Kona Brewing

Posted in Beer News, Kona Brewing

Kona Announces 24 oz Longboards

Get ready for 24 ounces of craft brewed deliciousness. Kona Brewing Company has announced that they will be launching 24oz cans of their flagship Longboard Island Lager. Only a handful of breweries are using the 24 oz option. The cans will launch on the West Coast initially to select locations such as sports stadiums and convenience stores and will expand to full distribution throughout 2013.

“As our beer becomes more widely available throughout the US and abroad, these new packaging offerings allow us to introduce more new drinking occasions for the craft beer lover. The 24-ounce can is so versatile; Crack one open for pau hana after a long day or with friends at the beach or pool.”

Style: Lager
Availability: 24oz cans, 12oz cans, 12oz bottles, Draft. Year round.

4.6% ABV

 

Posted in Coming Soon, Kona Brewing

New Kona Brewing: Nine Strings

Kona Nine Strings

Hawaii founded Kona Brewing Co is creating more liquid aloha for you – Nine Strings. Ale brewed with honey.

A big mahalo to the Owner’s Manual for a job well done! Kona Brewing Company had a great time working with the crew and hope that you come visit us again next time you’re on the big island.

Style: Honey Ale
Availability: 12oz bottles
Arrival: TBA

?? ABV 

Posted in Beer News, Kona Brewing, New Releases

Kona Launches Big Wave On The Mainland

Kona Big Wave Golden Ale

Kona Brewing Co (Kona, HI)  has announced that they will be shipping Big Wave Golden Ale to the mainland. Big Wave is one of the breweries original beers from all the way back in the ’90s.  Bottles will hit all of Kona’s 30 mainland markets, with draft limited to just California and Florida until 2013.

Inspired by the huge waves that pound the gold sand beach of Makaha in Waimea Bay on Oahu, Big Wave Golden Ale is well-loved among locals and visitors to Hawaii, who until now have had to go without upon their return to the mainland. This will be the company’s first new mainland beer since Koko Brown Ale hit in January 2011.

Style: Blonde Ale
Hops: Galaxy, Citra
Malts: Pale (Premium 2-R0w), Honey

Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft (Limited initially)

4.4% ABV 21 IBUs

[Full PR]

Posted in Kona Brewing, Press Releases

Kona Big Wave Golden Ale Hits Mainland (PR)

(Kailua-Kona, Big Island of Hawaii) — A longtime staple in Hawaii will soon make its way ashore, courtesy of Hawaii-born Kona Brewing Company.

Big Wave Golden Ale will join Kona’s portfolio on the mainland that includes flagship Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and the trio of Aloha Series seasonals available at select times during the year. Brewed with tropical ingredients, the Aloha Series is comprised of Pipeline Porter, Koko Brown Ale and Wailua Wheat. Like Longboard, Big Wave Golden Ale will be a year-round offering starting August 13, 2012, and will be available in 6-pack bottles in all 30 of Kona’s mainland markets.

Inspired by the huge waves that pound the gold sand beach of Makaha in Waimea Bay on Oahu, Big Wave Golden Ale is well-loved among locals and visitors to Hawaii, who until now have had to go without upon their return to the mainland. This will be the company’s first new mainland beer since Koko Brown Ale hit in January 2011.

Kona Brewing president Mattson Davis said, “Big Wave Golden Ale is one of our original beers, first brewed at our Kailua-Kona home brewery in the mid 90’s. Like Longboard, it’s a great session beer with a bright quenching finish, and perfect for kicking back and talking story at sunset. For the tens of thousands of mainland craft beer lovers who have requested it, their day has come!”

Draught will be limited to California and Florida for Big Wave in 2012, with the other mainland markets receiving draught in early 2013. The beer will also be poured at the Doheny Surf Festival in Dana Point, CA August 11-12 and the Liquid Aloha Festival in San Diego September 1, 2012. It will also be available on draught at the Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) July 26-29 and Florida’s Key West Brewfest August 30-September 3.

