Justin Rivera

General Manager

Justin, a retired U.S. Navy Chief, hails from Waimanalo, HI and was raised in San Antonio, Texas. That said his aloha is Texas-sized! An experienced homebrewer, he has many accolades in the local homebrewing scene, alongside his wife, winning 9 medals in diverse categories including Best IPA and Best-in-Show Overall at the 2019 Hawaii Homebrew Competition. He represented Hawaii for the first season finale competition on VICE TV series BEERLAND 2017. Justin is deeply dedicated to brewing, trading shore-leaves while deployed to volunteer at breweries in Saipan, Guam, Alaska, Oahu, and Maui. He came to distilling through a Department of Defense program called Skillbridge. This program sets vets up with internships to help transition to the civilian sector. Yes, you heard that right the government set Justin up to learn how to distill fine spirits in paradise. He dove into distilling with passion and dedication, and it was recognized when he was invited to compete in the Discovery Channel competition series “Moonshiners, Master Distiller”. He represented the Navy in a true Army/Navy, Armed forces showdown. Check it out Justin faced off against two Army moonshiners with years of experience on their side. Armed with the taste of the islands “Pineapple swipe” Justin merged the appellation traditions of Sipping cream to make the winning spirit “Pineapple Sippin Cream”. You can taste this delicious concoction in the Distillery’s Cocktail Lounge located adjacent to the distillery. As if transitioning from Navy Chief and homebrewer to Discovery channel’s master distiller wasn’t enough, Justin is now the General Manager of the Ko’olau Distillery Cocktail Lounge. Justin hopes to someday open his own brewery/distillery.