Entrepreneur Garrett Marrero will celebrate the Maui Brewing Company’s 20th anniversary with a party at his Kihei bar and restaurant on Feb. 6. Photo courtesy Maui Brewing Company

Garrett Marrero lived in San Francisco and was among the youngest licensed investment brokers in California when he decided to settle on Maui and start a brewery.

“The warm clear waters and the culture and feel of the place and people drew me here,” Marrero recalled. “Something grabbed my soul saying, ‘This is where you need to be.'”

Twenty years later, Maui Brewing Co. with Garrett Marrero as chief executive officer and co-founder has drawn a large following with five restaurants in Hawaii, including three on Maui and two on Oahu. The brewery has expanded its distribution to the U.S. continent, going from 320 barrels its first year to making more than 100,000 barrels of beer annually.

Overlooking the ocean and Kahoolawe Island and the green slopes of Haleakala, his Kihei restaurant and adjacent brewery are located along Lipoa Parkway in an area known for promoting start-up companies and innovative research.

His neighbors include the Maui Research and Technology Center, assisting entrepreneurs with meeting space and high-speed internet. There’s a steady stream of visitors and residents to his restaurant that offers the option of outside open-air seating.

At the entrance are a sales counter and a large high-definition screen displaying a video of the brewery’s operations.

Marrero said his appreciation of the subtle flavors of different beers came early in his life because of his family’s European background where drinking “was not a taboo thing.”

His step grandfather would share various beers from around the world including beers from micro breweries, and Marrero enjoyed the flavors in different styles of beer, including English bitters, stout, German lagers and porter.

Now Hawaii’s largest brewery, Maui Brewing is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a party at its beer garden in Kihei at 605 Lipoa Parkway in Kihei from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 6. The celebration will include giveaways and music by Collection of Lone Souljahs.

“I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished as a team,” Marrero said. “Mahalo to our fans, partners and supporters.”

Retail host Kayla Texeira sells logo shirts and other products associated with the Maui Brewing Company.
The Maui News / Gary Kubota photo

Retail host Kayla Texeira sells logo shirts and other products associated with the Maui Brewing Company. The Maui News / Gary Kubota photo

Marrero has been with Maui through thick and thin, and he experienced the fear of the wildfires when he rushed to make preparations to protect his home and business in Kihei after seeing the red glow in the mountains of Haleakala.

He later learned about how the wildfires were destroying Lahaina and headed with trucks, generators and food to the west side.

As a pilot, he and others also flew airplanes with loads of food daily to the airport at Mahinahina and worked with Motorola to provide emergency communications for some of the people involved in the Lahaina relief efforts.

The utility poles were still smoldering red when he and his team left, but they returned the next day with daily flights and drives with more provisions.

The fire destroyed some 2,200 structures in Lahaina, including two breweries, the Koholā Brewery and Waikiki Brewing Company’s Lāhainā Brewery.

As past chair of the Brewers Association, Marrero was able to enlist some 750 breweries worldwide in helping to raise $1.5 million through offering Maui Brewing’s Kokua Beer to be made by brewers, provided the proceeds went to benefit Maui wildfire victims.

Breweries in the U.S. signed on to the fundraiser, as well as international breweries in Canada, Japan, Germany, the Philippines, New Zealand and Switzerland.

Maui Brewing has gone through several expansions since its first microbrewery and restaurant in Kahana in 2005, including its Kihei production facility and restaurant, and restaurant locations in Ka’anapali, Waikiki and Kailua.

Beyond craft beer, Maui Brewing also produces Maui Hard Seltzer, which saw a 26% growth in 2024, and Kupu Spirits, including bottled spirits and ready-to-drink canned cocktails.

Its popular nonalcoholic Island Root Beer and Island Ginger Beer and newly launched Maui Island Hard Tea will soon be distributed in a number of states including California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and Minnesota.

The business has 600 employees in Hawaii and the U.S. continent.

Marrero said he gets the most joy working with people and “all the things we’ve done in our community.”