Bitterness: 21 IBU
ABV: 4.4%
OG: 10.3 P
Malts: Pale (Premium 2-row), Honey
Hops: Galaxy and Citra

About Kona Brewing
Kona Brewing Company was started in the spring of 1994 by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa, who had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. It is a Hawaii-born and Hawaii-based craft brewery that prides itself on brewing the freshest beer of exceptional quality, closest to market. This helps to minimize its carbon footprint by reducing shipping of raw materials, finished beer and wasteful packaging materials. The brewery is headquartered where it began, in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island. It has grown into Hawaii’s largest brewery, has three restaurant sites in Hawaii and beer distribution reaching 30 states and Japan. It is the 13th largest craft brewery in the country. For more information call 808-334-BREW or www.KonaBrewingCo.com.

Posted in Kona Brewing, Press Releases

Kona Featured On Travel Channel’s Sand Masters (PR)

KAILUA-KONA, HI – This past March, craft beer drinkers were treated to something extra special at the 17th annual Kona Brewers Festival. The cast of Travel Channel hit Sand Masters, a reality show about a select group of sand sculptors who travel the globe to create masterpieces for clients on film, were so inspired by sights on Hawaii’s Big Island that they built a 50-ton sand sculpture to reveal at the festival. The sculpture’s unveiling coincided with the launch of Kona Brewing’s Longboard Island Lager cans, and the episode will air for the first time Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Kona Brewing president Mattson Davis personally toured the cast and crew to Volcanoes National Park to view the eruption of KÄ«lauea Volcano which began in 1983 and continues today at the cinder-and-spatter cone of Pu`u `ÅŒ `ō (high point on skyline). The cast also tours Kona Brewing Company and even gets to take part in the brewing operations for Koko Brown Ale. The crew sculpted on the sand in front of the legendary King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, just steps from King Kamehameha The Great’s palace at Kamakahonu Bay.

The inspiration the sculptors gathered from touring the Big Island resulted in a sand masterpiece that was exhibited Saturday, March 10 at Kona Brewers Festival. Each of the five sculptors had one piece of the sculpture to build for Saturday to reveal as one integral sculpture and included a way to serve cold Kona beer to the 2,500 festival-goers. Drama ensues when the beer isn’t temperature-perfect for Kona serving standards, and the sculptors fragile art of sand sculpting is threatened when the sand is not as easy to sculpt as they anticipated.

The Kona Brewfest episode of Sand Masters will premiere Sunday, May 20 at 4:00 pm Eastern and Pacific times. 1:00 pm Hawaii. Check local listings for more viewing times. The flagship pub and restaurant in Kailua-Kona and the Koko pub on Oahu will be hosting viewing parties with drink specials at each pub during the airing.

About Kona Brewing:

Kona Brewing Company was started in the spring of 1994 by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa, who had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. It is a Hawaii-born and Hawaii-based craft brewery that prides itself on brewing the freshest beer of exceptional quality, closest to market. This helps to minimize its carbon footprint by reducing shipping of raw materials, finished beer and wasteful packaging materials. The brewery is headquartered where it began, in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island. It has grown into Hawaii’s largest brewery, has three restaurant sites in Hawaii and beer distribution reaching 30 states and Japan. It is the 13th largest craft brewery in the country. For more information call 808-334-BREW orwww.KonaBrewingCo.com.

Posted in Kona Brewing, New Beers
Posted in Abita Brewing, Alaskan Brewing Company, Bell's Brewing, Boulevard Brewing, Brooklyn Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Dogfish Head, Harpoon Brewing, Kona Brewing, Lagunitas, Long Trail Brewing, Magic Hat Brewing, New Belgium, Redhook, Shipyard Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Stone Brewing Co., Widmer Brothers Brewing

2011 In Review: Top 20 Craft Breweries

Not everybody knows the Top 2o craft brewers in the United States.  To be considered craft, you have to produced less than 6 million barrels of beer a year.  Overall in 2011, the beer business declined by 1.5% nationally. (When you factor in the large breweries.)  The craft sector saw an increase of 15% growth in volume of barrels shipped.  Here’s the Top 20 brewers ranked:

1. Sam Adams
2. Sierra Nevada
3. New Belgium
4. Craft Brew Alliance (includes Red Hook, Kona, Widmer Brothers)
5. Spoetzel (Makers of Shiner)
6. Magic Hat
7. Deschutes Brewing
8. Matt Brewing (Makers of Saranac)
9. Bell’s
10. Harpoon
11. Lagunitas
12. Boulevard
13. Stone
14. Dogfish Head
15. Brooklyn
16. Alaskan
17. Shipyard
18. Abita
19. Long Trail Brewing
20. Great Lakes Brewing

[Huffington Post]