Letter From The Editor

When I spoke with Honolulu Brewers Festival organizer Troy Terorotua about his work to run the annual event, I expected him to, of course, be passionate about beer. Terorotua not only runs the festival, he also is the man behind both REAL a gastropub and BREW’d Craft Pub.

But I also learned that Terorotua is just as passionate about helping out brewers themselves.

“These are people who aren’t doing it for profit, they are doing it for love,” Terorotua says.

Craft breweries are typically small, independently owned companies. And indeed, many of the brewers I spoke with for this story initially started brewing as a passion project outside of their day jobs. The festival, in part, is a way to support craft brewers — including the growing number of local ones — by raising awareness about craft beer in general.

And the Honolulu Brewers Festival — taking place at Kaka‘ako Makai Gateway Park April 23 — is a tasty way to do so. It’s got a range of beers from local, national and international breweries. Read more about what’s to come at the festival here.

And what goes better with beer than fried food? Food writer Jaimie Kim stops into Tempura Ichidai this week. The restaurant opened at Ala Moana Center a couple months ago, and as its name suggests, its menu is comprised primarily of tempura. See what Jaimie’s got to say about her experience.