During the past few years I'd been keeping an eye on a certain window every time I passed by Ward Center. Through the window I could see some of the brewing equipment used by the Brew Moon restaurant, which went out of business in 2009. The thought of that equipment left idle always sort of bugged me--a full brewery just sitting there, unused. Seemed like a waste.
Well, the first time I passed by Ward Center after moving here permanently a few months ago, I saw that someone had finally taken over the spot. From the street I couldn't see much, except for the name of the place: Vice Inferno. I asked around and found out that it was a pizza place, and that they were indeed putting the brew equipment to use.
According to this article on the Honolulu Pulse website, it's a collaborative effort between three different groups: a nightclub called Vice, a pizza restaurant called Inferno's, and a brewing company (apparently created for this project, but manned by people who were involved with Brew Moon, as well as other brewpubs) called Hawaiian Islands Brewing.
I finally got a chance to stop by the place last week. I'm not sure if they had just opened for the day when I got there, but I can tell you it was almost completely empty. The vibe was sort of "frat house". There's a huge mural on the wall near the entrance that features Al Pacino as Scarface, Heath Ledger as the Joker, and Marilyn Monroe as a generic femme fatale. The general state of the place was pretty hard-used.
I didn't try the pizza, and I didn't stick around for the nightlife, but I can say something about the beer: I thought it was pretty darned good. I got a sampler that included the Akamai Amber, the Lei O' Mano IPA, a Macadamia Nut Brown, and a Kona Coffee stout. The Amber was a bit more heavily hopped than I associate with the style, but it was still pretty good. The IPA was solid (though a solid IPA might not be enough in these IPA-crazy days, where several breweries are producing truly incredible versions of the style). The Kona Coffee Stout was probably my favorite; bringing the coffee effect right to the limit without going too far (as compared to, for example, Lagunita's Cappucino Stout, which is an excellent example of how not to do it, in my opinion). And the Macadamia Nut Brown was actually a true eye-opener--very unique and noteworthy, with the macadamia nut coming through as a toasted aromatic that somehow brought vanilla to mind--though I don't think I'd want to drink more than a single pint in one sitting.
A few days later I saw that Hawaiian Islands Brewing is getting their beer onto tap at the Pint and Jigger pub, and I'm glad for that. Considering the lack of customers in the Vice Inferno, and the management's apparent lack of interest in prettying the place up or putting forth an effort to get the word out about it, (like with a website, for starters), I have the feeling that I won't be able to get the beer at the Vice Inferno bar for too long. They'll be out of business.
And then the question will be this: when I'm walking by Ward Center, looking up at that window, will Hawaiian Islands Brewing still be brewing on the other side?
No comments:
Post a Comment