Kona Brewing Co.

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clemson55

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Anyone have their beer much? I ordered one of there beers about a yr ago of liquidsolution.biz and I remember it being pretty decent, I believe it was there golden ale but cant remember now. Anyway today I go into the local beer and wine store and they have 3 varieties the pale ale the wheat and the lager. Well I bought up a 6-er of each I couldnt believe it. I hit the jackpot today that beer traveled about 6000 miles just for me. :rockin:
 
I just finished drinking one of their pale ales. Pretty decent. They just started showing up here, so I will definitely be giving their other brews a try.
 
I've only had the Fire Rock Pale Ale but dude.......it's freakin' AWESOME! It's seriously one of my favorite brews now. I originally picked it up bc SWMBO thought the labels were cool. Anyway, I've got my eye on BM's clone, I'll brew it up next weekend when my honey malt gets in from AHB
 
Apparently a rep was here wooing local distributors or something not too long ago. One of the hotels I do some consulting work for had a box full of six packs sitting behind the desk and said they were left by a guest that was here representing the brewery. Of course I managed to grab a sampler, but I don't think I've gotten around to drinking any of it yet. Not long after picking up that six pack, Kona beer started showing up in a few of the local grocery stores.
 
My very good friend John Abbot Is the original Brewer for Kona. The long Board Lager is his Baby. I have tried to Squeeze 411 about that beer from him in the past, BUT... He aint talken. I just might have to revisit the interest and see what info I can get from him for the home brewers that love the beer..
Cheers
JJ
 
I had the longboard through a randal with select in it recently. Good beer, not meant to be that highly hopped though!
 
My parents brought me back the 6 packs of cans. They visited the brewery and talked to the brew master. They had a great time. I had the Coconut Porter, Big Swell IPA (I believe that was the name) and one other beer. I liked them, wasn't to fond of the Coconut Porter, but could have just been the mood I was in. I would drink them all again.
 
I had a 6er of them when I was in Hawaii a little while back.

All of them were pretty decent, but I really liked the Coconut Porter. So much so that I am fermenting a Chocolate Coconut Stout. It should be about ready now.:D
 
I had a 6er of them when I was in Hawaii a little while back.

All of them were pretty decent, but I really liked the Coconut Porter. So much so that I am fermenting a Chocolate Coconut Stout. It should be about ready now.:D

Still in primary? Wondering if the coconut was able to hold its ground against those darker grains like chocolate or black patent. Whatever you used.
 
I think people are getting Kona Brewing (longboard lager, fire rock pale) and Maui Brewing (cans, big swell, coconut porter) confused.

The Kona beers have recently started showing up here too. It seems that they have gotten picked up by the AB distribution system.
 
I think one thing I'm really gonna miss about Hawaii when I move is stopping at the bar after work for Kona's Golden Ale. We also have another brewery on the Hilo side called Mehana. They have a great porter.
 
Kona has been showing up at the smaller beer fests for the last few years. Had a coffee stout two years ago that was great, but I think it was a one-off batch.
 
Guess everyone here on the east coast is getting it around now. Its definitely good stuff.

david_42 I believe that coffee stout is their regular stout it was listed on their website. They take pride in using the local coffee in there brew.
 
Kona, Maui, Brew Moon and Waimae are all decent. When I was in Hawaii, only Kona was avaialble in the hotels and stores. Kona's pale is great. I am glad to see it off the Islands. I just hope that transportation is suitable to the states or they are contract brewing.
 
Still in primary? Wondering if the coconut was able to hold its ground against those darker grains like chocolate or black patent. Whatever you used.
No, it's been in the secondary for about a month now. I used both chocolate and black patent malts. I used 1 lb of chocolate. I think it was a bit too much. ;)

I added another 14 oz of toasted coconut about a week ago. The flavor is heavy on the chocolate and more than just a hint of coconut.

I may bottle it tomorrow.
 
Longboard lager is a very good lager. The coffee beer that everyone refers to is the Pipeline Porter. It's a fall/winter release and another favorite of mine.
 
I just picked up a 6 pack of the Fire Rock Pale Ale. It just showed up at our local supermarket "Ingles". I was a bit skeptical since the label looked like it was inspired by "Beach Blonde". I decided to bite the bullet since I saw that it was actually brewed in Hawaii.

To my surprise, this beer is great! Thought I'd look it up here to see if everyone liked it as much as I did.

They also had the Longboard Lager and Wailua Wheat. Has anyone else tried the wheat? This one said it was brewed with passionfruit. I'm not a fan of fruited beers so I'm scared to try it.
 
I had Longboard Lager in Honolulu a few years ago and thought it was awesome.

I've recently bought a couple six packs of a couple of their beers it didn't really wow me. Don't know if it just doesn't do well in bottles, or if I just didn't care for those particular beers (don't remember which two I had in bottles now).
 
They also had the Longboard Lager and Wailua Wheat. Has anyone else tried the wheat? This one said it was brewed with passionfruit. I'm not a fan of fruited beers so I'm scared to try it.


It's good, but it literally smells like sewage. It's hard to get past the smell.
 
I have had the Fire Rock and it was real good. They have two facings in every Publix Supermarkets here in Jax. From the other posts, it sounds like they have done a great job in getting distribution.
 
For some strange reason, Kona seems to think lots of flavor belongs in beer:mug:

I love the Fire Rock. It is one of the more complex pale ales I can recall. It could almost pass for an amber in my opinion. much maltier than most.

