Beer is a staple at hotels—the lodging industry generated the retail sales equivalent of $8,384MM in alcohol sales in 2015 (the latest figures available) and beer accounted for 40 percent of these sales.
So it’s no surprise that hotels are getting creative when it comes to satisfying their beer-drinking patrons—guests and nonguests alike.
Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii just opened Kona Tap Room in partnership with Kona Brewing Company. The new outlet offers 16 craft and domestic beers on tap, including Kona Brewing Company favorites and seasonal options. Two of the Tap Room’s small-batch offerings, Kua Bay IPA and Hula Hefeweizen, are only available in Hawaii. Boasting creative “Surftinis & Beertails,” guests will experience options like the Paddleboard Mojito, which combines Longboard Island Lager with Bacardi, house-made specialty mix, and mint for a Hawaiian spin on the classic cocktail.
With turquoise hues and surf-inspired design components resembling the bright island, Kona Tap Room joins the resort’s lineup of 12 restaurants and bars dedicated to serving exotic flavors with local Hawaiian flare. Located adjacent to the resort’s lobby, the lounge provides comfortable seating areas both indoors and outdoors on an open-air patio.
In addition to beer, the Kona Tap Room also features an enhanced wine selection such as Complicated Chardonnay, Intrinsic Cabernet Sauvignon and Earthquake Zinfandel. Hawaii’s celebrated dishes are shared with guests through pupu and main dishes like Keahole lobster mac n’ cheese, Kona poke and Kalua pork paninis.
Started on Hawaii Island in 1994, Kona Brewing Company is currently Hawaii’s largest and favorite craft brewery. Committed to producing the freshest handcrafted beers, the brewery is known for top-selling flagship beers distributed throughout the U.S. as well as award-winning small-batch beers available across the Islands.
Kona Tap Room is open daily from 11 a.m. – midnight with daily entertainment from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. including karaoke and live bands.
And just two weeks ago we reported that another Hawaii property, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Maui, now offers guests a new custom beer, Shorebreak Session Ale. Custom brewed to represent the surrounding Kapalua area, Shorebreak Session Ale embodies a tropical personality using exotic ingredients, including infused fresh pineapple juice and Calamansi peel. The resort is partnering with the locally owned start-up Kohola Brewery, which recently won a Bronze Medal for its Lokahi Pilsner at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
A light-bodied session ale, this custom brew is a concoction of flavors that exudes tropical aromas and blends a variety of hops to achieve its optimal citric taste. The combination of hops—Cascade, Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, and Magnun—offers elements of red grapefruit, peach, passionfruit, guava, lychee, and most notably, pineapple.
The inclusion of pineapple as a key ingredient in Shorebreak Session Ale not only mimics the tropical ambiance The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua exudes, but also taps into the significance and history of the surrounding Kapalua Resort. A former pineapple plantation and home to the Maui Pineapple Company, the 22,000-acre Kapalua Resort is known for this fresh and sweet fruit that is symbolized through Kapalua's highly recognized logo of a butterfly with a pineapple it the middle.
Now being poured throughout the resort’s five food-and-beverage outlets, Shorebreak Session Ale can only be found at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua resort.
There’s even an upcoming hotel that is owes its entire theme to the sudsy beverage.
Craft brewery Stone Brewing is collaborating with San Diego-based Untitled Hospitality plan to launch the Stone Hotel. Located on 13 acres across the street from Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, the $26-million property slated to open in 2018 will be the brand’s first brewery hotel.
San Diego-based designer Paul Basile of Basile Studio will craft the 100,000-square-foot hotel. A driveway inlay will depict beer flowing from a tap all the way down to Citracado Parkway. There will be other nods to beer, including in the bar-style reception area and historical Stone Brewing memorabilia.