Aloha Pittsburgh

Since the early days of starting my writing on this blog, I've taken a fascination with beers from breweries based in Hawaii. If I remember correctly, it was around the time in which I started this blog that Kona Brewing Company started shipping some brew into the States. I came across two beers from the Aloha State in Maui Brewing's Bikini Blonde Lager and Coconut Porter and completely fell in love.

Seemed like it was totally on a whim, but last night it appeared as if a former Pittsburgh resident took to Twitter to reach out to those of us in the online beer community here in Western, Pa.

@BurghBeerSnob Check out this upcoming brewery in Hawaii... founded by Pittsburghers! http://t.co/nIpiySXO3L
— Darren Garvey (@darrengarvey) August 7, 2013

It looks like there's potential for Pittsburgh to have a stake in the Hawaiian beer landscape. The proposed brewery (currently a Kickstarter project) would be called Stewbum & Stonewall. The name comes from nicknames of the fathers of the two proposed owners of this brewery and of course I go geeky over a Civil War reference.

One unique thing about this idea for a brewery is that (I found this within the Kickstarter page) the brewery plans to feature other local Hawaiian beers alongside its own in the taproom. That's something very unusual and unique. Best of luck to them. I figured that passing this along might help get an extra backer or two for this brewery.

Vive le Pittsburgh.

Beer Review: Maui Coconut Porter

Serving Type: Can

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: This brew featured a body that was coal black and had quite a heavy and thick look to it. Stout and porter folk would classify this as "chewy." The head was a light shade of tan and was very frothy. it did show a sign of weakness after it reached its peak, though. It seemed to cave in, but ended up leaving some sticky lacing caked along the inside of the glass. It wasn't in the typical fashion, but it certainly got there!

Smell: I got plenty of dark chocolate that was plenty sweet. This was also a bit nutty. I settled on the idea that this was something close to almond. Oh yea, and there's coconut.! Coconut and chocolate is such a great combination.

Taste: I was hit with a plethora of the dark chocolate and coconut on the front. The chocolate tasted very sweet, but the coconut did as well. The sweetness was enjoyable and not overpowering at all. The coconut in the taste also has a note of charred flavor. Nice and toasty. The front of the tongue is balanced by a roasted flavor from this brew's malt bill. The finish of the beer was quite balanced. There was a small bitter hop presence along with the almond. I love drinking a beer and being put through the process of nostalgia. This reminded me of Almond Joy bars. I was floored.

Overall Rating: 

The only other Maui Brewing beer I've had was the Bikini Blonde Lager. I mentioned in my review that it'd be perfect for hot on-the-beach drinking. I honestly would have this beer on a beach as well. I love being reminded of food's I've tasted previously in beers. this was just another case. Rarely am I reminded of some of my favorite candy bars from childhood. I've also had a coconut porter/stout before by Church Brew Works and the coconut didn't come off too well. It tasted like something closer to a twist cone.