Gold Cliff IPA
Kona Brewing Co.

Gold Cliff IPAGold Cliff IPA
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Kona Brewing Co.
 
Hawaii, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #3,105
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
84
Ranked #23,063
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 9.19%
Reviews:
65
Ratings:
191
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 04, 2024
Added:
Jan 07, 2018
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  41
Share the thrill with our Gold Cliff IPA, bold yet easygoing, brewed with real, refreshing pineapple. Dive in! On Lanai, not far from the island's first pineapple fields, Kaunolu Cove welcomes adventurous snorkelers and daring cliff divers alike.

Hops: Mosaic, Chinook, Topaz, and Citra
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by WoodBrew:
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.94/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
I got this off the single shelf at my local Giant Eagle. It poured a clear golden with thin white head that is not leaving much lace. The scent had faint pineapple. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with tropical fruit butter presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.
Aug 03, 2018
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by prisdefer from New York

Feb 04, 2024
 
Rated: 3.62 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Dec 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

Dec 11, 2023
 
Rated: 3.25 by njbusa from New Jersey

Nov 26, 2023
Photo of ZenAgnostic
Reviewed by ZenAgnostic from Texas

3.69/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Poured Nov 14, 2023 into a teku glass from a 12oz bottle with PKGD ON AUG1423 printed on from label, bottom right.

Appearance - Clear, rich gold body. Small sudsy white head with a touch of fine creamy bubbling. Great lacing and stick. Decent retention. 4.5

Smell - Delicate. Honey and mild fresh wet hops. Refreshing. Sweet. Tropical. 4.75

Taste - Luxurious. Sweet honey and a delicate but noticeable hop presence. Very well balanced. 2.75

Mouthfeel - Some off-note astringency and bitterness in the finish. But that's likely to be easily ignored after a bottle or 2. Also this is 3 months old, still fresh but near the end of its ideal range. 4.25

Overall - Don't really taste the pineapple, but this is about as light and delicate as you can have an IPA of this ABV (7%!). And if I had a fresher example, this might have a much higher score. The aftertaste does build up a bit, unfortunately. 3.75
Nov 16, 2023
Photo of ZebulonXZogg
Rated by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

2.87/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Clear golden pour, white head fades quickly, leaving some lacing. Nise gets some malt, not much else. Another not so good one from Kona!
Oct 19, 2023
Photo of Scotchboy
Reviewed by Scotchboy from Idaho

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle, mostly clear gold, minimal head; pineapple, grass, malty character, slightly toasted, bread. More pineapple on the palate, mostly authentic-tasting, blending with a toasted bread character and retaining some grassy, somewhat piney bitterness on the finish. Not bad overall.
Aug 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by iftcoach from Germany

Jul 15, 2023
 
Rated: 3.65 by puftdank from Illinois

Jul 07, 2023
Photo of ramseye4
Reviewed by ramseye4 from Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
A- golden color with good head
S-pineapple, pine, tangerine, some grass T- nowhere near as fruit forward as the nose. A strong malt character actually takes the leads, some earthy hops, pleasant bitterness in the finish
M- full with rich aftertaste
O- the nose is misleading but it’s a solid IPA. Normally I’m extremely leery of beer with “natural flavors added” but they did it in a light way that still retains the spirit of beer
Jul 04, 2023
Photo of SoccerSeuss
Reviewed by SoccerSeuss from Virginia

4.01/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from bottle into tulip glass. Poured a deep golden blonde with sizeable fluffy white head. Heavy pineapple (makes sense since it was brewed with pineapple) on the nose. Taste followed with a clean refreshing feel and finish. The pineapple does give it a bit of a bite (I love pineapple so great tasting to me though I know pineapple isn't everyone's cup of tea).
Jul 03, 2023
 
Rated: 3.65 by dd53grif from Michigan

Jun 07, 2023
 
Rated: 4.18 by JRL5043 from Pennsylvania

May 04, 2023
Photo of KS_Augsburg
Reviewed by KS_Augsburg from Illinois

4.07/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
This is an odd one: they claim it‘s brewed with real pineapple (and other natural flavors). It tastes really fresh and crisp, however no sign of pineapple anywhere.
The „natural flavors“ is a bit off-putting, to be honest. So even though my rating is quite high, I will most likely not buy this again. Plus: how can a „Kona“ beer be brewed in Oregon or New Hampshire!?!?
Apr 09, 2023
 
Rated: 3.67 by howardnss from Pennsylvania

Feb 19, 2023
Photo of Bluerabbitbell
Reviewed by Bluerabbitbell from Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12/21/22 Christmas gift from Mom and Dad Boe!

Deep amber, light copper. Light head.

Pineapple off the bat. Nice bitter ending.

Not much to say, but this is a smooth drinkable IPA!
Dec 21, 2022
 
Rated: 3.25 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Oct 30, 2022
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.74/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the bottle, it pours a clear golden amber color with a modest head that reduces to a nice ring and leaves lacing. The nose is citrus, with pineapple present (surprise!) Taste follows nose, with citrusy sharpness coming in and giving you that citrus bite in the back of your mouth - bitterness is present, but not dominant. Great to consume in HI!
Sep 20, 2022
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.71/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12 oz bottle from an Ingles Market in SC. A March 2022 bottling date is stamped on the label.

Appearance. Clear, deep amber colored body with a good white head that leaves little lacing behind.

Mouthfeel. Crisp and relatively dry with medium carbonation.

While the flavor is not bold for style, the aftertaste is a quite bitter.
Sep 07, 2022
Gold Cliff IPA from Kona Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 191 ratings