Kona Wailua Wheat Beer Review

Wailua Wheat

Review Date 8/8/2008 Last Updated 5/4/2017

Try? Re-buy?

I’ve often been told I have a passion for beer. And in my days as a beer enthusiast, I can also say with much certainty that I’ve come across many beers with a passion all their own. But until a few weeks ago, I had never met a beer made with passion fruit. And now that I have, I’m very glad I did, because Kona Brewing Company’s Wailua Wheat Ale is simply a wonderful little fruit beer from the tropical paradise of Hawaii.

Kona makes a number of brews, of course, and the ones I’ve sampled in the past have been contract brewed in the continental United States for distribution in the upper 48 states. But the Wailua wheat I’m drinking may actually be brewed in Hawaii, if the bottles are any indication. They do not mention an alternate brewing location. Named for Hawaii’s Wailua Falls, this is one beer that’s every bit as refreshing as a dip in a cool stream on a hot day.

Kona Wailua Wheat pours to a pale yellow color with a very light fizzy head formation, and at first glance one might not expect much from this beer. I certainly didn’t. But first impressions can sometimes be deceiving, and when I took a whiff of Wailua Wheat I got a very pleasant surprise: a sweet refreshing burst of passion fruit aroma. Sipping the beer reveals a very light wheat beer base and a delicate touch of crisp biscuity malt.

That’s by design here, because it really allows the very delicate and delightfully exotic passion fruit flavor to come through. Fruity esters imparted to ales as a byproduct of the fermentation process can sometimes suggest passion fruit, but here you’re getting the real deal.

And for me, it really works well. That’s because Wailua Wheat is light, fruity, and very refreshing, a perfect beer one might easily enjoy on a beach in Hawaii. You don’t have to go to Hawaii to enjoy it, though; for me, it’s well suited to beat the heat in the hot dog days of August in Georgia. The only flaw here is that there might be just a touch too much sweetness in the finish, but not so much to make the beer cloyingly sweet.

Something different that’s well worth trying. But hurry and up and get some, because Wailua Wheat is Kona’s seasonal, only available from March to September.

Update 5/4/2017: I just got back from Hawaii, and what's the beer of the month? Kona Brewing, ffrom Hawaii! How about a mug of Kona Wailua Wheat? It's an old favorite. Soft fruity nose, tart wheat palate, robust passion fruit, balanced finish. $6.50, free logo glass. In bottles it runs the same $8.49 a six-pack it did 9 years ago.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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