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quote:
Originally posted by Midnight Rambler
I don't know if it was where terracore heard about it, but there's an article in the current Hawaiian Airlines magazine that talks about the Hawaiian beer scene and the conflict between Kona Brewing and the other local beer companies: http://hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=1126&MagazineID=70
One of the big reasons for not making it here is that no one makes bottles here, and it costs more to ship bottles to Hawaii empty than it does to send them full (they have to be packed more carefully so they don't break). KBC has also become a relatively big producer that sells across the country. FWIW, many "microbrews", if they are sold outside of their local area, are actually produced under contract by facilities of one of the large brewing companies like Pabst or Miller.
Maui brewing solved the bottle dilemna by using recycled cans and remaining a Hawaiian product. And IMHO produces superior beer than Kona.
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I like their beer, but I will not buy it anymore. I cannot stop this practice however subsidising dishonesty begets more fraud.
Primo use to be made in Honolulu, now it is bogus also, and lousy.
Brands mean next to nothing anymore because conglomerates buy small companies for the value of their name so they can put it on their shoddy product until people get wise , then they buy another name and do it over again.
As an aside; I have noticed many labels on other products now list "distributed by" XYZ Corp in the U.S. but no country of origin for the product. I will not buy their product either. I assume they are ashamed to tell the truth, like it is made with dioxen by slave children in Pukastan.
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Add:"Due to pressure from Maui Brewing Company which is 100% Hawaiian (including manufacture of the cans they are sold in)"
I like the sustainability Maui brewery has already done, but they do not produce their packaging in state (even recycled Al is an energy intensive process, something that is not yet feasible here....)
So it seems that the manufacture of the packaging is still not sustainable here, at this time (there were bottlers & ironworks here one hundred years ago, but that was a far different economic time)
Their reasons for using the cans has more to do with breakage, weight reduction - ie shipping - and light. Both glass & cans are recyclable.... IF FOLKS RECYCLE THEM....(sorry, rant from past coastal cleanups...)
link:
http://www.mauibrewingco.com/mbc/MBCSustainability.html
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Well look at it this way....Kona beers are popular on the mainland as well. I routinely get the Fire Rock on tap in Denver so it doesn't make business sense to only do brewing in Kona then ship all the way across the globe. Sticking to local only brewing is an automatic penalty in order to grow the business.
The downside of expanding business is you must look at costs to compete (just the facts of life).
Be happy they have several pubs on the islands and are contributing to the local economy. Don't worry be happy.
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quote:
Originally posted by Carey
Add:"Due to pressure from Maui Brewing Company which is 100% Hawaiian (including manufacture of the cans they are sold in)"
I like the sustainability Maui brewery has already done, but they do not produce their packaging in state (even recycled Al is an energy intensive process, something that is not yet feasible here....)
So it seems that the manufacture of the packaging is still not sustainable here, at this time (there were bottlers & ironworks here one hundred years ago, but that was a far different economic time)
Their reasons for using the cans has more to do with breakage, weight reduction - ie shipping - and light. Both glass & cans are recyclable.... IF FOLKS RECYCLE THEM....(sorry, rant from past coastal cleanups...)
link:
http://www.mauibrewingco.com/mbc/MBCSustainability.html
According to the interwebs, the cans that Maui Brewing uses are recycled Hawaiian cans that are melted down and re-made into cans on Oahu. I don't have a way to independently verify that, but it does only take 5% of the energy to recycle cans back into cans than it does to manufacture aluminum cans from bauxite ore.
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Kapeolei has a Ball/Reynolds can facility, and can supply Maui Brewery, but they are not producing their own packaging...
Ball does import cans even with the Kapeolei plant...so Maui may have some/most/all of their cans mfg'd by Ball, and Ball may produce some/most/all of those cans in Kapeolei, but that is not written out in the Maui Brewery statement...so...
