Brew Moon Restaurant and Microbrewery

September 20, 2008
Visited this place on a Saturday afternoon. Server was attentive and educated in the products he was serving. After telling him a I was a homebrewer, he grabbed the Brewmaster and he took me and my friend on a tour of the brewery. The beers were pretty good. I really liked the Pale (there were no seasonals on tap at that time). Only ordered the onion rings, but they were good. I like this place and will check it out again before I go back to the mainland.

August 23, 2008
Posh-looking brewpub that I have always wanted to try. To be honest though, in the way of beer I wasn’t expecting much. What I got was a pleasant surprise: seven beers on tap, all brewed in house. I liked their Black beer as well as their APA. Unfortunately, a lot of things bothered me about this place. First of all, a warm draft occasionally would sweep into the bar, which I found quite alarming given that it is not a place you go expecting fresh outdoor breezes. Second, they didn’t have any Stouts, Porters, Barley Wines or anything stronger on the menu. That bothered me. Lastly, the place is trying too hard to be a quazi nightclub. They need to chose beer or ambiance, because I got the impression that the primary clientele here just really aren’t beer drinkers. Good sampler pack though.

April 23, 2008
Average food. Average selection. But good quality microbrews. My favorite is the Black Hole, followed by the Orion Red, and even the sweet beer (forgot the name) that I thought tasted like Nerds candy. Haha! That was a surprise. Eat first, then drink there later. Oh yeah, and the parking structure is the worst ever! Try not to get banged on the way out (like me!).

January 21, 2008 [ Updated September 11, 2008 ]
This was the first Brew pub on our 2008 Hawaiian Beer Run. My wife and I stopped by for Apps, beer and checked the place out. Had a great time it is just like all other brew pubs with one difference you can sit outside and have the warm sun on your back and feel the trade winds blowing. Not much to look at from the outside. The inside is ready for a party and they have plenty of space to do it. The beers where pretty good the food was awesome. The server once seeing I was rating took better attention to talking about beers with me and gave some great hints to other places and such. We had a very nice time. Need a better location. But I am sure the prices for rents are not cheap. Downtown Waikiki would have been better.

December 15, 2007
Stayed very close to the Brew Moon, so I was excited to go through their taster platter. Well, I was excited, until I tasted their beers. The beers are pretty bad, with the exception of the Barleywine, which was pretty good. Nice atmosphere, which more tuned to the restaurant and mixed drink crowd. I’d go again to eat, but not to drink. It was somewhat painful to try the beers. I left all of my 4oz samplers mostly full, except the Barleywine and the Hefeweizen, which I squeezed two lemons into to kill the taste of the beer.

November 11, 2007
Stopped by at 1pm on a Sunday. Didn’t look like many tables. Food took forever to come. Waiter appologized a few times and said they got slammed all at once (where?) and i really don’t care for excuses. Beer average to lightly above average.

July 26, 2007 [ Updated July 30, 2007 ]
There are two BrewMoons in Honolulu, one on Ala Moana Blvd, and the other on Kalakaua Dr, downtown. The one on Kalakaua Ave is, oddly, part of the top floor of a surfer store. You know how there are coffee shops in big bookstores these days? Well, it’ similar: a brewpub outlet in a surf shop. The menu was extremely limited, mostly fried or deep fried things. Everything was served on paper or plastic, including the beer, which bothered me b/c it is wasteful and a terrible way to present beer. There was nothing special about these beers, although the Moonberry Wheat (a raspberry wheat) was pretty well balanced, and the Dark lager was nicely roasty-burnt. The pale and red ales, along with their lagers were nondescript. But really, it was sort of a joke. If you want to go to a brewpub in Honolulu/Waikiki, go a little further and visit the actual Brew Moon restaurant. We are hoping that it is better than what we’ve found in that outlet, which was seriously disappointing. THE MAIN RESTAURANT: The other place was much better, and they had a great IIPA that was very tasty. Good staff, good food. So while the outlet gets a resounding failing grade (id’s give it a 30/100) the rating here is for the other one, the main place in the Ward Center.

July 18, 2007
Went in to sample the beer. Nice to be able to try them all from the sampler. Average sampler type micro’s. The three seasonal/special brews were tried were a little better. The place was pretty nice with the whole moon/space theme. Very nice barkeep and manager. Worth checking out.

June 15, 2007
Had the sampler with my friend fordest. Decent beers. Nothing to special. The food selection looked good, but we didnt try anything. Worth a stop if your in the area. We walked back to Waikiki from here. Must have been at least 3 miles.

January 28, 2006
hard to get to at first, use the elevator take you right there. Good place to stop at. Has a small patio you can sit at. But it has and average feel to the place. It clean and with and upscale feel to. Food is good. Though the section of beer average but good.