Last Friday, I headed out to the Tecolote Canyon area between Linda Vista and Bay Park. What brought me here? I was headed to Coronado Brewing Company’s new 14,000 square foot facility (1205 Knoxville Street) to check out a new beer that’s very near and dear to my heart.

A group effort between CBC and Hawaii’s Maui Brewing Company, it’s a hibiscus-infused IPA that's the first in their new Two Islands Collaborations series that's scheduled to be released in the next month or so. What makes it special is that a portion of proceeds from sales of the beer will be contributed to Beer For Boobs, a team assembled by local yeast production company White Labs to participate in November’s annual Susan G. Komen 3-Day.

I’ve always appreciated the way local brewers have rallied around the fight against breast cancer, and this year I was able to contribute my efforts by joining the B4B crew. As such, I was very happy to find that the CBC-Maui Hibiscus IPA is tasting really nice. It pours a nice shade of maroon (close enough to drinking pink for us) and carries with it gentle floral notes that come on with an orangey roundness and nice bitterness in the finish. I look forward to serving it up as a volunteer at various B4B events around town leading up to the 3-Day (click here for a calendar listing those events).

While I was there, I checked in about the expected open date of CBC’s new facility (and snapped a few photos). They said it would likely be four-to-six weeks until they have everything installed and running as they want it. They also need to finish constructing the tasting area. It will abut the brewhouse, which features a brewing system that looks like a stainless steel fortress, and a brand new state-of-the-art bottling line.

The new system is capable of producing 60-barrel batches, and CBC has been brewing with it since early July. The bottler is still being calibrated, but should in full swing and capping off 12- and 22-ouncers at lightning quick speed in no time. Once up and running, the Knoxville facility will significantly boost the companies production and ability to reach its customers.