RUSTIC, ARTISANAL FARMHOUSE ALES : true island “terroir”

Hawaii is known the world over for its vibrant flavors and exotic ingredients. Mahalo Aleworks pays tribute to the amazing biodiversity of the islands by utilizing an extensive array of fresh hyper-local, native and foraged ingredients to create inspirational beers found nowhere else on earth. All of our beers are thoughtfully brewed, aged and blended on the verdant slopes of Haleakalā, by people with a genuine passion to create world class ales that highlight these flavors and ingredients. Visit our Taproom and Brewery located Upcountry Maui to enjoy our continuously rotating selection of beer made 100% in Hawaii.

wild MAUI yeast, wrangled from the slopes of haleakalā

Like wild yeast Paniolos, we are working on collecting a remarkable array of wild yeast and bacteria from our home on the vast volcano of Haleakalā. The yeast collecting, sampling and testing process is often referred to in the industry as “wrangling”, whereby we attempt to capture something wild and harness it for our own use, in this case making exceptional and unique beer. When a sample is collected, the yeast is isolated in a laboratory and tested for basic beer-making abilities, such as its resistance to alcohol, the degree to which it ferments the available sugars, and how well it clears up when it is done. Once we have yeast that could make beer, we then need to brew test batches using that yeast to see if it should make beer… only then do we know if it can make great beer. This has proven to be a very long and challenging process, but we are stoked on bringing these unique flavors to you soon.

hyper-local, seasonal fruit and ingredients: from our orchard and beyond

Maui is gifted with an ideal growing climate, and is rewarded with an abundance of fruit year-round. Believe it or not, we do have seasons on Maui, and with those seasons come different harvests. In addition, various microclimates and elevations provide us with an amazing array of flavors any time of year. Mahalo Aleworks is fortunate to actually have their own small orchard just down the road from the brewery where we grow over 20 varieties of fruit using organic methods, plus various herbs and spices that can be utilized in our beers. Since the orchard is at roughly the same 1,900ft elevation as the brewery we also look elsewhere for many other fruits, both higher and lower on the volcano. Tropical fruit flourishes closer to sea level, while beautiful stone fruits and even berries grow at higher elevations. Through a network of local farms and orchards, we are fortunate to have access to a vast array of excellent fruit from which to produce our various beers.

hand-made american white oak foeders + patience

Our two 20BBL White Oak Foeders (pronounced “FOOD-ers”) were hand-built in Saint Louis, MO by Foeder Crafters of America (the only maker of Foeders in the U.S.) from an amazing batch of wood that the maker exclaimed “smells like sugar cookies are baking and marshmallows are toasting” when they work with it. Foeder is the name given to a large oak vessel traditionally used to age wine and other liquids, which is in essence a giant oak barrel that is re-used over many, many years. Our particular pair of Foeders are named after the founders’ daughters, “Liesl” and “Amelie”. Each Foeder has its own characteristics and personality (much like the girls) and will house two “mother beers” from which many Mahalo Aleworks beers will be blended and created. We are in the long process of getting our Foeder program dialed in and running, and will employ the Solera Method, a process whereby a quantity of finished beer is drawn out of the foeders when the desired flavor profile is reached. Fresh beer then replaces the drawn-off amount, feeding the culture in the remaining aged beer, which then develops and ages until it again reaches a desired flavor profile. In this way, every batch is part of the first, and the culture in each Foeder is allowed to mature and develop even more of its own personality over time.