Also like the Longboard a lot. They do good work over there:tank:
 
I had several of the brews on tap at the Kona Brewery (big wave golden ale, longboard lager, fire rock pale ale, and black sand porter). I wanted to have more (tripel), but I may not have made it to the plane for the mainland that night.

I asked if they had six packs to sell and was informed they only have growlers and they don't even bottle from their brewery. Everything we get in bottles is contracted from Widmers. I was shocked... I don't care for Widmer's hefeweizen.
 
Choconut Stout update:

I don't know when it happened, but I lost page 2 of my notes on this one...anywho...from page 1:

Brew date: 12 Apr 08
OG: 1.060

from pg 3, I bottled on 15 Jun 08

FG: 1.012

5.0% ABW / 6.3% ABV

Sampled today (in front of me right now): 26 Jul 08

Beer has been in the fridge for 2 weeks or so.

Nice slow phewtt! when opening the bottle.

Using the judging guide:

Bouquet/Aroma:

Malt: The smell of the Coconut floats over any Chocolate malt odor.

Hops: No hop bitterness detected resulting in a very balanced brew.

Other Fermentation Characteristics: N/A.

Appearance:

Color: Looks like a stout...nice and dark.

Clarity: N/A.

Head Retention: Poured nicely. Head was dark and dense for about 3 minutes before subsiding.

Flavor:

Malt: Chocolate malt may be a bit too heavy, but not completely unenjoyable. Anyone served a glass of this one would analyze it to the last drop then ask for another.

Hops: No hop flavor.

Balance: Well balanced. No hop flavor whatsoever with some residual sweetness that some people like in a stout.

Conditioning/Carbonation: Very low to non-existent.

Aftertaste: Even after 10 minutes there's a lingering dark chocolate flavor on the tongue as well as the coconut. More like a chocolate flavored coconut versus a coconut flavored chocolate.

Body:

Drinkability & Overall Impression: Initial deep chocolate and coconut flavor on the tongue. The coconut lingers a short time before the chocolate malt makes a base camp. Strangely enough, after a glass of this the coconut stands out nicely.

Odor: Smells like chocolate, but not overpowering. The coconut odor dominates. Very nice. If you ever broke a Mounds bar in half and smelled it you'll know what I'm talking about.


My overall impression: When I make this again I will reduce the chocolate malt some, and leave the rest untouched.
I really like this brew...:mug:...now where's that bottle opener???
 
HB Bill,

I fell in love with the Coconut Porter too and would like to try to brew something similar. Just a few questions:

What type of coconut did you use?

How did you prep the coconut before adding it?

Did you leave the it on the coconut for an entire month?

Did you move it into a tertiary to settle out some of the coconut?

TIA,
Stuart
 
Well I live in Kona so it's ok i guess.. lol.. I just got back from a party tonight and the master brewerer was there.. He always loves to sample my home brews..

All the beer you guys are drinking comes from Portland Oregon where they brew and distribute in bottles .. Here in Kona they only brew kegs and ship to other islands.. The beer on tap here at the pub is better than the bottles IMO.

I pretty much go there once a week or so with my Homebrew club friends.. we always get free beer and good price on food there..

Good to see the Kona brew getting out there to everyone.. Makes me proud of my little town..
 
They also had the Longboard Lager and Wailua Wheat. Has anyone else tried the wheat? This one said it was brewed with passionfruit. I'm not a fan of fruited beers so I'm scared to try it.

I've had the Wailua Wheat and I thought it was decent - nothing special. The passionfruit flavor is almost non-existent, IMO.

Stuart
 
I've had the Wailua Wheat and I thought it was decent - nothing special. The passionfruit flavor is almost non-existent, IMO.

Stuart

I totally disagree. I lived in Hawaii for 4 years, and just found some Wailua Wheat here in Virginia two days ago. The Lilikoi(passion fruit) is just as present as I remember. It has that distinct acidity and fruitiness that I remember and love.

Fire Rock is king though!
 
Tried the passion fruit wheat a couple weeks ago when we visited their brewpub. On tap it was excellent. Brought a six pack home with me... bottled it is not quite as good but I still like it. Might try making some if I can find some passionfruit extract.

Their coffee porter was a bit heavy on the coffee flavor. I was expecting a hint of coffee, but it tasted like they mixed equal amounts of coffee and beer.
 
Pipeline porter is one of my absolute favorites from them. Although I don't buy it enough, I'd also have to say Longboard Lager is my favorite commercial lager (not that I buy many lagers). I've had the Wailua wheat once and it was good IMO. Yeah, I think I've posted in this thread before but I like Kona Brewing Co.
 
I've always wondered Kona, but haven't had a chance to try it. It was the first tap handle I ever purchased. Guess I'll have to make the trip to St Louis to pick some up. BM where did you go to buy it?
 
+1 on the pipeline, we have it at my bar right now and customers drink it up..Yum
 
I gave in last night and picked up their Pipeline Porter in my West Palm Publix. Had no idea there was coffee in it until the first sip. :eek: Coffee is definitely the dominant flavor. The malt taste comes later.

The more I drank, the more I liked it though. :rockin:

Looks like I have to buy them all now.
 
Had the porter again recently and don't like it. I couldn't remember the last time I had it but I don't remember the coffee flavor being so strong, usually I remember the ones that taste like crap and don't drink them again. Tasted like drinking a cup of cold coffee, and I hate coffee.
 
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