Kona Big Wave Golden Ale

Brewed by Kona Brewing Company
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Kailua Kona, Hawaii USA

Dfraft at the brewpub 11/02/2006. Faint aroma a little hops and floral notes. Clear golden with minimal head. A little richness to it, somewaht sweet flavor somewhat reminiscent of a wheat in some ways with a slight bitter finish. Smooth and medium bodied.

I originally enjoyed a bottle of this ale in Kauai, but sampled again in Kona. The ale is a lighter golden-amber color with a small, foamy, off-white head. A slightly sweet flavor, but more bitter and sour. Featuring a malty caramel aroma, with perhaps some citrus hops. A light, thin and oily body, with mild carbonation and average wetness.

A refreshing beer if nothing else. Pours a golden color with little white head. I light malt and hop aroma. Flavors of malt and hops with a tad bit of citrus fruit.

12 oz bottle. Poured a clear golden color with bubbly white head. No lace. Smelled of sprucy hops and light cereal grain. Flavor was similar with a touch of light apple. Oaky beer.

From a twist off 12 oz. bottle with a packaged on date, Feb.22.06. Poured a cloudy tarnished golden with a foamy white head that settled into a thin lacing, minimal amount of sticking. Aromas of apples and melons, a light clove and sweet grainy malts. Moderate carbonation and a crisp, smooth medium bodied mouthfeel. Pleasant, but average tasting, a nutty graininess, pears and apples with lemon squeezed over them, a light leafy hoppiness and a dryish malty and leafy finish. Not bad, but not great either, pretty average overall, inoffensive drinkability.

Pours out light golden color with a small white head, well carbonated. Aroma is not very noticible, but of sweet malts and some grass notes. Watery mouthfeel with not very well established flavor. Notes of hop on the finish otherwise not really much going on here

12oz. Bottle: Aromas of honey, coriander, tea, malt (hay, grain, pear), and hops (flowers). Poured hazy golden/amber/ Small, rocky, off-white head did not last. No lacing. Hazy. Sparkling. Flavor is malty and tastes of dirt, honey, sourdough, and some spice I cannot identify. Also a bit of a herbal hop flavor in the finish. Medium sweet. Not really bitter. Not well balanced. Light body. Thin texture. Soft carbonation. Long, malty, strange tasting finish. Overall, uninspiring. Not a bad beer, but really not good either.

I don’t really understand why this beer needs to be made in addition to all of their other lighter offerings. (See my review of their Duke’s Blonde Ale.) No flaws here, just not a lot of flavor or dimension.