We might do our Lilikoi Ale,” he said. “Nowadays, we’ve been doing a rotational lager, which lets you experiment … That’s the nice thing about working at a brewpub: You get to change the recipe every time if you want. There are beers that you can change the recipe on and try new things out, try new ingredients.

“We’ve been doing that with our lagers lately,” Curry continued. “But we’ll probably end up sending our Polihale Pilsner. It’s a light, refreshing, easy-drinking lager that’s about 4.5% alcohol.”

Jones urges prospective attendees to purchase their tickets quickly.

“The event does sell out, so we hope that people can get their tickets before they’re gone,” she said. “You don’t want to miss it.”

General admission is $100. VIP tickets are $125. Both come with a souvenir drinking glass, beers and bites, which are built into the price of the tickets.

To purchase tickets and for more information about the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival, including parking and shuttle services, visit the event website here.