Aloha!

Before I get back to my Bello Vino stash, I wanted to write about the beers of Hawaii. Well, two breweries, anyway: Mehana and Kona, as they were the ones we tried on our trip to the Big Island for my brother's wedding. I also got a book for our wedding anniversary (the 1st one is paper) that may make it into a future post: The Hawaii Beer Book. :-)

After visiting the spot where Kilauea's lava is currently flowing into the ocean (pretty spectacular), we stopped in Hilo for dinner at Hilo Bay Cafe (YUMMM). They had Mehana Humpback Blue on tap, and since I'd never heard of Mehana Brewing, it was a must try. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed. While it was better with food than standalone, it leaned too far toward sweet for me. M liked it a lot, so maybe it was my tastebuds or something.

Our last day we made the trip over to Kilauea-Kona to check out Kona Brewing. While we didn't have time to stick around for one of the two daily tours, we did have lunch and sample quite a few of their beers. I had only tried Longboard Lager before our visit (many of them consumed at the wedding reception), and was pleasantly surprised to find QUITE a selection at the brewery. In addition to the ten beers listed on the menu, they had four seasonals available. We tasted 8 of the 14: Mac Nut Brown, Dry Side Stout, Pipeline Porter, Fire Rock Pale Ale, Lavaman Red Ale, Castaway IPA, Duke's Blonde Ale, and Black Sand Porter. M liked (in order) Black Sand, Mac Nut, and Pipeline. I enjoyed the Fire Rock, but REALLY liked both the Mac Nut and the Lavaman. Of course, I had already ordered a pint of Lavaman (who can resist a pint of paradise?) before the sampler with the Mac Nut came out, but live and learn. Both were really great beers!!

P.S. Back to the Bello Vino- I made it out there before we left to snag a sixer of the Breckenridge IPA, only to find that it was $13.99 for a 6-pack! Yowza! I hope that is just because it is a limited release, and not an indicator of future beer prices...