Beerfest grows at Aloha Tower
NOW IN its second year at Aloha Tower Marketplace, the
Great Aloha Tower Beerfest seems to be settling into a nice groove.
With more than 100 different selections, food stations and live entertainment by the New Jass Quartet, Friday's event was a nice way to start off the weekend (except for the humidity). For $35 you got a dozen drink tickets and a pair of food vouchers.
Not a bad deal, especially when you could get half of an ono kalua pig sandwich from Don Ho's Island Grill for a single coupon. But the best addition this year had to be the Foodland booth, which had staffers passing out free samples of ahi poke and boiled peanuts.
As always, Beerfest provides a great opportunity to try new brews. I got to try beers from local breweries Mehana Brewing and Keoki Brewing, as well as Sam Choy's Big Aloha Brewery's new Kiawe Honey Porter. I even sampled a beer from the Philippines, as well as a new orange-flavored Zima.
But I guess I'm a little nostalgic for the "old" version of this event, which took place at the Waikiki Shell. No drink tickets, bigger cups and tree roots sticking out of the ground equaled a lot more fun for me in previous years ...
DID YOU miss the fun at Aloha Tower last week? Check out "Hops & Grinds" at the Willows on Friday. Andy Baker has carefully picked the beers he thinks will help best celebrate the Christmas season, and you can try them while enjoying an all-you-can-eat pupu buffet created by the Willows' Jay Matsukawa.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday; tickets are $30. Call 271-9701 for more info ...
IN THE CLUB: "Acid Wash Wednesdays" at NextDoor welcomes Jimmy Van M back for another exclusive '80s set this week ... International clothing company WeSC hosts a VIP party featuring Steve "DJ Kid Millionaire" Aoki tomorrow at the W Honolulu. It's guest list only, but I'm told Flash Hansen and Matty Hazelgrove have the hookups ... And don't sleep on reggae heavyweights Inner Circle. They play at Pipeline Cafe on Thursday ...
THERE WILL be a slight schedule change for this column in the weeks ahead. After today, there will be no column on Tuesdays until Dec. 26. You can still keep up with the latest from Clubland by reading my Friday column, which will continue to appear in HiLife ...