The merger of two local breweries announced yesterday will bring more beer flowing into the Hawaii market and the addition of about five jobs on the Big Island.

Keoki Brewing Co. in Lihue and Hilo-based Mehana Brewing Co. are merging to create Hawai'i Nui Brewing, to be headed by Keith Kinsey, the current president of Keoki. Hawai'i Nui will own both companies and facilities, although specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  “;Putting these two companies together gives us a great foundation for us to really support beer that is produced in Hawaii,”; Kinsey said in an interview. “;Hawai'i Nui (great Hawaii) is about all of Hawaii, not just about one particular county or one particular island.”;

Calvin Shindo, general manager of Mehana, and son Dustin Shindo, who founded the company in 1995 and is current chief executive of Kapolei-based alternative energy company Hoku Scientific Inc., will retain two seats on Hawai'i Nui's four-member board.

“;We are delighted to expand our ohana,”; Calvin Shindo said in a statement. “;The Shindo family has a four-generation history of innovation in the beverage industry in Hawaii since my grandfather Katsuichi Shindo founded the Hilo Soda Works in 1920.”;

The Keoki brand—marketed primarily in bottles as Sunset and Gold ales—will become Hawai'i Nui, in Hawaii, while Keoki will continue to be the company's international brand in Japan. A rebranding of Keoki will begin in the next two to three weeks, while new labels will hit shelves in December.

Keoki, which was founded in 1998, and Mehana plan to complete the consolidation of operations by Jan. 1, Kinsey said. The company already has hired two new brewers at the Hilo headquarters and will be bringing in up to three more workers to handle what Kinsey estimates will be an immediate 20 percent jump in production to a total of 8,000 barrels of beer next year. Before the merge, Mehana employed about a dozen employees, while Keoki had about four.

“;Now we are going to produce enough to keep up with demand,”; Kinsey said. “;There is not much draft Mehana off the Big Island. We recently purchased a bunch of kegs last month that will give us the ability to grow into that market.”;

By acquiring the operations of Mehana, the only bottler of beer in Hawaii, all Keoki- and Hawai'i Nui-branded beer will be bottled in Hilo. Keoki currently has its beer bottled at Beerman's Beerworks in Roseville, Calif.

“;The Hawai'i Nui beers will be about balance,”; Kinsey said. “;It will be a very well-balanced beer. The Mehana product will be a little craftier and a little more aggressive.”;

Mehana's facilities total about 7,000 square feet with a 15-barrel system, while Keoki operations, which are running at full capacity, are at about 4,500 square feet, also with a 15-barrel system. The Kauai operations make all the draft Primo beer, owned by Woodridge, Ill.-based Pabst Brewing Co., for the state.

Keoki, which has five styles of beers, will be adding a third bottled beer—an island-style English brown ale called Hapa Ale—to its lineup next year. Mehana makes about a half-dozen bottled beers, all of which will be retained.

In addition to four brewpubs, Hawaii is home to four craft breweries, including Maui Brewing Co. in Lahaina and Kona Brewing Co. on the Big Island. Kona is Hawaii's largest brewery, producing up to 11,000 barrels a year for draft consumption in Hawaii, and more than 100,000 barrels total, including mainland production.