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quote:
Originally posted by Royall
It's brewed in Newport Oregon, by Rogue Ales. Great tour of the plant if you ever get over that way. Beautiful area of the Oregon coast.
Royall
Hale O Na Mea Pa`ani
They may have used Rogue in the past but now Kona beer is made by Widmer Brothers Brewery in Portland, Oregon and Redhook Ale Brewery in both Woodinville, Washington and Portsmouth, New Hampshire and is part of the Anheuser-Busch distribution family.
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Any local rice based beer? good stuff
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/169
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Chime in if I'm wrong, but if I remember correctly terracore the guy that started kona brewing brewed the beer on Hawaii. At a later point in time he sold it to a larger company and voila beer is made on the mainland now.
I wondered why it was cheaper to buy on the west coast the last time i was in california as opposed to on the island and my curiosity led me to the same discovery as you.
Cheers
rainyjim
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Don't get me wrong- it's a fine beer. But I always try to buy as locally as possible. If I'm trying to decide between product A and B, and they are similar quality and price, I'm going to choose the most local variety every time. I think a lot of people do that.
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I don't know if it was where terracore heard about it, but there's an article in the current Hawaiian Airlines magazine that talks about the Hawaiian beer scene and the conflict between Kona Brewing and the other local beer companies:
http://hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=1126&MagazineID=70
One of the big reasons for not making it here is that no one makes bottles here, and it costs more to ship bottles to Hawaii empty than it does to send them full (they have to be packed more carefully so they don't break). KBC has also become a relatively big producer that sells across the country. FWIW, many "microbrews", if they are sold outside of their local area, are actually produced under contract by facilities of one of the large brewing companies like Pabst or Miller.
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Sad (aloha no). There used to be a bottler in Pahoa. It was long ago I think.
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So I tried both Fire Rock Kona IPA (mainland) and Mehana IPA. Sadly I prefer Kona... I guess it's just more hoppy for me. Tho, I've grown up to on IPA's in Oregon. Walking Man, yes I know Washington.. But just over the river in Stevenson is probably my best micro brew I've ever tasted.
But that being said... I like Mehana's because it's in Hilo and will try other flavors. I want to support Micro Beers in Hilo. Maybe more choices will come to have a better IPA Locally.
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For more info on Kona ownership see the Craft Brew Alliance...Red Hook/Widmer/Kona...not related to Rogue (may have been in the past, I don't know).
http://craftbrew.com/brands/
By the way....Kona Fire Rock is a pale ale, not an IPA...and Eric there is no way it is more hoppy than Mehana Tsunami IPA. Maybe you are comparing the Kona Fire Rock pale ale to the Mehana Mauna Kea pale ale?...or the Kona Castaway IPA to Mehana Tsunami IPA? I too miss the Northwest IPAs...I lived there for a few years in the 90s.
Aloha...
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Mehana has a lot more selection since teaming up with the Kauai brewery and becoming Hawaii Nui.
David
Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com
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False advertising. Buyer beware. Brew your own!
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