Hilo Brewing Company

this is a wonderful place, probably the most blue collar feeling of the breweries we went to on the big island, the least fussed over in terms of the spot, the most low key of all, we had a wonderful time here after a killer day of waterfalls and turtles on this side of the island. its a warehouse looking spot, not much from the outside, parking on the street opens into a neat patio area, half this place is just wide open, picnic tables surrounded by kegs, dogs hanging out, tunes playing, really ultra chill vibe in here. inside theres a small bar to the left, no more than a dozen seats, right among the tanks, and there are some tables strewn about among the empty cans stacked high. they had a lady making homemade tortillas and stuff in the middle doing tacos and burritos, not sure if its always there, but it was delicious and a nice addition, if thats their own food setup, im rating it favorably, great food for these beers. the beers are pretty straightforward, all of them quite good, nothing life changing, but the best of them for me was the volcano red ale, a deep and layered, darker than normal, not real sweet take on the style, loved that one. they had a couple of cool ipa types in here too that i never encountered in cans anywhere on our trip like i did with most of the others, solid quality beers that fit the vibe, low key, well made, no frills, and it was a great hang overall, sipping beers and playing cards and taking it all in, very relaxing. service was fine, not super chatty or interested, but nice enough. maybe not the best beers we had on our trip, but everything was solid, and i would definitely recommend a visit when you are in town!

Small tap room/bar that seats eight inside brewery. Outdoor picnic tables under roof for additional seating. Limited parking. Great vibe, great service, classic rock on the radio. Brewery only beers on tap, as well as 4 beers also canned for sale locally. Hope to get back again before we leave Hawai’i.