Review: Wailua Wheat

Style: wheat ale/fruit beer
Brewer: Kona Brewing Co. Location: Kailua-Kona, HI
Web
Alcohol: 5.4%

A "Limited Release" offering from my favorite brewery to visit, Wailua is billed as a "Wheat Ale brewed with Passion Fruit." This time of year it seems that every mircobrewer attempts to mix some sort of regional fruit into at least one of their beers.

This one pours into the glass with a bright yellow color, and it's most dominant flavor characteristic is its tartiness. It's a little overbearing, in fact. For my second bottle, I forgot about the glass and just tipped it. Much better. Drinking out of the pint pretty much eliminates all aroma and flavor of passion fruit, but taken straight from the bottle, it's a much more enjoyable drink.

Rating: 6.1
Recommended with: ice-cold sushi rolls, heavy on the avocado