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Friday, August 30, 2013

165. Kona Brewing Wailua Ale


Another mundane excuse to have a beer, dinnertime!  Since I moved to the new house, I've found that the fridge doesn't have the nice ledge where I was able to keep more capacity ready to go.  Instead of hoarding 8 beers at any one time, I'm hoarding 4.  The ones in there happen to be the beers that I purchased cold, because I needed them to stay cold.  This one turned out to be the winner for the day.

The beer was vigorously poured into a pilsner glass.  It has a straw like color, very hazy.  I'm assuming the haze comes from the wheat.  Got a good two finger head with moderate retention, a little bit of lace sticking to the glass.  Wailua ale is described to be made with passion fruit.  I couldn't tell you what passion fruit smells like, but there are some fruity aromas that are reminiscent of mango and papaya.  I could also pick up some of the wheat.

The fruit from the aromas don't seem to penetrate the beer as it comes off tasting like there's something off about the beer.  You can taste the wheat, but then the hop kick comes in, and there's this fruity aftertaste that tastes more medicinal than anything.  It could use some balancing.  This brew is light bodied but highly carbonated, providing a very spicy finish.  I don't know if I like a whole bunch of spicy with a wheat brew.  This one just didn't sit right with me.  I may give it another shot, although its unlikely.  My buddy had one a couple weeks prior when he was helping me move and he didn't find it to be all that impressive either, so I suppose I'm not alone in my assessment.

Grade: C-
Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

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