Anyone tried any Maui Brewing Company beers?

[ohill1981]

I heard a podcast a year or so ago and they had the owner of Maui Brewing company on the show. After i heard him describe how they make Mana Wheat and the Coconut Porter I have been very interested in trying these two beers. Has anyone tried them? and how to get there hands on a couple. I figure it would hardly be possible to find these beers on the main land , but thought i would mention it here !

 

[Zeal]

Yes, coconut porter blew IMO. It was in a can and tasted just fowl. Got mine at BevMo.

 

[Rushis]

Maui brewing has distributed on the mainland for at least two years.
In California it's available in the local BevMo. I have tried the Mana wheat but I can't recall what my impressions were...

 

[weirdboy]

All Maui beers are in a can or on draft.

I like the coconut porter. If you don't like fruit beers then it's probably not for you, because you definitely taste the coconut. I am not sure what "just fowl" means unless it had a noticeable chicken flavor.

Also I think their Big Swell IPA is really good.

 

[rjsnau]

We always go to the Maui brewery when we a in Maui and love it! They really have some great beers. I do like their Mana wheat. The coconut porter is just ok in my opinion. The have quite a few more styles at their brew pub. With all that said I have had their brews on the mainland and I didn't really care for them. IMHO they loose a lot in the voyage over the ocean. I would recommend trying them though and judge for yourself.

 

[Zeal]

All Maui beers are in a can or on draft.

I like the coconut porter. If you don't like fruit beers then it's probably not for you, because you definitely taste the coconut. I am not sure what "just fowl" means unless it had a noticeable chicken flavor.

Also I think their Big Swell IPA is really good.

Maybe I just hate the taste of canned beer. It is probably better on tap.

 

[mrgstiffler]

All Maui beers are in a can or on draft.

I like the coconut porter. If you don't like fruit beers then it's probably not for you, because you definitely taste the coconut. I am not sure what "just fowl" means unless it had a noticeable chicken flavor.

Also I think their Big Swell IPA is really good.

I think their coconut porter is pretty solid, but I never get much coconut flavor at all. I did enjoy your "fowl" comment though...

 

[bigbeergeek]

Beers are meh. I tried 'em first in Maui and again back on the mainland (CA). Nothing worth seeking out in my opinion, but the Big Swell kept me afloat for the full week on the island -- not much else worth drinking there.

 

[soopagloo]

I tried Big Swell and it was ok. I really like the Mana Wheat though.

 

[completenewbie]

I like the coconut, it's not outstanding in any way, but a solid example of it's style with a nice hint of coconut in there. Remember thinking it was a tad overpriced, but picked it up at Wholefoods where you can say that about pretty much any item in there.

 

[seabass07]

Definitely not foul IMO. I've had the coconut porter and it was ok. Like others have said, it's unremarkable. Just a porter with a nice toasty coconut flavor.

 

[joelmole]

Maybe I just hate the taste of canned beer. It is probably better on tap.

AFAIK cans shouldn't impart any flavor differences to beer over bottles. Arguably they are better since they don't allow any sunlight and are more easily recyclable. There's been a growing trend of craft brewers using aluminum cans, we have Southern Star Brewery here in Houston that does this.

Now if you drink it out of the can it may seem different, but if you pour it in a glass I don't know that there would be much difference compared to a bottled beer other than maybe the can preserves the hop characteristics better if the bottle's been mishandled. What's a keg anyways? A big can. I think the whole can stigma is just that, something caused by mental association with decades of cheap macro lager.

 

[shuckit]

The Big Swell IPA is my favorite beer made in the Islands.

 

[beersteiner2345]

I love their Coconut Porter. Haven't had anything else of theirs.

 

[ohill1981]

Maybe I just hate the taste of canned beer. It is probably better on tap.

They are only transporting vessels, you are missing out on tons of flavor and aroma drinking from a can. A beer in a Can and the same beer poured into the appropriate beer glass yields two completely different beers.

 

[ohill1981]

Thanks for all of the replies. The sound of the mana wheat on a warm sunny day sounded wonderful.

 

[LVBen]

I had some at a beer fest about 6 months ago. Both of their beers that I tried were unpleasant to drink.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

My wife likes the coconut porter (I am allergic to coconut so I don't drink it). We had some passionfruit wheat beer last summer and it was not good. I mean, technically the beer was fine but it was unenjoyable.

 

[ChickenArise]

I liked the porter a LOT. I got more coffee and toasty notes than coconut, though. There was a nice hint of a fruity sweetness at the end.

 

[Jwood]

I've had the coconut porter, i agree it wasn't anything special. I was able to pick out the faint coconut flavor though, i do remember that. I also remember that it was very expensive (bought it at a liquor store) and i probably won't be buying it again.

I would consider giving it a second chance on tap though...

 

[daksin]

I love their beers. My favorite thing about the coconut porter is that it has so little coconut flavor. You have to be looking for it to taste it, and the other flavors really compliment the style and the coconut. I've had probably 4 or 5 of their beers. I really wish more breweries would moved to cans. I've had more than one expensive 6 pack end up in the sink or the return counter because it wasn't popular and had sat on the shelf getting skunked.