By local and wire sources
Kona Brewing Co. celebrates 15 years
Kona Brewing Co. will celebrate 15 years of making beer on the Big Island on Feb. 19 with a 5 p.m. tapping of its latest specialty brew, Pohaku Pale Ale. The pub will donate $1 for every pint served from 5 p.m. until closing to The Neighborhood Place of Kona, an organization that ensures the well being of children and families by promoting environments of peace and safety.
The brewery’s first batch of beer, Pacific Golden Ale (now called Big Wave Golden Ale) was packaged on Feb. 14, 1995. In its first year of producing beer, the company’s four employees brewed 1,461 barrels, or 45,291 gallons, of beer. Now, 15 years later, the company employs 170 Hawaii residents within its brewery and two restaurants. In 2009, the same brewery — but with more tanks — turned out nearly 10,000 barrels, or 306,900 gallons, of beer.
Coffee farmers to hear drying alternatives
Harvey Mudd College engineering students will be discussing several of their design alternatives on coffee parchment drying during a meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. The meeting will be from 2 to 4 p.m. with the monthly Kona Coffee Farmers Association board meeting to follow.
The team is researching using solar energy to dry coffee parchment and will present what they’ve learned and listen to feedback from coffee farmers. They will present their work in the form of a computer-based video and slide presentation and will show the many engineering models they’ve built and investigated. The students will bring posters that provide even more detail about their work and would like to personally interact with as many coffee farmers as possible.
A large part of the site visit/meeting presentation for the students is to gather information from farmers. The students have their own questions for farmers and want as much input as possible from farmers to complete the project.
For more information, call Mary Lou Moss at 329-4035. Those willing to have the students tour their farm should call Moss.
Snacks unit boosts Pepsico 4th-quarter profit
NEW YORK — PepsiCo Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit almost doubled on strength in its snacks business and overseas beverage operations, and the company said it will keep expanding internationally to buffer the slumping U.S. drinks market.
The snack and drink maker also said Thursday it expects more savings from its buyout of two of its bottlers, a deal it says will help it get new products to market more quickly because it will control their distribution. The company said the deal, valued at $7.8 billion, should close by the end of the month.
By local and wire sources