Hawaii Beer Fest

Hawaii Beer Fest is always a good time. I've been to almost every one of them and I am not even a beer drinker! It's just a fun time with friends, sampling unlimited beers, seltzers and hard kombuchas (yes I said unlimited). You get a small beer cup that you can refill at whichever vendor you want to try. You definitely get your moneys worth with the amount of beer selection they have. They will also usually have an exclusive beer at the beer fest. This year they had a collab with Beer Lab and created an ube beer which was awesome.Not only is there beer but there are tons of food vendors to go along with your beer. From pickled onions to Texas style bbq. I always love getting the "rim job" from Rim Lickah which is where they add chamoy around the rim of your glass for $1. Unlimited beer, good food, live music... what more could you ask for!? I highly recommend checking out their next beer fest at the Bishop Museum in June! Get VIP if you want to have early access!

Hawaii Beer Fest has entered its second year in Honolulu and they quickly made improvements over the first. For 2019, they held a Winter Edition in January with another scheduled in July. This most recent event was held indoors at the Hawaii Convention Center, which made everything cleaner and more comfortable. They had two tiers of tickets, VIP coming in from 5 to 6pm with general admission from 6 to 9pm. It was a markedly different festival between the two times; the VIP hour had many less people and almost no lines. By the time everyone came in, the room got loud, happy, and busy. Lines can be an issue, but people generally queued in a polite way, even for the restrooms. The room was long and skinny with beer tables along each long wall. The glass tables were near the front, with a plastic taster for everyone to avoid breakage. The photobooth was also here, included in the ticket price.At the back near the restrooms were a few food vendors, which were available for an extra cost. Games were set up throughout the room with cornhole, washer toss, giant Jenga, and others free to play. Kona Brewing had a special tent in the middle and brought lots of swag and free drink tickets for their Hawaii-Kai Brewpub; those bartenders were definitely the most friendly of the evening. All the other pours were done by brewery employees for the local things, and volunteer groups for the beers shipped in. The Navy did all the beers on the left, and Rotary International did all the ones on the right. The pourers didn't necessarily know a lot about the beer, but seemed to have a great time pouring them! Unlike some mainland festivals, this one is unlimited pours. Outside of the excellent local stuff, I really enjoyed the Anderson Valley, Modern Times, and Stone.Some improvements for the future: There wasn't enough water around. The water machines and cups were nice but hard to access or walk to, especially with all the lines around. Also, there weren't any pitchers of clean water to rinse tasting glasses between samples; it's never nice to mix beers when trying new things.

Great event! Had an amazing time. Recommend visitors and locals to attend the next one.

Excellent experience. Fun and friendly atmosphere. Will revisit the next one. I love all the beers that you can sample. I love beer.

Hawaii Beer Fest 2018 was a great time for its first year ever! The weather was perfect along with the beautiful Bishop museum venue.I had general admission and made sure I came 30 minutes early before our 6 pm entrance time. There was a line which I expected but once 6 pm hit we were inside in no time! Staff were great and were letting people know the VIP line was to the left and GA on the right.Once inside the beer lines were never too long and I tried a lot of great new beers! I loved that they had a lot of local Hawaii breweries and I'm definitely trying out Beer Lab Hawaii!Food vendors surprised me and I had my fill with Ahi Assassins smoked Ahi dip (broke da mouth) and Rainbows Drive-In. Loved that I could just relax on the nice green lawn of Bishop and enjoy my food away from the beer crowd for a bit. Also had a water break and I was happy they had free water in the corner areas! Bathrooms were also easy to find and the lines went by so fast.Overall I went with a group of 20 friends and we all agreed we would love to go to this event again next year! Great local beers, food, music, games, and an awesome outdoor venue.

The VIP line was a little long but it moved in big chunks - not a big deal, we're all going to the same place. Once we were on the lawn, there was plenty of room and lots of choice. The food vendors were good, the games were fun, and everyone was friendly. Well, there were a few folks who chose to be loud and obnoxious but only a few. Great first year! Count me in for next time.

Parking $20. Event very poorly executed. This was our first beer fest at bishop museum. It was a rainy night and while we were prepared, it was cold, drizzling, windy and poorly executed. No maps, no idea what is being served, no nothing. Lines were long, not moving at all, no guides, and just overall crowded. Most people stood around blocking lines so it wasn't clear who was in line or not. They should have separate the mingle area and not have them blocking lines to get the beer. Food choices were ok but again, poorly executed as some vendors were making it to order and wait times were just long. One vendor was more prepared than most but overall the food wait times were poor as well. Think about this, long beer lines, long food lines, and it's raining. I got 1 beer, 2 food items and just left. Tents should have been spread out more, vendors who wasn't there should have shut down the tent, and should have have a general mingle area. It was so bad that I don't know how people would do it wait in the rain 15 to 20 minutes for a shot of beer. I don't recommend this at all.

Not an enjoyable experience. * Started with not allowing umbrellas into the festival when it was already starting to rain while waiting in line.* The festival was too overcrowded - long lines at every tent.* Bad signage - could not read what beer is being served in many tents unless you're up at the serving table.* Poor beer selections - too many 2nd tier, fruity beers.We ended up leaving after 30 minutes to go to Kalihi Beer and enjoy good beer, served quickly, and no rain. Not planning to go to this again.

Went to our first beer festival on the island. We are no strangers to these coming from Virginia Beach and California. We opted for the VIP hour early entrance which was worth it. Even after general admission opened up, it didn't take but a minute or two for a drink. Great selection of vendors, awesome location, VIP section, photo opps, and friendly staff. Start and end time were ideal, with enough hours to taste ultimately all beers/seltzers if you wanted. Fun in the sun, live music, swag, and fantastic beverages. Did I mention they offered $20 Uber coupon too that we received?!! Heck yeah buddy! Only one hiccup was the confusion of the lines/entering in the beginning; Easy fix with better communication. Beyond that A+ event!!!

I really didn't know what to expect. The line to get in was crazy long but the lines to get beer were suprisingly quick. I was in beer heaven! The variety of beers was impressive. They had everything from jalapeno infused beer to cucumber sour beer. The music was on point! #80sbaby90skidThis event would definatly be worth upgrading to VIP tickets.