Beer is one of those subjects like wine and women.  What you like is very subjective.  For instance, we have a friend that only drinks Coors Light, and he loves it.  Clearly he has been dropped on his head or just never tasted greatness in a bottle yet.  Kona Brewing Co. is that greatness.

There is nothing wrong with drinking the tried and true Budweiser or Coors.  Cause you always know what you are going to get.  But we implore you to expand your horizons a bit and try this little companies’ brews.  Brewing since 1995 in the state of Hawaii, this brewery has clearly discovered brewing nirvana.

Originally tasted by myself in the Hawaiian Islands, this beer is becoming a mainstay on the mainland with great varieties like their Longboard Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale, Big Wave Golden Ale, as well as three seasonal beers, the Pipeline Porter (Fall/Winter), Koko Brown Nut Brown Ale (Winter/Spring) and the Wailua Wheat Ale (Spring/Summer).   Another nice touch is the bottle cap.  Under each cap is Hawaiian word along with translation.  It’s nice of them to include a drinking game isn’t it?

To truly experience the Kona brand you need to visit their brewery on the Big Island or in Ohau.  There they offer all the bottled greatness mentioned above, but also many draft only beers such as Duke’s Blond Ale, Black sand Porter, Castaway IPA, Hula Hefeweizen, and the Lavaman Red Ale.   If you love the stuff in the bottle, you have to love the stuff straight from the draft.

These beers are some of the best we have tasted, due to their understated greatness.  They are well crafted and balanced in their taste.  They pair well with all kinds of foods, from BBQ to Mexican.  We prefer to drink ours with BBQ pork, just because it brings back the luau experience a bit more.  Out of all their great beers, we prefer the Longboard Lager above all others.  It has a simple, light flavor that doesn’t over power your taste buds.  Personally, I can drink about six of these and not even realize that I have done it.  They are so smooth and not filling that you don’t notice until you see the line of dead soldiers on your counter.

Currently we’ve found these beers at Safeway/Vons, Albertsons, Buffalo Wild Wings, and our favorite alcohol emporium Bevmo.