As the weather starts to warm, I thought this Kona Longboard Island Lager, might be fitting in hopes for sunnier weather.
First, a little snippet from the brewery about this lager, which I found on konabrewingco.com.
Kona Brewing Company was started by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa. The pair had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. Their love of Hawaii, and a desire to protect the pristine environment here, brought them to the Big Island to fulfill their vision. Kona Brewing continues to be headquartered right where it began, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Longboard Island Lager is a smooth refreshing lager fermented and aged for five weeks at cold temperatures to yield its exceptionally smooth flavor. A delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements the malty body of this beer.
So, let’s get this beer in a glass and see if it makes us long for the beaches and big surf.
The beer came in a 12 oz. bottle and measured in at 4.6% ABV.
The appearance of this beer was a somewhat hazy, yellow, pineapple juice color. It had a bright white head from the initial pour, but the head was small and didn’t have much of a retention time. The lacing was virtually non-existent.
This lager has a fresh smelling aroma of some grain and wheat mixed with a bit of lemon citrus. It has a medium range of malt combined with a hint of spice. As the beer warmed, I started to detect some welcome breadiness and a tad more wheat.
The flavor provided even more of the “wheat” beer characteristics in the fact that not only did it have the spices and lemon-y citrus combined with a prevalent wheat note, but I also found a grassy/grain flavor that seemed to be more laid back and out of the way. Some peppery notes came through on a rush, but the malt helps to keep the taste proportioned. The hop bitterness was mild to low. I, personally, would have liked to have a bit more.
The mouthfeel was medium to light. Very crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching. It was smooth, but slightly watery. A little bit of flavor was left covering the tongue and throat and on into the finish, but not a whole lot. Rather tame throughout all the distinguishing categories.
This brew was nothing fancy. Rather straight forward and non-complex. It could, without a doubt, be enjoyed while basking in the sun because it’s very easy to drink several of these at one time without becoming full or bloated. It showed no signs of being heavy or sticky. I could definitely see myself with this on a beach somewhere or when it’s about 96 degrees in the shade, but that’s about it. It seems like a good entry level beer for someone wanting to experiment with craft beer from the standpoint that it has some flavor, but doesn’t overwhelm the palate so much as to put someone off or deter from the refreshment. This is not a brew that requires a whole lot of thought. Just pop open a cold one and enjoy.
Score: 3.2 out of 5
Grade: C+
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