gordon biersch
Kona Brewing and other Hawaii beer stuff
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
I got back from Hawaii last weekend and the euphoria of vacation has just worn off. Regular life is not nearly as good as vacation life, but at least everyone on Facebook can now look at the pictures and see how much fun I had. We did have a lot of fun and, while Hawaii isn’t a big beer destination, we did manage to drink (a lot) of good beer.
In Kona on the Big Island, the main draw was Kona Brewing. They have a cool pub just off the main drag in Kona with a nice outdoor patio. I recall sitting on that patio sipping a cool beer as one of the few times in Kona that I was not way too hot. Kona is really hot all the time, but thankfully Kona Brewing brews some wonderfully refreshing beers. My two favorites were their seasonal release Coconut Brown Ale (available only at the pub) and their limited release Pipeline Porter brewed with 100% Kona coffee (available in stores). Both were very flavorful and distinctly Hawaiian in their use of ingredients. Kona Brewing brews many other beers, all of which were good, and were the steady choice at restaurants and grocery stores.
Entrance to Kona Brewing, makers of liquid Aloha
Dad and I getting ready to taste at Kona Brewing
Rachel and I with some tasters
When in the States, I still get a kick out of the fact that you can buy beer pretty much everywhere. As a Canadian, it was very strange to find beer in Safeway and Costco. I also found the price of beer (almost half) and how frequently I was asked for ID strange. Even my Dad was asked for ID, which likely made his holiday. Speaking of Costco, in the Kona location we came across Kirkland beer! I had no idea Costco had their own beer brand, but it turns out that this beer is made by the steady national brand Gordon Biersch. Canadians, note the price for a 24 pack and be jealous.
Kirkland beer at Costco!
Kirkland Beer, so cheap...I think I've paid that for six packs here.
We managed to pick up a few other good beers including:
- Sam Adams Oktoberfest
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- Anchor Summer Beer
- Maui Brewing Coconut Porter
- Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde
- Mehana Brewing Volcono Red Ale
Maui Bikini Blonde, Kona Pipeline Porter, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Maui Coconut Porter, Anchor Summer, Mehana Volcano Red
The first three in the list are fairly ubiquitous south of the border, but rare up here. The latter three were solid island choices, with Maui Brewing my favorite Hawaiian brewery besides Kona Brewing. If you are going to Hawaii, don’t go for the beer (not that anyone would be), but do make sure you try some Kona Brewing and Maui Brewing products.
In other news, it was the Ironman world championships in Kona while we were there. I’ve never seen so many narcissistic skeletors with shaved legs exercising for ten hours plus in forty degree Celsius heat. If anyone is wondering, compression socks (think knee socks) and speedos don’t go well together. I wanted to tackle them and force feed them a beer, would have changed their lives. To each their own I suppose, but I think my way of enjoying Hawaii was better.
Cheers,
Chris
Seattle and Beer
Saturday, February 7th, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
I went to Seattle last weekend. It was my friend’s stag – he likes beer – we drank beer, and then some whiskey.
We left Vancouver in the late morning and arrived in Mount Vernon for lunch at the Skagit River Brewery. I fell in love with Skagit River Brewing from the minute I stepped out of my friend’s truck – the entire area surrounding the brewery smells like BBQ – not that fake propane BBQ smell, it was real smokey barbecue goodness. I love BBQ and therefore love Skagit River Brewing. I discovered this brewery a few months ago while on my way home from a weekend in Leavenworth – it smelled like BBQ then as well. The beer was terrific, the pulled pork was beyond description and all was right in the world. But good things cannot last forever and we were forced to move on in pursuit of more beer.
The Elysian Brewing Company in Seattle’s Capitol Hill region was our next stop . My job was to navigate – I did not do a good job – Google Maps let me down – my friends laughed at me – we still found it. Elysian Brewing is incredible; their beer is flavorful, creative and fun to drink. Elysian Brewing is innovative while remaining true to beer’s four key ingredients: water, barley, hops and yeast. I have no problem with adjuncts – they use them all the time in Belgium and I’m sure they use them at Elysian from time to time. However, it is always impressive to see a brewer create a diverse selection of unique tasting beer without relying heavily on novelty ingredients such as coffee or pumpkin. If you ever happen to find yourself in Seattle, please stop at Elysian Brewing - their round of tasters is a very welcoming discovery.
Gordon Biersch was our dinner stop and I cannot say any of us were impressed. The beer was okay, the food was not great, the service was mediocre and the atmosphere was somewhat “stuffy”. This brewery did not capture the creative spirit that the other two brewpubs had. When I visit a brewpub I expect to find unique tasting beer imparted by the brewmasters personal style and simple yet tasty food. Their beer was not bad and they had a good selection of German lagers, but this is not a place I would recommend to a true beer lover. But It was not all bad, we at least were able to have fun with the word Biersch – it is a fun name to say, especially after a few drinks.
I had planned to visit the Pike Brewing Company to give their barley wine a try, but the evening had other plans for us. After parading my friend around Seattle in a tight fitting A.C. Slater style wrestling suit we ended up at a cowboy saloon and spent the rest of the night drinking bourbon whiskey until our throats became too hoarse carry on.
Beer is such a great way to send a good friend off into the world a marriage.
Cheers,
Erik