• The Suds:
• Climate Controlled brewery
• Dark beer: Hammerhead Amber
• Light beer: Manta Gold

The Brew

Typically, when you visit a tropical paradise one expects that the “local brew” is always a little less than satisfying, lacking in taste/richness, and even sometimes downright undrinkable. Not so in Yap!

Enter Stone Money Brewing Company, Yap’s own genuine microbrewery. We even have a swiss brewmaster! With its climate-controlled brewing facility and high-quality ingredients, you would be hard-pressed to find a better tropical microbrewery.

The History of Stone Money Brewing Company

The idea for making fresh beer in Yap came about because Bill Acker wanted to do something special for guests of Yap Divers. Thus entered Greg Wilson, a good friend of Bill’s who has been brewing beer in the Cook Islands since 1978. Greg is the owner of Cook Island Divers and one of the highlights of guests’ dive days in the Cooks is to come back to the shop and sample Greg’s homebrew.

In 1999, Greg visited Yap for the 3rd time and brought all the necessary equipment and supplies for Bill to begin brewing beer in his kitchen, much to the chagrin of Bill’s wife Patricia who didn’t like the smell of fresh beer throughout the house. Bill began making beer and “bottling” it in plastic 2 liters “Coke” bottles. From this inauspicious start, the Stone Money Brewing Company was born.

Mr. Ian Ward of Brewvisions, Ltd. (headquartered in London, England) was hired to develop a mini-micro brewery which was located on the S/V Mnuw and operated by Mr. Fredy Gull of Zurich, Switzerland. From those humble beginnings, a 600-liter Microbrewery currently located in the lobby of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel began. Fredy is still the Brew Meister and the island of Yap will never again be caught without truly fresh beer.

The Beers

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Hammerhead Amber

Our dark beer is also a true Lager but with more of an American West Coast flavor. Biya is the Yapese spelling for our favorite beverage.

Hammerhead Amber, being a true Lager, is also fermented for one week and kept at a constant temperature of 15 degrees Centigrade and then cooled to 3° C and transferred slowly to a maturation tank that is held at a constant temperature of 6° C for a minimum of 7 days. After maturation, the beer is transferred to pre-pressurized kegs and held at 6° C.

Hammerhead Amber tends to be slightly clearer than Manta Gold but it is also meant to be naturally cloudy and it too takes a while to dispense properly.

• The ingredients are:
• Triple filtered pure aquifer water
• A blend of Harrington and Triumph variety Pale Malts
• 60 L° Crystal Malt (to give color and a caramelized flavor)
• Cascade Hops (a moderately bitter hop with a fragrant, flowery aroma)
• Northern Brewer Hops (these hops have a mint-like evergreen flavor)

Manta Gold

Our original beer is a true European Lager made from the finest malted grain and European Hops.

Manta Gold won a SILVER MEDAL at the 2020 Concours International de Lyon in the Helles (poured) category!

Manta Gold is fermented for one week and kept at a constant temperature of 15 degrees Centigrade and then cooled to 3° C and transferred slowly to a maturation tank that is held at a constant temperature of 6° C for a minimum of 7 days. After maturation, the beer is transferred to pre-pressurized kegs and held at 6° C for up to 4 months.

These temperatures are critical to maintaining the natural CO2 content of this fine Lager. Manta Gold is naturally cloudy and takes a bit of time to dispense properly but we think you will agree that the painstaking efforts used to brew this beer and the time that it takes to dispense properly, with just the right amount of head, is well worth it.

• The ingredients are:
• Triple filtered pure aquifer water
• 2 Row Moravian Malt
• A small amount of Rice Flakes (used for coloring)
• Hallertau Mittelfrueh German Hops
• Czech Saaz Hops imported from the Czech Republic