Fire Rock Pale Ale
Kona Brewing Co.

Golden color with a medium-sized, white head. The aroma of malt and herbal hops. Malty taste, moderate bitterness in the end. Decent ale for hot days.

My favorite beer, unfortunately, I can no longer find it in any store here and I live on Kauai, which I find frustrating since it's a Kona Brewing Company beer.

Classic. Unfortunately, I can no longer get it in this area( Northeast Pennsylvania) but can get most of Kona's other beers.

old school, malty, bitter, delicious, one of their classics, not sure how i have not reviewed it until now, feel like i have had my share of this over the years, but nothing beats it ice cold on the big island where all beers sweat profusely and just soak their bottle, can, or glass as a product of the humidity. pretty serious amber color on this one, good clarity and a long lasting light tan head too all frothy and sudsy. the aroma opens a lot as this warms, which happens quickly in this oceanside sunny afternoon instance for me, toast and hearth bread, some caramelization, chestnut and toffee, sweet but also mineral forward with a faint bitter cocoa note, rather complex for a humble pale. the hops smell of bitter orange and cut pine, a little old school and plenty high alpha, fresh near the source. the flavor follows the nose, bold both on the grain and the hop side, but balanced too, sweet and bitter at the same time, with early onset hop flavor in the citrus family, nice minerality, concentrated grain richness, a hint of raisin to it, nice interplay the whole way between the hops and the malts, which to me seem fairly intricate for what this is. the flavor is bold, the mouthfeel is frothy and sturdy but its still drinkable, it warms up well, and yeah its old school but its quality. im sure overlooking the ocean from the big island influenced me loving this because i was loving life (hockey game aside), but this is way better beer than its ratings suggest, perhaps freshness in the islands counts for something, but i love the malt depth this brings. quality pale with a lot of personality.

 

Got this at a luau in Kauai, so I am sure it was fresh . Sharp malt, light yeast tasty beer. Will try when I get back to the states

 

 

Live review. Served from can into clean, clear glass on pool deck of Norwegian Cruise Lines Pride of America ship while moored in Kauai.
Beautiful scenery for sure.

A: deep copper body under a light brown head which lingers for about 3 minutes. Really good look.

S: light hops, amber notes, interesting for sure. A very solid aroma.

T. Taste flows right from the smell. Notes of a dark amber with hops bitterness but nicely balanced. Really easy to drink.

M. Mouthfeel is full, appropriately so, with the hops, the carbonation thickening it up.

D: drinkability, overall this is an outstanding beer and very easy to drink.

 

 

 

 

 

A- Pours a beauty copper color, that shows some chill hazing....perhaps some underlying orange hues in the background when held against white lighting. The head starts out about a half finger thick, and swiftly fizzles out into a starburst like patch of thin white foam over the brew. The carbonation seems to plod somewhat upwards in a few distinct columns, not showing off too much oomph. The lacing is very mellow as well, with a few sticky patches sticking to the inside of the glass, but instead of drifting south back into the liquid, they actually fizzle out....interesting! Overall not much of an excitement comes over me when looking at this one.

S- Lovely caramel like sweet malts, balanced out by muted citrus zesty hop bitterness.....yup, smells like a Pale Ale! Softer tones of tropical fruitiness, cotton candy, bread like biscuit and not much else to be honest. The finish may have some resin/piney aromas that gently linger......generally malty here!

T- Well, this isn't anything special by any means, however, it is quite nice and very much leaning towards the malt side of the flavor spectrum. Muted caramel, hop profile to balance things out, slight citrus, pine resin, and some dry grassy tones on the palate. Overall there isn't anything special in this department, but nothing I really didn't like....flavorful enough for sure and I like the taste!

M/O- Medium bodied and to my surprise a bit, the carbonation is much more zippy than the appearance let on. I find this to be a highly drinkable beer that I have no issues with enjoying if this is my choice for an evening. I think it would fair well with spicy cuisine or with a dry sausage/cheese plate. Nothing offensive here, but nothing that really stands out. I would definitely drink this again, and think it serves it's purpose!