Beer enthusiasts of all sorts Saturday coverged upon Kailua-Kona enjoying unique and frosty brews from near and far.
Beer enthusiasts of all sorts Saturday coverged upon Kailua-Kona enjoying unique and frosty brews from near and far.
From pale ales and IPAs to porters and meads, residents and visitors alike got a good sampling of all sorts of brews during the 17th annual Kona Brewers Festival.
South Kona residents Bill and Roxann Ullstrom have been coming to the event for about a decade to sample an array of different beers for a good cause. For Bill, it’s the assortment of different IPAs that draws him while his wife Roxann said she enjoys some beer but mostly the delicious foods offered by area chefs.
“Every beer here is good and in the past 10 years I haven’t had a bad one yet,” Bill said. “It’s all about the food and beer.”
Nearly 2,000 people packed the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel’s luau grounds sipping or guzzling brews and tasting, or in some cases, inhaling sweet and savory culinary concoctions. All 1,700 tickets slotted for the event went on sale Jan. 30 and sold out within 14 days, said Kate Jacobson, the festival’s coordinator and executive director.
On tap for attendees to chug were more than 70 different types of frosty brews hailing from more than 40 breweries across the United States, she said. Brews ranged from pale ales and lagers to porters, fruit lambacs and meads.
Representing the Big Island were Kona Brewing Co., Big Island Brewhaus, Mehana Brewing Co. and Hawaii Nui Brewing. A handful of other breweries from around the state also tapped up their brews.
Though friends Beth Street, of California, and Katrina Roseller, of Florida, weren’t able to find their favorite beers this year, they said the Kona event is better than festivals held in large and small U.S. mainland cities.
“It’s the best brew fest I’ve been to,” said Roseller, who noted she’s attended about 20 different festivals over the years. “It’s definitely worth the price with all of the beer, food and entertainment but also because it supports the community.”
The Kona Brewers Festival over the years has helped raise $475,000 for local nonprofit organizations, Jacobson said. In 2011, an estimated $63,000 was raised for about a dozen local nonprofit organizations, which the festival refers to as “beneficiaries.”
This year, the festival selected 13 groups to provide more than 600 volunteers for the festival. In exchange, the nonprofits receive a donation based on the number of people who volunteer.
“We couldn’t hold this festival without them,” Jacobson said as droves of people rushed into the event. “Giving to the beneficiaries is like throwing a stone in a pond — it really does reverberate and go around to help the community.”
The annual libation-enjoying event began in 1996 as a means for celebrating the birthday of Kona Brewing Co. It also seeks to raise awareness and interest in craft brewing and recycling.
The festival’s Rocket Rod Homebrew Competition, which judges beers, meads and ciders, this year drew 302 entries from 116 participants from around Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. That’s up from 222 entries last year, said Fred Housel, a festival co-organizer.
Jimmy Hall of Holualoa snagged the competition’s Best of Show Beer with his sour ale while Pahoa resident John Hanson won the Best of Show Mead.