I recently moved to the Pacific Northwest from the Midwest, so I'm slowly (but surely) trying all the new brews I find at the grocery store.
Tonight, it's Kona's Longboard Island lager. While I don't know what the style guidline is for 'island lager', this beer is exactly what I expected... vision a bunch of tourists sitting at a Waikiki beach bar, pounding these down one after another. That's exactly what it is. That said: I'm actually enjoying this. As a brewer who's tried to do Light American Lagers myself, it's REALLY tough to brew this style! There's nothing (malt/hop flavors) to cover-up your mistakes when brewing Light American Lagers. I'll put it to ya this way... If I were trying to homebrew a Light American Lager, and came even close to this, I would be completely satisfied. This is a great example of the style. It doesn't have any off-flavors at all. It smells nice, is balanced, is clear, the 'early morning pee yellow' color is right on the mark, and it finishes clean and crisp. This isn't like Bud/Miller/Coors puts out... I don't detect any 'beachwood' or 'rice' (adjunct) flavors. So I would guess it's all-malt. I think Kona brewing company hit the bullseye with this beer.