It was our last day in Hawaii, and hey, I couldn’t leave without drinking a Primo Island Lager now could I? Being the fan of retro beers that I am, it was on my radar, though I never saw it on tap anywhere. I did, though, notice it in cans when we stopped for lunch at The Lahaina Fish Company on the waterfront in Lahaina. So, I ordered up a tallboy to go with my delicious Shrimp Burger ($17): Seasoned shrimp patty, lettuce, tomato, Maui onion, cocktail sauce on a brioche bun and savory Fish Chowder ($8.50) with ono, clams, shrimp, bacon, onions, potatoes.
Primo is Hawaii’s original beer since 1897 according to the beer’s website. The Honolulu Brewing & Malting Company, established then, rolled out Primo in 1901 and produced it until Prohibition. Primo returned in 1933 with repeal, and the company was purchased by Schlitz in 1963. As many a beer historian will know, over the following decades Schlitz was acquired by Stroh and Stroh by Pabst, though the latter did not occur before Stroh stopped brewing Primo in 1997.
Pabst, however, is on a revivalist kick (most recently with brand such as Ballantine IPA and Old Tankard Ale) and resumed brewing Primo in Hawaii in 2007. When revived, it was brewed at the Keoki Brewery on Kauai, but they appear to have closed. As far as I know it is only sold in Hawaii, although Pabst says “Primo is poised for a grand expansion inland.”
More from the Pabst website:
Primo means the best. The best waves, the best people, the best places to be. That’s why it’s the name of Hawai’i’s original beer…. Primo is a premium lager beer crafted and instilled with the perfect lightness and taste for Hawai’i’s climate and lifestyle.
In 2007, after being dormant for nearly eight years, a pair of award-winning brewmasters worked with a group of the world’s top surfers and watermen to recreate Primo. While the development process was lengthy, the result was a high-quality island lager with a unique, bright flavor and aroma. With the 2014 return to the original Primo label artwork, Primo is now brewed lighter for the island lifestyle.
Apparently, Primo has been changed since it was recalled to life in 2007. The Primo website proper (Pabst has a separate page for the brand quoted from above) also says as much:
When we asked, “If you could make Primo Beer better, what would you do?” The overwhelming response was “make it lighter, more refreshing, with a cleaner finish.” So that is exactly what we did. Using the original ingredients from when it was first brewed in 1897, we took the liquid back to its roots and made a highly sessionable, everyday beer.
Primo Island Lager has an alcohol content of 4.6% by volume and mine poured to a pale yellow color with a fizzy, short-lived head and a nose of light malt. Sipping, the beer is refreshing with a clean maltiness, a hint of biscuit (ever so faint), a trace of adjunct and a soft balancing hoppiness. It’s your everyday macro lager with perhaps a tad more flavor, but it does have local character.
Would I buy Primo again? If I were in Hawaii, I certainly would. It was refreshing and delicious with my meal, enjoyed at the restaurant deck overlooking the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean and the islands of Molokai and Lanai rising from the ocean in the distance. Thanks are due to Pabst for resurrecting a little piece of brewing history and Hawaiian culture with Primo Island Lager.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft