Kona Brewing Company
Company history
Kona Brewing Company was started in the spring of 1994 by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa. Kona Brewing Company Kailua-Kona Pub on Hawaii Big Island opened in November 1998. “A mahogany log lifted from the shores of Kailua Bay (used to adorn the acacia koa wood bar) and rusty corrugated tin from an old distillery helped transform the ink-smudged pressroom into a little hops-flavored oasis,” said Kona president Mattson Davis in an interview with the Honolulu Star Bulletin in 2004. On the Go Hawaii website, the pub is listed as serving “fresh entrees including gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, pupus and salads. The menu is filled with locally-grown products, including greens, herbs, tomatoes and cheeses” as well as fresh beers on draft.
In 2003, Kona Brewing Co. opened its second restaurant at the Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai on Oahu. In an interview with examiner.com in spring of 2009, Davis recalls that Kona’s strategy in 2003 was simple: ake sure we made great beer, get it to market, and hand out coasters.”
In July 2008, Kona Brewing Company opened its third restaurant location and first franchise at Honolulu International Airport. Located at the mainland terminal, the restaurant features Kona Brewing Company craft brews and pub menu items.
In February, 2010, Kona Brewing Company hired Sunetric, the largest Hawaii-owned and operated commercial solar energy contractor, to install a 229 kW solar energy generating system at its Kailua-Kona brewery and pub, which is expected to be fully operational by April, 2010. The project, a roof-mounted grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) system, is estimated to produce a daily average of 900 kWh of electricity, which will allow Kona Brewing Company nearly 60 percent offset of its current electricity usage.
Beer Recipes and Sourcing
Kona Brewing Company runs its flagship brewery in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Big Island which produced just over 10,000 barrels in 2008. Kona Brewing Company also produces its bottled beer and mainland draft beer at Widmer Brothers Brewery in Portland, Oregon and Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as part of its partnership with Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. (CBAI). Kona Brewing Company crafts its beer using CBAI ricks and mortar, synergizing with these breweries scales and efficiencies while controlling all aspects of the brewing. This partnership grants the company access to the Anheuser-Busch distribution network, which, according to Hawaii Business Magazine, “has the most technologically sophisticated distributor system in the country, with computer terminals in thousands of independently owned distributors and its own network of wholly owned distribution branches.”
Recipes and beer specifications are dictated by Kona Brewing Company brewmaster, who oversees all production at each Kona Brewing Company partner breweries as the beer is brewed and packaged. The beer brewed at Kona Brewing Company partner breweries utilizes Kona hops, malt and proprietary yeast. The water mineral levels at each brewery are adjusted to replicate the water used in Hawaii. A sample of each and every batch of beer is sent to the Kona, Hawaii brewery and corporate offices for sensory evaluation. The brewmaster and quality assurance employees are in daily contact with mainland partner breweries.
Hawaii Roots
Kona employs 170 employees in Hawaii at its brewery and two restaurants. The company is known for beers that link to its Hawaiian identity Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and use tropical ingredients Pipeline Porter, Wailua Wheat Ale, Mac Nut Brown and Big Island Ginger. There are 10-14 different beers on tap at Kona pubs, and the company makes between 15-20 different kinds of beer in Kona annually.
People at Kona
Mattson Davis, president
Rich Tucciarone, brewmaster and VP of operations
Growth and Distribution
In 2009, Kona Brewing Company was ranked #14 in sales of all craft brewers in the US (approximately 1,450) according to the Brewers Association. Kona’s beers are available in the United States in twenty five states and the District of Columbia.
Longboard Island Lager and Fire Rock Pale Ale are available all year. Wailua Wheat Ale and Pipeline Porter are limited releases, available for six months each in bars and grocery stores and specialty beer shops. Wailua Wheat Ale is available March through August and Pipeline Porter is available September through February.
Caps and labels
The collectible caps of Kona beers all have Hawaiian words partnered with their English definitions. There are now 50 words in the collection Some examples include:
Wai: Water
Brah: Dude
He nalu: Surfing
Kmau: Cheers
le: Wave Crest
The labels are produced by Flint Design Co. of Portland, OR (formerly known as Anstey Healy Design) and have been the sole graphics company for the brand, designing everything from the logo to packaging.
Sustainability and Community Support
As part of its mission, Kona Brewing Company recognizes that the future of the earth depends upon how businesses and individuals treat it. The company supports numerous community events throughout the year, including surf and surf-inspired events and causes that celebrate love of people, land and water. These include sponsoring professional surfers Jeff Silva and CJ Kanuha. Kona supports Sierra Club Blue Water Campaign and a number of chapters of Surfrider Foundation, including the Pacific NW and Hawaii Surfrider Kona Kai Ea Chapter. In 2008 the brewery took part in the Ho’okipa Beach Park clean up for the Maui chapter of Surfrider and supports the annual Kona Surf Film Festival held on Hawaii’s Big Island each November.
For three years, Kona has brought the Sno-Kona Pond Skim to Mt. Hood Meadows, Oregon, where costumed skiers and snowboarders skim across an icy pond. The athletes are competing for a number of prizes, among them a trip to Hawaii. Kona Brewing is also a sponsor of Portland’s Backyard Bang, a snowboarding rail jam event in the streets of Portland’s Pearl District hosted by Salomon Snowboards and the Art Institute of Portland.
As well as including pro XTERRA athlete Shonny Vanlandingham on its athlete roster, Kona has been a sponsor of the XTERRA Triathlon in Maui. Each year the brewery hosts the Kona Brewers Festival, a sold-out event that has raised more than $350,000 for local environmental, educational and cultural organizations over the past 14 years. In 2007, Kona Brewing Company won the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Kuleana Award for exemplary integrity, citizenship and stewardship.
As of January, 2008, Kona has had a sustainability coordinator in place. Also, according to the Big Island Visitor’s Bureau sustainable tourism practices section, “Kona’s restaurant was constructed with recycled materials and adorned with native woods; local produce, fresh-caught fish and sustainably-raised beef on menu. Heat reclamation systems in the brewery greatly reduce energy demand; plastic, paper, metal, glass, and cardboard are recycled, takeout containers are made of plant-based materials and automatic faucets and toilets reduce water usage.”
In late 2009, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) granted Kona Brewing with organic certification for its Oceanic Organic Saison, the first certified organic beer in the state of Hawaii. The beer will be served at Kona Brewing Company pubs in early January, 2010.
Awards
Longboard Island Lager
2009 Gold Medal Lager category, Portland Spring Beer & Wine Fest, Oregon
2009 Bronze Medal American Lager/ Pilsener category, U.S. Open Beer Championships, Georgia
2009 Honorable Mention Light Lager category, San Diego County Fair Craft Beer Competition, CA
2008 Gold Medal Dortmunder/ Export category, North American Brewers Association, North American Beer Awards
2008 Silver Medal Lager category, Portland Spring Beer & Wine Festival, Oregon
2008 Bronze Medal European Style Lager category, Australian International Beer
2008 Best of the Northwest/Pacific; Dortmunder/Helles CategoryS Beer Tasting Championship
2007 Best of the Northwest/Pacific;Dortmunder/Helles CategoryS Beer Tasting Championship
2006 2nd Place/Helles Category- Craft Lager Festival, Manitou Springs, Colorado
2006 Silver Medal; Lager Category North American Beer Awards
2005 Silver Medal; Lager Category Portland Spring Beer & Wine Festival; Oregon
2005 Gold Medal; Lager Category Capital Food & Wine Festival, Washington D.C.
2004 Best of the Northwest/Pacific;Dortmunder/Helles CategoryS Beer Tasting Championship
2004 Silver Medal; Lager Category Portland Spring Beer & Wine Festival; Oregon
2004 Silver Medal; European Style Pilsner Category LA County Fair Beer Competition
2004 Gold Medal; Lager Category Lake Arrowhead Suds of September Beer Festival
2003 Best of the Northwest/Pacific;Dortmunder/Helles CategoryS Beer Tasting Championship
2002 Best of the Northwest/Pacific; Dortmunder/Helles Category-US Beer Tasting Championship
Fire Rock Pale Ale
2009 Bronze Medal American Pale Ale category, U.S. Open Beer Championships, Georgia
2008 Honorable Mention; Pale Ale Category US Beer Tasting Championship
2007 Gold Medal; Pale Ale Category Portland Spring Beer & Wine Festival, Oregon
2007 Bronze Medal; American Style Pale Ale Category Australian International Beer Awards
2005 Gold Medal; Pale Ale Category Capital Food & Wine Festival, Washington D.C.
Big Wave Golden Ale
2007 Best of the Northwest/Pacific;Golden Ale CategoryS Beer Tasting Championships
2001 Best of the Northwest/Pacific;Golden Ale CategoryS Beer Tasting Championships
Pipeline Porter
2007 Bronze Medal Coffee Beer category, Great American Beer Festival, Colorado
2007 Silver Medal Other Beer category, Australian International Beer Awards
Wailua Wheat Ale
2009 Gold Medal Wheat Beer category, Portland Spring Beer & Wine Fest, Oregon
2004 Best of the Northwest/ Pacific Fruit Beer category, USBTC*
2002 Best of the Northwest/ Pacific Fruit Beer category, USBTC*
References
^ Honolulu Weekly “Ale Love You, Hawaii,” by Margot Seeto, April 29, 2009
^ Outside Magazine Longboard Lager review October 2004
^ Imbibe Magazine Beer of the Week–Wailua Wheat
^ Honolulu Star Bulletin “A Pint of Paradise” by Karin Stanton, 12/24/06
^ Go Hawaii travel website
^ Examiner.com 4-part interview with Mattson Davis, 2009
^ Beer Advocate August 6, 2008
^ KHON news, February 2, 2010
^ “Brewing National Success,” Hawaii Business Magazine, November 2007
^ Examiner.com 4 part series on Kona Brewing Past, Present, Future
^ http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/brt_article/brewing_up_some_success/ Midweek.com Mattson Davis Profile
^ Brewers Association interview with Rich Tucciarone
^ Honolulu Star Bulletin interview with Rich Tucciarone “Not Your Ordinary Beer Man” by Mark Coleman, June 19, 2006
^ Brewers Association 2009 North American brewery rankings
^ Kona is in the top 50 for 2009, Pacific Business News, April 14, 2009
^ examiner.com interview, part 1
^ Bigisland.org Kona Brewing Co. Sustainable Tourism Practices
^ Travel Oregon, Pond Skim
^ Beer Northwest Pond Skim, May 5, 2009
^ Kona Brewing Company sponsors XTerraTrail Running World Championship
^ Honolulu Star Bulletin, May 31, 2007
^ Honolulu Star Bulletin, “Brewing with a Conscience” Jennifer Sudick, June 28, 2008
^ Draft Magazine Online, December 12, 2009
External links
Kona Brewing Company homepage
“Kona offers mainland a little sip of paradise”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041228/news_1b28konabeer.html.
Honolulu Area Attractions
Kona review on Oahu Visitors Bureau
Go Hawaii Kona Brewing Co. listing
Wailua Wheat Review
Fodor’s Travel Guide, Big Island
Categories: Microbreweries | Hawaiian cuisine | Companies based in Hawaii
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