KAILUA-KONA — From the hoppy boldness of Appalachian Mountain Brewery’s Long Leaf India Pale Ale to the tartness of 10 Barrel Brewing’s Cucumber Crush to the hint of heat of Waikiki Brewing Co.’s Jalapeno Mouth, it was a brew lover’s paradise for attendees of the 22nd Annual Kona Brewers Festival held Saturday at the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Beach Hotel.
“This is my third or fourth Brew-Fest here,” said Carol Galper, who lives in Kona and Arizona. “And I never want to miss it.”
Galper was among the 4,000 people — including volunteers — expected to attend either of the two sessions throughout the day.
First and foremost, she said, it’s a good cause.
Over the last 22 years, the festival has given close to $1 million to local organizations on the island, according to Tony Sargis, brewery coordinator for the Kona Brewers Festival.
Beneficiaries for this year’s festival include the Ahuena Heiau, Aloha Performing Arts Company, Ke Kai Ola and others.
Galper said it’s a great way to help groups that help the community.
“They raise money for really important organizations that help improve everyone’s lives here,” she said.
But also, she said, it’s a great way to check out the different brews coming out of craft breweries around the country.
Her first beer of the day was an Umbrella India Pale Ale from Pelican Brewing Co., an Oregon brewery. India Pale Ales, also called IPAs, are characterized by a distinguished taste of hops in the ale.
“It’s very tasty,” she said. “I love IPAs – hoppy, hoppy.”
Galper said she’s noticed there are always interesting beers at the festival.
Waikoloa residents David Carroll and Michelle Gautier are also among those who come out every year for the Kona Brewers Festival.
Carroll said the festival is a “good time,” with “good people and good beer.”
The festival also gives the two a chance to find beers that line up with their own personal tastes.
“I personally like darker beers,” said Gautier. “IPAs aren’t my thing; I want the rich flavors.”
Carroll said he’s looking for beers that stuck out.
“I’m looking for people that are doing something different from an IPA but still aren’t afraid to put flavor in their beer,” he said.
The event drew representatives from breweries across the United States; they said it’s a great opportunity to meet their customers.
“I think it’s amazing,” said Clay Grosskopf, marketing Jedi for Bear Republic Brewing Co. in California.
The festival brought out 43 breweries across the United States, including nearly all of Hawaii’s breweries.
That makes for an exciting event, said Sandi Shriver, brewery operations manager at Kona Brewing Co.
“I think that’s really exciting for us too, to have that variety – and especially the local variety – and getting the breweries across the U.S.,” said Shriver. “It’s just awesome to have here.”
This was Grosskopf’s first year attending.
“The company asked if I’d like to go and I said ‘absolutely,’” he said.
Grosskopf said the event is a great chance to meet customers. And, he added, it’s a good chance to connect with other brewers, particularly local Hawaii breweries.
“For us, it’s also an experience to go taste stuff that we don’t get to taste back home, you know?” he said.
Ben Nehrling, a brewer from FOTM Brewing Co in Portland, Oregon, called the festival “the best Brew-Fest in the country.”
“You’re on the beach drinking beer,” he said.
The brewery was showcasing its Kettle Black Schwarzbier, a black lager, and Big in Japan, a new India Pale Ale from the brewery.
That beer, he said, is made with Sorachi Ace hops, a Japanese varietal developed by Sapporo.
“It goes really good in IPA,” said Nehrling. “It’s very tropical-flavored.”
Chris Bornstein of Spicy Ninja Sauce, based in Kohala, said the festival was a great way to connect with people while “spreading the hot sauce love.”
“The product speaks for itself,” he said, “which helps out a lot.”
Earlier in the day, hundreds woke early and ran or walked the 10th annual Run for the Hops, the community run that kicks off the day of eating and drinking with a little exercise.
The course, which launched from the BMW dealership in Kona’s old industrial area, ended at the same spot where gassed runners rebooted with some suds.
Peter Bennink was one of them. He ran the 10k, though the last half of which killed him on the hills.
He refueled with some beer that was on tap in the parking lot of the dealership, the same spot where the race started.
Which type of beer was he drinking?
“I don’t know,” he said, watching the other runners finish the race while he raised the plastic cup in the sun and talked about the makeshift tap bar. “The first one was the one on the right, this one is the one on the left.”
Over the years, sustainability and making the event “zero-waste” have been a big focus of the annual event. That includes diverting “any and everything we can out of the landfills,” said Sargis.
Food scraps from the festival are turned to compost and food vendors serve samples on dishes that easily break down, such as ti leaves.
“It’s really amazing to be able to see actual soil that’s been made from all of our composted food and compostables every year,” said Sargis.
A lot of that focus came to a head at the end of each session with the “Trash Fashion Show.”
“What an amazing way to showcase something so important,” Shriver said.
“It’s the highlight of the session for sure,” added Sargis.
The fashion show features a group of men and women who, over the last year, have been creating outfits made entirely out of found “upcycled” trash.
“And it’s quite elaborate,” said Sargis. “Some of the costuming and the choreography is amazing too.”
The emcee, Shriver added, provides education about the impact of rubbish.
“Every detail that’s put into that Trash Fashion Show is extremely impressive,” she said. “I honestly would pay $75 just to go to that Trash Fashion Show; it’s just the amount of work they put into it.”