KAILUA-KONA — “Anyone who says they don’t like beer is a liar,” Laina Reisenfeld, a bartender at Ola Brew in Kailua-Kona, said. “They just haven’t found the right one yet.”
For the record, I completely agree with Reisenfeld’s assessment of beer. This was my first year attending the Kona Brewers Festival, as I recently moved to Kona from Lubbock, Texas, where the beer scene consists of $2 Bud Lights at the local dive bar. I spent most of my early (legal, of course) 20s drinking whiskey and mixed drinks, thinking beer was mostly something to be tolerated, not actually enjoyed.
Walking around the festival here was more of a beer lover’s dream than Lubbock could ever be. I sampled an assortment of beers, some from Hawaii and some from the mainland, each one different and, magically, more delicious than the last.
“On the Big Island, there’s not a lot of opportunity to try beers from around the world, so it makes (the festival) special,” Reisenfeld said.
Traveling is what really made me go out of my comfort zone for beer. I fell in love with stout beers when I adventured around Ireland in the spring of 2016. Before then, I didn’t touch anything darker than Shiner Bock, a dark lager that’s a favorite around Texas. I have been on the lookout ever since for some staples to add to my growing list of must-haves — and found some at the festival Saturday afternoon. Uptown Market’s Stop Work stout, from Portland, Oregon, and FOTM’s Mollusk Oyster Stout, also from Portland, were some of the standouts to me at the festival.
Dan and Erica Gonzales, two longtime Kona residents, were attending their first festival after years of being absent. They said they’re not regular festival-goers, but the opportunity to attend this year was too good to pass up.
“I actually have been a few times, when I first arrived on the island,” Dan Gonzales said. “We hadn’t been in a while and decided to this year.”
“We got free tickets, so that’s why we’re here,” Erica Gonzales said. “Our son got (the tickets) from work, and couldn’t go, so we decided to. Why not?”
I chatted with the Gonzaleses, who, like most people I have met on the island so far, have their hospitality meter turned up to 11. They told me stories of some of the more “colorful” locals, and we chatted about their favorite beers, mostly IPAs and blonde beers.
I’m not opposed to lighter beers either, and some of my favorites I tried Saturday are Hawaii-brewed, such as the Hawaii Nut Kauai Golden Ale and Aloha Beer’s Manini IPA. I also tried the Red Sea of Cacao from Big Island Brewhouse, a brewery I have heard a lot of good things about since arriving in Kona.
Actually, of all the beers I tried at the Brewers Festival, it was hard to find one that wasn’t fantastic. And in the setting of Kona, it was even easier to find good people to drink with.
I’m not sure why a first-timer’s personal experience is newsworthy, the real story behind the tasty craft beers is the purpose of the event. It educates about environmental consciousness and has raised $1.5 million for local cultural, youth, educational, and environmental charities in its 23-year history.