It had been a long flight into Maui. We flew from Atlanta to Honolulu on a direct Delta flight that lasted 9 ½ hours, departing around 10:50 AM and arriving at roughly 2:30 PM (the time zones accounting for the other 6 hours). A brief layover then another plane from HNL to OGG and we were in Maui. Our journey had not yet ended however. A 45 minute bus ride was needed to get us from the airport to the Westin Maui Resort on Ka’anapali beach where we would be staying.

As you can imagine, I was ready for a beer. I headed down to The Relish Burger Bar, part of the resort and outside near the beach. They had several local beers, and the second one I ordered was Kona Big Wave Golden Ale. I thought I had had this beer before, but apparently, I never had. To be sure, I’ve had many a Kona beer, but most were brewed under contract by Red Hook in Washington State.

From the website:

Light, Balanced & Easy Going

Our brewers wanted to make a beer that went down easy after a day out on the water. Big Wave Golden Ale is just the ticket. Big Wave is a lighter bodied golden ale with a tropical hop aroma and flavor – a smooth, easy drinking refreshing ale. The use of caramel malt contributes to the golden hue of this beer and our special blend of hops provides bright quenching finish.

They certainly hit the target for light and easy going in my opinion. Ingredients from the website:

Bitterness: 21 IBU

Alcohol by Volume: 4.4%

Malts: PALE (PREMIUM 2-ROW), Caramel

Hops: GALAXY, CITRA

Kona Big Wave Golden Ale has an alcohol content of 4.4% by volume with 21 IBUs. I paid $8 for a pint in Maui, you can buy the Washington-brewed stuff here in Georgia for $8.49 a six-pack.

My glass of Kona Big Wave Golden Ale arrived a bright, well, golden color with a medium head of foam and a soft malty nose. The palate is smooth and malty with light passion fruit and a balanced finish. That’s about it, this beer is refreshing but nothing spectacular.

That said it did serve nicely to wash down my ribeye steak bites ($20) at The Relish: grilled ribeye, maui onion, hamakua mushroom, hawaiian pulehu sauce. The light malty, softly fruity ale worked well with the tangy onion, hearty beef and salty sauce. With the sounds of the crashing waves of the Pacific in my ears, said ocean to my left with its calming and soothing aesthetics.

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