151. Stone/Maui Brewing/Ken Schmidt Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter

Since this is a collaboration beer, we’re not sure where to locate our focus—we’ve had Stone (Pale Ale and Vertical Epic 09.09.09) during our current run, and we’ve tried Maui Brewing Company beers in the past—they’re one of the innovators of craft beer can use, and they had an awesome t-shirt for Penguin Imperial Stout that we tried to buy when we were in Maui, but they only had extra smalls left. Sorry, but skin tight t-shirts are not our forte. And let’s not forget Ken Schmidt, who got to live every home brewer’s dream. Since that makes it 2-1 in favor of Hawaii over California, we’ll go with the island state—well, that and the Kona Coffee, macadamia nuts, and coconut. Stone, you get props for the organizational focus, but beer sounds more Hawaiian than Californian.

Made by homebrewer Ken Schmidt, Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing, and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing, KCMC Porter has a chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt nose with toasted nut and macadamia aromas rounding out the profile. It pours a deep chocolate brown with orange highlights and a minimal tan head. KCMC Porter has a smooth rich malt front with some sweetness and chocolate, moving into roasty and coffee flavors, and finishing with very light coconut notes at the end, and also some light burnt/roasty notes & a little warmth from alcohol. The mouthfeel is rich with some creamy toastiness in the middle to end that mixes well with the coconut; the medium body and lower level carbonation keeps the focus on the flavors in the beer. The burnt aromas do increase in the nose with warmth. Overall, there were more burnt notes that we would’ve expected in a porter; still, nicely balanced, but not perfectly to style. KCMC Porter was better and more nuanced that we expected, although the sweetness does cover over a good portion of the coconut in the flavor profile.

ABV: 8.5%

Today was the final BJCP class, but I was flying home from Seattle and Thanksgiving so I’ve got nothing to report. The test is on December 5th; I’ll keep you all posted.

(11/28/2009)

3. Kona Wailua Wheat w/ Passion Fruit

“This is what beer tastes like to people who don’t like beer.”

While paradise may be only a stone’s throw away from the Kona Brewery in Kona, Hawaii, this is not one of their better beers (I do like the Fire Rock Pale Ale), although this may have more to do with the beer we got than the actual or intended beer itself. As the quote above indicates, there were some “problems” with the beer from the get go.

Wailua Wheat has a light yellow straw color, with a light head and the slightly sour nose found in many wheat beers. The light crisp mouthfeel is helped by the sharp clean carbonation; however, there was a slight metallic taste in the beer coupled with sourness in the body—sort of like the skunkiness of an older Heineken, but much much moreso. The overall taste indicated that something had gone awry with the beer, although it was not completely clear whether it was from the distance traveled or a break down somewhere in the brewing process itself. The passion fruit flavor was rather minimal as well; overall it was a light and far too much in the background. Again, this could also have been a product of the other problems with the beer, although since the whole six pack had the same issues (yes, I forced myself to drink the rest of it), I’m not sure what more to add. Let’s just say that as it stands, this one will probably be a top ten worst candidate.

From the Kona website: “Wailua Wheat Ale is an excellent beer to enjoy after a day on the water or at the beach (or even after mowing the lawn or playing softball in your ‘pau hana’ summer league!). It typically pairs well with lighter fare like grilled fish and shrimp, roasted chicken, salads and Asian foods. Perhaps even a dish of vanilla ice cream.”

ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 15
OG: 12.0° P
MALTS: PALE, WHEAT
HOPS: HALLERTAU

(7/3/2009)