Kona Brewing

On Thursday, our first day out and about, we decided to drive to the Hawaii Kai area to check out Kona Brewing. The early part of the drive through Honolulu is pretty standard hectic city driving. I was talking to Dad on the phone and noticed the signal cut out. All of a sudden we were in the middle of the most gorgeous green walls that gave way to these volcanic ridges.

Eventually the road started looking like California’s Highway 1, all twists and turns along the ocean. The road poured out to a residential and shopping area and we found Kona Brewing nestled in the back of a shopping center facing a marina. We sat on the deck with wonderful breezes. Fortunately for us it was Happy Hour, all pints $3.50. There are several beers that are draft only, so not available in most places. Certainly not upstate New York. Our eyes focused immediately on Castaway IPA. It’s a rather floral IPA, quite tasty. Our waiter was a responsive knowledgeable woman, a pleasant event since we run into so many waiters who know nothing about beer or what’s available at their site.

On my way back from the Ladies I stopped at the bar just to check the taps and see if there was anything there that was not on the beer list. It turns out there were two seasonal items, a pilsner and an ESB, that our waiter never mentioned. And thus we are reminded, NEVER EVER trust even a seemingly knowledgeable waiter to tell you everything. The ESB was spectacular, but we’d already had our limit, so had just a taste of it. We may have to go back.