I mentioned to my wife the other day how I had been feeling a bit burnt out on reviewing beer but really into just sitting outside on Saturdays and reading with a beverage by my side. With that in mind, she went out and grabbed me something that looked appropriate to the task and offered me another momentary break from IPAs.
Beer Name: Kona Brewing Company (Kailua Kona, HI)
Brewery: Big Wave
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.4%
Description: Brewed to be a refreshingly smooth, easy drinking beach beer, this golden ale combines Galaxy and Citra hops with light caramel malt.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden-yellow/straw-colored body with many little bubbles running up from the bottom of the glass. There was a bubbly white head resting up top for maybe a quarter of the drinking experience.
Smell: Sweetness with lingering light malts.
Taste: Light sweetness upfront from the caramel malt slowly blended into a more crisp pale malt profile. There was a bit of a watery, nondescript moment mid-sip but after that the sweetness returned in combination with a subtle tropical hop presence.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a roughly moderate level of carbonation.
Hype: None. This isn’t a style that really fuels the hype machine and there is plenty of this to go around. Also, Kona Brewing is part of the AB-Inbev affiliated Craft Brew Alliance which I suppose makes them something of a pariah among the hardcore beer trend setters.
Overall: Light and refreshing, this was another nice beer to enjoy outside on a warm Summer day. I really enjoyed the sweetness and subtle hop profile, I was just a bit perplexed by that gap in the middle I encountered. Even that kind of worked out though, as it made the beer that much more thirst quenching. I’d be on board with grabbing another four pack of these for my next outdoor event.
Beer Rants and Books 