Maui Brewing - Mana Wheat

Dead Soldier 

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Mana Wheat

Maui Brewing Co.
Lahainatown
910 Honoapiilani Highway #55
Lahina, HI USA
Est. 2005

www.mauibrewingco.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.5 % ABV

Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review

Somewhere between a straw and hazy golden color.
Scant hops, fruit sweetness wafts through.
Bright white fluffy head that disappears slowly but leaves no cover.
Very little lacing down the side of the glass.
Pineapple sweetness in just the right amount to balance the hops bitters.
Carbonation is zippy.
Light and refreshing mouth feel.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Part of my clan was visiting in Hawaii and they thought enough of me to bring home a few cans of Maui Brewing suds. This one was particularly refreshing in both taste and the off-beat humor from the label. "Where's my Ukulele?!?!" is printed there...why it's right in your hands. I can picture myself in the Big 5-0H with a sixer of these, parked somewhere under a tropical palm tree. Yes, that would do quite well.

The pineapple juice in the brew is sourced fresh from their own Maui Gold pineapples. And it is done very well without a whole load of sweetness intruding on the palate. I found this to be a very well balanced hefeweizen done in a uniquely American style. And truly some good mana.

Mahalo.

Kona - Wailua Wheat Ale

Dead Surfer

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Wailua Wheat Ale

Kona Brewing Company

Kona, HI USA

Est. 1994

www.KonaBrewingCo.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.4 % ABV

Fluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review

Straw yellow color.
Light wheat flavor, a little malt and little hint of citrus on the nose.
White two finger head that leaves a cover.
Fair lacing on the glass.

Wheat taste with a citrus finish of passion fruit.

Active carbonation.

Light mouth feel. Easy to drink.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Wailua is a pleasant tasting wheat beer that Kona brews up for the spring and summer seasons. The bright citrusy notes were a pleasant surprise upon sampling. I had to read the label to identify it as passion fruit, which Kona states is brewed into each batch. The name Wailua means two fresh streams of water that mingle.

This was purchased to be used originally for a cooking recipe.  I tasted some of the left over and that was all she wrote...the rest of that sixer is now history. It paired well with the pork steaks we made. Mmmmm.

Try some when the weather turns H O T. You'll appreciate the quirky passion fruit flavor at the end of each sip.

Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale

Taps for a Dead Surfer

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale
Kona Brewing Company
Kona, HI USA
Est. 1994
www.KonaBrewingCo.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.8 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 (On Tap)

Postmortem Brew Review
Brown color with orange hues.
Carmel malt and spice hop smell.
Off white 2 finger head that leaves a cover.
Good amount of lacing on the glass.
Nice balance malt and hops taste.
Active carbonation; slight tart fruit note on finish.
Light, refreshing mouth feel.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Very pleasant take on a pale ale from our 50th state.  I rather enjoyed the fruitiness found near the end of each sip.  It was nearly indistinguishable, but the fruit tones were definitely there.

The hops were also present but not burning, as one would expect in a pale ale.  That too, was very refreshing. This is not so much  a, "...you've gotta' try this, it's great..." beer as much as it is a, "...you've gotta' try this it's really pretty good..." beer.  Know what I mean?

So really, you've gotta' try this.  It's a pretty good beer.

Hawai'i Nui - Kaua'i Golden Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Kaua'i Golden Ale
Hawai'i Nui Brewing
275 E. Kawili St
Hilo, HI USA
Est. 1994
www.hawaiinuibrewing.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = ?.? % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Light nearly clear golden color.
Malt grains and citrus aromas.
Foamy, tall white head with dissipating lacing.
Good carbonation with small bubbles.
Light mouth feel, plenty of malt flavor with slight hops and citrus sweet finish.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
This is the other beer a good friend returned with from Hawai'i. Kaua'i Golden Ale was very interesting from the start. Although it mostly looked like any other 'yellow' beer, it had a touch of haze to it along with a sweet smell and aftertaste that was unlike anything else. You cannot judge this one on looks alone; it is deceptively good.

If you are able to surf out for one, good for you. If not, you'll have to wait like me for another wave of these to come ashore on the mainland.

Aloha!

Kona Longboard Island Lager

Dead Surfer

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Kona Longboard Island Lager
Kona Brewing Company
Kona, HI USA
Est. 1994
www.KonaBrewingCo.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Bright clear yellow in color.
Bit of spicy hops on nose with malt flavor.
Frothy head that dissipated at half glass.
Slight lacing of the glass.
Light, refreshing mouth feel.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
It's been said that good friends and good beer go together. What's better is when good friends bring you beer! This one was imported (?) all the way from the 'Aloha' state by a great friend, which was no small feat in airports today. Same good friend also brought another Hawaii beer, which will be reaped and reviewed in a later column. Now back to the Longboard...

It poured like any other lager and foamed like any other lager, but it had this distinctly different uh, ummm, sweetness. I just can't describe it, but it's enough to say that it was most enjoyable and refreshing in its chilly liquid form. Quite delectable and an ideal thirst quencher.

Even though Kona's Longboard is available around the corner at the local grocer, it was an extra special treat to know that it was bought and brought personally as a gift. The grocery store bottle or the gift bottle are both "handmade" as the bottle label proclaims, in the same brewery. The difference lies in the taste...the tasteful gift that is, of beer. Mahalo!