Kona Storm
Rip Current Brewing

August 7th, 2015 - The Kona Storm is my favorite finishing beer every time I visit Rip Current North Park. It's burly and black in the glass, with a creamy halo of a head, and a heavy coffee and cream aroma slowly unfurling from the surface. It's also slightly wet and earthy, like humid soil. A deeper investigation reveals sea salt coated chocolate, decorated with a thread of caramel. Following is the big bold taste. The medium body is well suited to supporting the flavor without weighing down the palate and making it too dense. On the topic of the flavor, I taste deep coffee bean notes, soy sauce, motor oil and molasses. So, those heavy tastes but lightened on the mouth feel, and in this way it tastes like how an automotive mechanic's shop smells, but in a good way, And the aftertaste is long and recalcitrant to leave the palate, ushering in some black licorice notes. It is a long treat with each sip, and more evidence that Rip Current ably brews cross styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to JustXBeer for sharing this one at Retsinis' tasting.

Pours a clear dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and coffee aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and coffee flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but the coffee flavor is a bit acrid in my opinion.