Kona Da Grind Buzz Kona Coffee Imperial Stout

Brewed by Kona Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Kailua Kona, Hawaii USA

I had this beer on tap at the brewery while I was on vacation there. The worst thing about this beer was that they don’t bottle it and they didn’t have it available in growlers while I was there. I made sure to stop back at the brewery right before I got on the plane to have one last pint. It’s that good. It pours jet black with a very thick mocha head that sticks around for a while. The smell is great and reminds me of smelling ground coffee beans, chocolate malt grain, and black patent grain. It is exceptionally creamy with coffee, roasted, and chocolate flavors. Many of the coffee stouts that I have had an associated bitterness with the coffee, but the use of 100% Kona beans seems to have eliminated that bitterness. It has an excellent full body. The only reason that I don’t give this a perfect drinkability is that the ABV is so high. This is probably my favorite Kona brew. I wish I was back in Hawaii now...

"now we’re talking. i love the pipeline porter, which is a porter brewed with Kona coffee. this is the imperial stout version, so apply all the goodness of the porter, and apply to the body and full flavor of an imperial stout. Yummy!"

My favorite beer at PP Strong Ale. A nice Impy Stout with a real espresso kick. Rich cocoa, bittersweet chocolate, almost full bodied with a nice alcohol kick. Rounding it all out is a nice hop bitterness that makes it all blend together.

Cask at Kailua Kona brewpub. Dry, rich, roasted malt aroma with a hint of nuts. Good head retention; black body, opaque. Considerable alcohol profile. Provides a richness. A very nice brew that has a lot of flavor for a cask. Probably Kona’s best brew other than the Old Blowhole, which I was unable to sample because it had recently run out.

On tap at Koko Marina. Poured a deep brown, almost black with a thin tan head. Aroma was awesome with notes of coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, and dark fruits. Flavor was primarily coffee, but chocolate was present, along with a slightly bitter finish. Full bodied with soft carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel. This was my favorite beer at the pub.

On tap at the Portland Holiday Ale festival. Colour... nearly black with no head at all. Nose... mild coffee, vanilla and marshmallow creme. Palate... essentially no CO2, rather thin bodied, but a burst of cafe au lait followed by caramel creme, toffee, vanilla and a smooth sweet finish.

Thank you, Logan, for prompting me to sample this at GABF05, even though it was "tapped out." I did the secret handshake you taught me and I was rewarded with a big sample. The beer was very roasty, rich, and very creamy. Curiously enough, as I tasted it, I kept thinking of a well made coffee ice cream. Mild aromas of vanilla and coconut surfaced in the finish and aftertaste, with a small nip of alcohol and tobacco coming up in the rear. Kept looking over my shoulder nervously for the ATF. Freshly brewed coffee exuded throughout ... and I love coffee.

Had this on-tap at the brewery. The beer was a nearly opaque, dark brownish black color with a thick, creamy, off-white, lasting nitro-fueled head. The aroma was intoxicating; heavy wth malty chocolate and dark Kona coffee, moderate notes of cookie, caramel and an unusual, but neat, moderately strong hoppy note of resin and pine with and a little note of vanillla tucked somewhere in the back. The flavor was heavily sweet with a long, lightly sweet / heavily bitter finish. The body was full with a velvety texture, soft carbonation and a moderately alcoholic feel in the finish. A nice marriage of coffee and Stout, for sure!