One of the first things I did during a recent trip to Hawaii was research the best breweries on Oahu. Looking for microbreweries is something that my husband and I do whenever we travel — regardless if we’re headed to London or Argentina, we are always looking for a new brewery to experience.
We’ve been to the Big Island, home of Kona Brewing Company, and we’ve been to Maui Brewing Company on Maui, so we knew that Hawaii has a lot to offer when it comes to the microbrew scene. And as expected, the island of Oahu and the city of Honolulu did not disappoint when it came to finding the best breweries on Oahu.
In no particular order, here are my favorite breweries on Oahu that are must-see places for any microbrew fan visiting Honolulu:
Breweries on Oahu | Top 5 to Visit
Waikiki Brewing Company
With several locations in Honolulu, we ended up checking out two because their beer was so good! We started with their location near Waikiki, on Kalakaua Ave., and loved the open-air atmosphere. Sure, it was small, but there was free on-site validated parking (which is almost impossible to find in Waikiki) and it was attached to a Cheeseburger in Paradise—yum!
We loved the beer so much that we visited its Kaka’ako location, which is a lot bigger, less touristy, and very much for microbrew connoisseurs. But either location would qualify as a must-visit brewery on Oahu for me. Both serve great food with pizzas, sandwiches, and burgers that pair perfectly with the wide variety of beers they brew. Regardless if you fancy blondes, hefeweizens, pale ales, ambers, porters, or IPAs, there is something for every kind of beer drinker at the Waikiki Brewing Company.
Breweries on Oahu | Honolulu Beerworks
Like the Kaka’ako location of the Waikiki Brewing Co., Honolulu Beerworks isn’t in a touristy location on Oahu. You either need a rental car to get there (where you’ll find metered street parking only) or take an Uber / Lyft — but trust me, you won’t be disappointed to go out of your way to visit this place!
Described as an “industrial-chic craft brewery,” the brewery is in is a large, warehouse-like building with an open-air pub vibe and amazing craft beer. There aren’t many tourists checking out Honolulu Beerworks, but you’ll notice that it’s frequented by locals, which I always take as a sign that it’s good!
My husband, daughter and I had lunch at Honolulu Beerworks and tried out a taster tray (don’t worry — my daughter didn’t participate!) with a variety of their core beers, including their honey citrus saison, cream ale, pale ale, IPA, brown ale, and stout, along with a few of their limited release seasonal beers. Overall, we found both the beer and the food well worth our visit to the area.
Aloha Beer Company
My favorite brewery on Oahu was definitely Aloha Beer Company. It’s also located in Kaka’ako, which means you will need a rental car (street parking only) or to take an Uber / Lyft to get there, but if you go out of your way to visit just one brewery on Oahu, it needs to be Aloha Beer Company.
They have a covered outdoor patio as well as indoor seating and a permanent, on-site food truck stationed inside the brewery that serves up brats and pretzels (which were delicious, by the way!). In line with the German theme, they offer an assortment of European-inspired beers like a Vienna lager, “Jefe” weizen, and black pilsner. They also offer more traditional American beers like blondes and IPAs.
Overall, their beers were the best we had in Oahu and we loved the atmosphere and the food. And I know you will too!
Breweries on Oahu | Beer Lab HI
We visited Beer Lab HI which is a great place to visit for microbrew fans looking for breweries on Oahu. The place was packed (in fact, there was a baby-shower happening when we were there!) and we could tell this was popular with locals. We enjoyed the beer, which included several different styles of IPAs, blondes, vanilla porters, sours, and even a German-inspired berliner weisse. The board games that were supplied to keep our little one entertained was an added bonus.
They have a few different locations around Hawaii and all are worth checking out!
Maui Brewing Company
I know you’re reading this post looking for breweries on Oahu, so maybe you’re wondering why I’m suggestion Maui Brewing Company. Isn’t Maui a completely different Hawaiian island? Well, yes, but I don’t have my islands confused; this brewery does hail from the island of Maui, but they have an Oahu location, and it’s a massive open-air, family-friendly facility in the heart of Waikiki.
This is the perfect brewery to visit for craft beer fans staying in Waikiki who don’t have a rental car or don’t want to pay for an Uber / Lyft to one of the other breweries I covered in this post. The Maui Brewing Company is within walking distance for anyone staying in Waikiki or visiting its world-famous beach.
Since we’ve been to the original Maui Brewing on a previous trip to Maui, we were so excited to see that they had a location on Oahu. (In fact, they actually have two — their second location is in Kailua and is worth visiting if in that area, too.) The restaurant and bar in their Waikiki location is huge — a full 18,000 square feet! — and its outdoor rooftop patio provides an amazing view of the area. Oh, and the beer is pretty tasty, too, with options including their “Bikini Blonde” lager, their “Big Swell” IPA, and a delicious coconut porter, there’s a great assortment of beer to try while visiting one of the largest bars in the entire state.
So there you have it: a list of the best breweries to check out while visiting Oahu. Cheers!