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Hapa means “mixed” in Hawaiian, and it’s a perfect word to describe the brewing process, where four main ingredients – water, malted barley, hops and yeast – are mixed together to create liquid magic. So it’s fitting that long-time friends Derek Tam and Brian Edwards named their brewery Hapa’s, when they opened their San Jose taproom’s doors in 2017.

Hapa’s spacious facility offers indoor and outdoor seating, a large L-shaped bar and games to while away the time. The high ceilings and skylights provide lots of airy, natural lighting. Light snacks are available at the bar and a food truck is parked outside most days, or you can bring in outside food. And children and dogs are welcome — there were plenty of both on a recent Sunday.

If you go, I hope you’re not afraid of trains, because this place is nearly on top of the VTA light rail line, with trains whizzing by every 15 to 30 minutes. (Hold on to those dogs and children.)

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On the day we visited, the 10 beers on tap covered a wide range of styles, from a nice, crisp summer kolsch, to two malty red ales (a style not as common as it should be), four IPAs (a hazy, brut, guava, and double), a blueberry sour, a mocha porter and an imperial stout. The kolsch, red ales and hazy IPA were the stars of this liineup for me.

Note that six of the 10 beers listed on their website were not available on the day I visited, so you can’t be sure what you’ll be drinking until you see the sign behind the bar. (Don’t think of it as a website snafu. Consider it serendipity in action.)

Don’t miss: The Cannery Kolsch was named for the original occupant of the building, a fruit cannery. Kolsch is a light German ale brewed with a small quantity of wheat. It’s actually a very difficult beer to get right, and Hapa’s really delivers on this beer. Their use of German Saphir hops adds a delicate, slightly fruity spiciness that works well in this style.

Details: Open 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 3 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays at 460 Lincoln Ave., Suite 90, San Jose; www.hapasbrewing.com.