For a tropical island, Kauai isn't a bad place to get some good beer. Most of the local beer is not great and ranges from awful to drinkable, but for an island with only about 75,000 people, they do make quite a bit of their own. The one beer you really should hunt down is actually made in Maui, but Maui Brewing Coconut Porter is quite good and sold in a can!
The grocery stores are stocked with the local beer, but also have a good selection of Oregon beers which can also be found on tap in many of the bars. In short, there is no reason to have to drink BMC products or Mexican beer while here.
Kauai Beer Festivals:
As far as we know, Kauai does not have a beer festival of its own, but the big island of Hawaii hosts the Kona Brewers Festival every March.
Kauai Beer Bars:
Most of the bars in Kauai offer a mix of local beers, foreign imports (Bass, Heineken, Corona, etc.), BMC products, and good west coast microbrews. The bars listed below stand out as the best options we are aware of in Kauai. Also check out the Brewers section further down for brewpubs.
Living Room at the Princeville Hotel
5520 Ka Haku Rd
Princeville, HI 96722
808-826-9644
They have the usual imported and local collections, but we found a special treat here - CHIMAY! This is probably the only place on the island that you will find a Belgian beer. Furthermore, while expensive and upscale, The Living Room is beautiful with a nice deck overlooking Hanalei Bay. Its a great place to watch the sunset with a Chimay in hand.
Lizard Lounge
4771 Kuhio Hwy
Kapa'a, HI 96746
808-821-2205
This bar offers 30 different beers. While most of them aren't very good, they do have several good options from the West Coast.
Duke's Canoe Club
3610 Rice Street
Lihue, HI 96766
808-246-9599
Duke's is a cool bar, but their beer list sucks. So why did it make our list? Because it is the only place on the island that a beer traveler can get Duke's Blonde Ale.
Kauai Bottle Shops:
To our knowledge, there are no bottle shops in Kauai. It seems that the best option for buying beer is at the major grocery stores. Safeway, Foodland, and Big Save seem to have comparable selections.
Kauai Breweries:
Kauai now only has 1 brewery and they are closed until April 2012. They were formerly known as Waimea Brewing Company. Here they are:
Kauai Drinking Laws:
The legal drinking age is 21. Open containers in public are prohibited, but does not seem to be enforced at the beaches. Like everywhere in the U.S., the drunk driving limit is 0.8. Beer, wine and liquor can be purchased at grocery and convenience stores until 12am. Bars can serve from 6am-2am daily. Hotels and cabarets can serve until 4am.