Ola Brew

not totally sure they are making beer here, it might all be made on the kona side, which is also cool, but i will defer to the listing here and review it as such. i found the selection and the food more compelling here than in kona, i didnt eat there, but the food here is awesome, and the beer list has a bit more of the exotic stuff on it, at least when we were in, so this was a great visit after a fun day of hiking, visiting goats and waterfalls, and snorkeling with turtles! a pretty large but comfortable and modern feeling space, a little more artsy feeling than the other one, but not dissimilar, the big wraparound bar was a great place place to post up, lots of windows with tables in front of them, a view to the partially open kitchen, a little shop with gear up front, a little area in the back maybe for live music, and no sign of tanks anywhere, but i didnt go looking for them. the beer list was great, tangelo hazy and a strata hopped pils were great, but really we liked most of the ola brew beers we had at their two spots and around the big island more widely, they are doing some great stuff. impressive here was the food though, inspired and flavorful items, good share plates, and very handmade feel to all of it, we mostly snacked but could have went hard on the menu, some shrimp bao buns were epic. service was busy when we were there so not a ton of time to chat, but glasses stayed full, plates were cleared promptly, and everyone was nice, felt like service by committee, i like that. would definitely recommend this place, great food, exciting beer, and a relaxed but happening place to be, we had a wonderful time.

We found this nice brewpub on our recent visit to Hilo. It;s an attractive place overall with high ceiling, nice lighting, big windows, and some nice decor. The beer quality is very good, but not excellent. Range is decent but limited and there's too much in the way of "hard seltzers" or whatever yo want to call that stuff which arguably does not count as actual beer, and that accounted for a lot of what was being drunk by the customers, who somewhat detracted from the vibe.

The limited food we had was excellent a sort of poke/pork belly crossover.

Service was excellent, friendly and efficient.

 

Taproom is large with big bar seating; large seating area for food and beer. Many beers/style on draught brewed on site. Flights available. Ample parking in lot out back. Fun vibe, classic rock plying on sound system. Good beer. People eating but I didn’t have anything. Hope to get back during my stay.