Primo beer is making a comeback and hoping it will return to its former glory as Hawai‘i’s brew of choice. Primo Brewing & Malting Co., a division of Pabst Brewing Co., is bringing the beer back to the Islands with
Primo beer is making a comeback and hoping it will return to its former glory as Hawai‘i’s brew of choice.
Primo Brewing & Malting Co., a division of Pabst Brewing Co., is bringing the beer back to the Islands with the help of a Kaua‘i brewer. Keoki Brewing Co. in Lihu‘e will produce approximately 200 kegs of Primo draft each month. The beer will be available in about 25 select bars and restaurants mid-month. It is not known at this time whether Primo will debut on Kaua‘i.
Primo has a storied history in the islands, where it got its start in 1898. The choice brew in Hawai‘i for decades thereafter, Primo slowly slipped to its demise in the ’80s after a series of ownership and bottling changes. By 1998, Primo was off the shelves in Hawai‘i.
For its current reincarnation, the draft beer will be produced locally through Keoki. A bottled version is expected to appear in stores in the spring of 2008.
“Primo was our father’s and grandfather’s beer,” Keith Kinsey, CEO of Keoki Brewing Co., said in a press release. “Keoki Brewing is honored to carry on that proud tradition and to play a part in Primo’s return to the Islands.”
Primo beer will be distributed by Paradise Beverage Co. to select local bars and restaurants and will gradually expand its reach over the next 12 months. According to Kyle Wortham, senior brand manager at Primo Brewing & Malting Co., the strategy is to roll out the well-known beer carefully, so as not to “blast the market and try to be everywhere at once.
“We’re stoked to bring back Primo. It’s Hawai‘i’s beer,” Wortham said in the release. “We’re happy to relaunch Primo and return it to Hawai‘i’s beer drinkers.”
In addition to new ownership, Primo has been tweaked for a rich taste using Hawaiian cane sugar. The brew recipe was created by brewmasters Phil Markowski and Bob Newman, who was recently named brewmaster of the year for the second consecutive year by the Great American Beer Festival.
The company says input on the new recipe was provided by surfer Keoni Watson, who tasted several rounds as the recipe was being fine tuned.
“The final product really nails it,” Watson said in the release. “I’m happy to see the beer return. Primo belongs here. It’s as local as spam musubi.”
The company said its bottled beer, which will be produced in Irwindale, Calif., should be available in stores no later than April of next year.
