Garrett Marrero didn't know much about beer, except that he liked to drink it.

But when the opportunity came up to own a microbrewery on Maui, the former investment consultant jumped at the chance. In December 2004, he and future wife Melanie Oxley packed up their belongings and moved from Sacramento to the Valley Isle to take over the former Fish and Game Brewing Co. & Rotisserie in Kahana.

Marrero admits that he didn't know much about brewing, but was determined to give it a shot.

"I knew beer primarily from the consumption side, not so much from production, but I'm a quick study, and it was something that really grabbed a hold of me, and I immersed myself in the beer culture," said Marrero, 29.

Together with brewmaster Tom Kerns, Marrero and Oxley, a financial analyst, launched Maui Brewing Co., a restaurant and microbrewery just north of Ka'anapali. Marrero said his primary goals were to give the brew pub some "needed direction and some TLC," but mostly, he said, he needed to establish a brand.

The trio created three signature beers and began distributing them throughout the island. He increased production, and within two years, Marrero saw the need to expand his seven-barrel brew pub.

Last February, Marrero opened a larger, 25-barrel production and canning facility in Lahaina and distributed his first cases a month later. With the two breweries, Marrero estimates that he can produce up to 4,500 barrels a year, although he plans to brew a little more than 2,600 barrels for now. (One barrel equals about 14 cases.)

"We're on track to do over $1 million in business this year," he said. "If we include the brew pub, we're on track to do over $3.5 million."

Marrero says the key to the success of his company is its unusual beer. Maui Brewing makes three main brews: Bikini Blonde, a light German-style lager; Big Swell IPA, a pale ale; and CoCoNut Porter, made with toasted coconut.

The CoCoNut Porter was awarded a gold medal at the 2006 World Beer Cup, and honors also were given to Maui Brewing at the Great American Beer Festival and other events. The brewery also makes 25 different styles of beer throughout the year.

Marrero said he's proud that his is one of the few beers "100 percent" brewed and canned in the Islands.

"I'm a big fan of local beer wherever I go, and to me local beer means it's made there," Marrero said. "There's a certain air of freshness and just a local appeal that part of the culture goes into the brewing that we felt was being missed by the fact that there was no local Maui beer."

He declined to reveal how much he invested in the business, but said it was money he was willing to spend.

"What I was risking was calculated enough where it was all on me, things that I can control to a degree," Marrero said. "It was something that I wanted to take a leap of faith. We wanted to stake our claim and really didn't have a lot to lose at that point. Only money."

He recently invested more in the business by purchasing a pneumatic air lift and inkjet coders from Maui Land & Pineapple, which closed its cannery last year, to speed up the canning process. Maui Brewing also purchased custom-made 100-barrel tanks from Stromberg Tanks International that have doubled the brewery's capacity.

With the ability to produce more beer, Marrero said, he will expand distribution throughout the state, and to Japan and California. Marrero and Oxley also plan to remodel the Kahana brew pub this year.

Marrero, a self-described "go-getter" person, said he enjoyed his career in finance, but loves his new profession even more.

"I found very quickly that I was really burning myself out and focusing on all the wrong things, mainly money," he said. "I came to Maui on vacation and fell in love with it immediately and knew that I needed to be here. This is something that really pulled me in, and I saw the opportunity, and I couldn't let it pass me by."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.