Kona Brewing Co: Longboard Island Lager

It's hot right now. Yes I live in California. Yes it's mid-May. No kidding, right? I promise not to start every post this summer with "it's hot out". But for now, I'm not quite use to the heat. While I was lounging poolside today, I wanted some cold beers to cool me down. Considering I am on a substantial break from my work at the moment I picked up a ton of beers from the store to join me in the shallow end. Going with the classic 'cool me down', I first reached for an island style lager. Cliche? Yes. But tasty and refreshing, also yes and yes.

Kona's craftbrews are inspired by the island lifestyle and are made to enjoy on the beach and by the water. And I see why. This is a nicely malted lager with a clean crisp lemon flavored hop bite. It's quite refreshing, and if kept cold, a nice way to compliment a sunny day. As the brew warms even more lemon flavors emerge. So much so, I began to wonder if anyone slipped a piece of fruit in my brew. I was surprised that strong flavors emerged because it a pretty thin lager that goes down easy. While not ideal for a winter night or an air conditioned apartment it's perfect for the outdoors. This beer is also a nice upgrade from a American style macro lager and not too expensive even though it's being imported from Hawaii. So while you can't go wrong bringing cold beer to a pool party, this summer feel free to dive into a sixer of Longboard lager for a cool treat . Cheers.

Kona Brewing Co.: Firerock Pale Ale

I do enjoy a fine pale ale. Due to my affinity for this style of brew, I occasionally subscribe to Hofer's alliterative quest: "the pursuit for the perfect pale"*. Thus, over break, I picked up a six pack of Kona's version on the pale beer, because, well, I had simply had never tried it before.

Probably because this is a Hawaiian beer and the climate on the big island is very tropical, the packaging purports that the ale will be refreshing. (Maybe in an attempt to arouse memories of your lovely tropical island vacation). But I thought refreshing was an odd description for any pale. Now, Kona's flagship beer, the Longboard Lager, has been rightfully touted by many as incredibly refreshing (including our own Matthew Lightner - who promised to post on it). And that I can understand; as lagers are lighter than ales.

However, Firerock, is a surprising refreshing pale. It has basically no head (see right) and relatively few hops to match. Thus it is a pretty mild pale with some grassy flavors and hints of malts. It almost reminds me more of an amber ale than a pale in that respect. Now Kona's third beer on the shelf was a porter. I didn't examine its description, but if that beer is equally refreshing as the lager and paler ale, this company has figured it out.

Hang Loose & Cheers

*Note: I changed Hofer's use of "search" from his second post to "pursuit" because it added another 'P' and stylistically sounded better. But I'm sure he's not offended to that sort of editing from his tenure on The Santa Clara staff.