Hawaii Nui Brewing Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

The makers of Mehana and Hawaii Nui beer filed for bankruptcy this week and are seeking new ownership as part of a reorganizing plan to restructure its debts.

The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that Hilo-based Hawaii Nui Brewing LLC, which produces the popular beer brands, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The filing cited assets between $100,000 and $500,000, and debts between $1 million and $10 million.

Andy Baker, Hawaii Nui’s president, told the newspaper that the company ran into financial difficulties after experiencing double-digit growth during the past six months.

He noted that the beer brands are doing very well and the company needs to reorganize to bring in additional capital to sustain the growth.

The company will remain operational while the restructuring occurs and a new owner is acquired.

Hawaii Nui Brewing, located on East Kawaili St., employs about a dozen people and produces nearly 71,650 cases of beer annually.

Of the 10 different types of beer Hawaii Nui brews, almost all are sold in state with the exception of a brew distributed in Japan.

It is one of the few beer brewing companies in the state that bottles or cans its beer locally.