USA, HI: Kona Brewing Co.’s new facility opening pushed to 2019

The expected completion date for Kona Brewing Co.’s new facility has been pushed to 2019, the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported on August 26.

Kona Brewing’s new facility, which when finished will enable the company to produce an estimated 100,000 barrels of beer a year, is slated to go before the Kailua Village Design Commission next month for consideration.

The facility is located on a 2.6-acre parcel just down the street from its current location on Pawai Place. The company broke ground on the facility in March 2016 and initially expected to be in full operation by early 2018.

But Mattson Davis, former Kona Brewing CEO and now managing partner of Manini Holdings LLC, said the completion date was pushed back because of setbacks on wastewater systems.

“Their hope is to finish by spring of 2019,” he said.

The beer produced in the new brewery will be more than a nine-fold increase from its current capacity. The beer will be packaged in cans and kegs and stay within the state, Davis said. Bottled beer will continue to come from facilities on the mainland.

Kona Brewing included specific sustainability measures in the planned brewery to limit its draw on water resources here and allow the brewery to get more than a single run out of the water used there.

Traditionally, a barrel of beer — about 31 gallons — takes about eight barrels of water. But with the system planned for the new brewery, Davis said, they can produce a barrel of beer with just three barrels of water.

The brewery will use a biodigester, which uses microbes to treat certain wastewater, so the water can be recycled into the facility for purposes such as cleaning or irrigation.

Davis also said they plan to use drought-tolerant and low-water landscaping at the site.

The biodigester’s contributions don’t just stop at water. During the course of treating the wastewater, the microbes involved in the process also produce methane as a byproduct, which can be captured and used to power the facility.

He added that about 60 percent of the facility’s power will come from the biodigester and anticipated solar capabilities.

“Technology has finally caught up with our vision of building a brewery of this scale in Hawaii,” Davis said.

On Sept. 5, Davis and others will go before the Kailua Village Design Commission with their designs for the new facility, which will be situated between Kuakini Highway and Pawai Place.

Davis said he’s confident about bringing the project to the design commission.

For next year, he said, the company plans a remodel of the pub, which will include an expansion of the restaurant and a 10-barrel pilot brewing system.

That pilot system would produce beer on a smaller scale, giving the company an opportunity to try new things with various ingredients, malts and yeasts in its products.

29 August, 2017