Kona Brewing Company's Pipeline Porter is "Made with 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee" according to the label. It's a limited release winter beer and it goes down very smooth. There's none of the saccharine sweetness or ponderous malt you find in many stouts and porters. The taste is rich and creamy with lots of coffee flavor, yet the finish is dry. I highly recommend this as a breakfast beer with a loco moco.
Sampling the local microbrewery beers is one of the joys of traveling. And the Big Island of Hawaii has got some tasty suds, thanks to Kona Brewing Company. Their Longboard lager is a crisp, clean beach beer; And the Big Wave Golden Ale is a well-balanced light pale ale that goes great with sushi, wasabi and pickled ginger. I have yet to try the Fire Rock Pale Ale or the Wailua Wheat Beer. The company headquarters is a brewpub in Kailua-Kona which I plan to visit next week.
-Robb Walsh
