The World Beer Cup is known in the business of brewing as the “Olympics of beer" — and an Oʻahu company outplaced hundreds of entries around the world at this year’s competition.
Josh Kopp is the owner and brewing operations manager at Hana Koa Brewing Company. They translate the Hawaiian phrase to mean “continuously working toward your craft.”
The Conversation stopped by the taproom on Wednesday and spoke with Kopp about what the recognition means.
“It's something that we've been working towards for a long time, and it's something I've wanted since I got into the industry in 2014,” Kopp said. "It's more so just the pride aspect of 'We were able to do this.' It's not necessarily something I think the general public is going to go crazy for, but it's something that, as brewers, we take a lot of pride in.”
Hana Koa’s Rice Breaker grabbed third in the International-Style Lager category, and its hazy India pale ale called How to Make Friends took second in the competition's largest category.
Kopp said the grain used for Rice Breaker, Weyermann Pilsner, comes from Bamberg, Germany. Although there are some domestic substitutes, he prefers using the Weyermann malt.
The brewing process uses both German and New Zealand hops, and takes six weeks in total for the Rice Breaker.
In terms of the tanks and equipment, Kopps said the moving parts come from various locations in Germany, Belgium, California and China.
With costs going up everywhere in the world, Kopp said that the brewery is trying to be more creative about how it uses ingredients.
Kopp worried about who would get priced out if the brewery had to raise its prices.
“The last thing I want to do is be a part of the pricing people out of paradise,” Kopp said. “I talked about Weyermann Pilsner, and I want to keep using it. I know that's already going to go up in price because of the tariff on Europe. And I have a threshold where, once it hits this, it's like I got to sub it, and I know what my sub is.”
Kopp said the brewery cannot escape an aluminum tariff since its cans come from Canada.
“I don't want to increase our prices, even if things happen, it's hey, this is the price, we have to work within it, which has been a fun challenge,” Kopps said. “But at the same time, if people would buy it at that price point, like that would be great, but I already know it's like, if I can't afford this stuff, because the price of everything else is going up, neither can everybody else.”
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 22, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
