Picture this: You’ve just wrapped up a round of golf on your club course and you’re looking for something to quench your thirst. You belly up to the bar and request a glass of blond ale brewed just feet away at your club’s very own micro-brewery. Sound like a dream? At Kohanaiki, a private residential club on Hawaii’s Big Island, it’s a pleasant and tasty reality.
Photo courtesy of Kohanaiki
Kohanaiki is one of the first private residential clubs to debut an onsite brewery and beer tasting room, run by Brew Master Garratt Fitts. He started as a homebrewer and so impressed members and club management with samples of his beer that they designed a fully-licensed, high-tech brewing facility with 120-gallon tanks within community’s new clubhouse that enables Fitts to brew his own creations on a much larger scale.
Photo courtesy of Kohanaiki
He currently offers three flagships and four seasonal brews as well as some tasty kombucha. The most popular brew is the Blond Ale, favored for its light, crisp and dry flavor profile. Seasonal brews include a Witbier in the Spring, an IPA in the Summer, a Kabocha Pumpkin Oktoberfest in the Fall and a Gingersnap Ale in the Winter.
Fitts, who is also a certified sommelier, offers tours of the brewery and tastings to Kohanaiki members and their guests.
Photo courtesy of Kohanaiki
The brewery is just one of the many amenities at Kohanaiki’s 67,000-square-foot clubhouse situated in the heart of this 450-acre Kona Coast community. In addition to the brewery, the clubhouse is home to a restaurant, spa, fitness rooms, game room complete with a bowling alley, movie theater, wine tasting room and private dining rooms. A Rees Jones designed golf course featuring six oceanfront holes, an oceanfront Beach Club restaurant and bar, a Sports Complex that include tennis and a play area for children are also part of the community that stretches along 1.5 miles of coastline.
Kohanaiki is a private equity club and is open by invitation only to Kohanaiki property owners. For information, visit Kohanaiki.com.
