Castaway IPA
Kona Brewing Co.

 

12oz brown bottle

Kona Castaway IPA has a dark golden/amber body and atop sat a 1-finger whit head that dissipated leaving a collar around the edges of my pint glass and very light lacing. The aroma of grapefruit hops seems to dominate. The taste is very similar to the nose with grapefruit hops stronger and just enough light malt to help balance. Mouth feel is medium and a little crisp Carbonation is to the lighter side.

Overall, a balanced IPA that is not too hoppy.

 

 

A solid IPA. Refreshing with notes of pineapple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for some reason i thought i had previously had all the kona regulars, but i guess i missed this one somehow. its a solid ipa, fuller feeling to me, generically hoppy too, bright and fresh though, with good bitterness and plenty of malt behind it. the fermentation is clean, it feels just a little bigger than average, and is just slightly metallic at the end, but i do get bold notes of pine and citrus in the middle of this, not real unique, but nicely dosed, its cool to drink bitter ipa again, seems like a dying breed as hazy continues to rise. there is nice balance to this, a lightly toasted element to the grain and just a pinch of middle sweetness, very fresh, and it goes great with the hops. some light orange or tangerine from the hops, a bit of stone fruit too, and then a grassy herbal finish, higher alpha and lingering just a bit. it doesnt warm up great but overall this is solid, if a bit samey. i dont really get the island vibes from this that i often do in kona beers, nothing really summery or tropical about it or anything, but its crisp for its boldness and was one of my favorites in their recent variety pack.

 

 

 

 

The beer is a dark goldenrod with a good head. It smells sweet and very floral with tropical fruit hops mixed in. There are notes of hibiscus and pineapple. In contrast to the sweet smell, it tastes bitter. That is a nice surprise a good way to balance a beer. On the palate the hops take more of a dark stone fruit character with he bitter aftertaste having faint leather notes. The mouthfeel is satisfyingly thick and the carbonation is good. The mouthfeel isn't spectacular though. Overall, the sweet nose and the bitter palate lead to a good beer and a concept I haven't really seen done to this scale before. It gets extra points for that.