Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Kona Brewers Festival
is a win-win event for
everyone involvedThere was a time when beer was considered a libation for the working man and an accompaniment only for simple, casual fare.
Not so anymore.
"Today, beer isn't just paired with barbecues," says Rich Tucciarone, Kona Brewing Co.'s director of brewery operations. "You'll find it at the finest restaurants around the state, and crafting beer has been elevated to an art form, with the best being as revered as the legendary winemakers. Beer boasts its own cadre of connoisseurs who can distinguish each brew's nuances, from body to flavor to aroma."
Tucciarone is the brewery recruiter for the Big Island's Kona Brewers Festival, in its ninth year. The event, which has sold out in advance for the past three years, takes place Saturday. It will feature a full afternoon of beer tastings, food samplings and entertainment to benefit six local environmental, educational and cultural organizations. About 1,800 people are expected to jam the seaside luau grounds of King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, including representatives from 30 craft breweries from throughout Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota.
Kona Brewers Festival
Place: Luau grounds, King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, Kailua-Kona, Big IslandWhen: 2:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $35 in advance, $40 at the door, including a commemorative mug, eight 4-ounce beer-tasting coupons (additional coupons $1 each), unlimited food samplings and entertainment. Tickets are available on the Big Island at Kona Brewing Co., Kona Wine Market, Tim's Great Cigars, Kamuela Liquor and Mehana Brewing Co.; on Maui at Maui Homebrew Supply and Kihei Wine & Spirits; and on Oahu at Kona Brewing Co.'s Koko Marina Pub, the Liquor Collection and Hawaiian Style Homebrew.
Call: 808-331-3033
E-mail: pub@konabrewingco.com
Web site: www.konabrewingco.com
According to Tucciarone, the festival's focus on craft brewing sets it apart from similar events held in Hawaii. In contrast to mass-produced beers, craft brewers make ales and lagers in relatively small batches, using only pure ingredients.
"Each year, more and more breweries on the mainland find out about the festival and want to be a part of it," he said. "We tell all the breweries that registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, and for the past few years, I've started receiving phone calls six months or more in advance."
Cyndy Staudt (now executive director of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce) and Spoon Khalsa (a founder of the popular Kona Brewing Co. restaurant and brewery) created the festival to celebrate Kona Brewing's first anniversary, to foster Hawaii's interest in the craft-brewing industry and to promote recycling in the state. In just a few months, they and dozens of volunteers pulled together the inaugural event, in March 1996, netting more than $1,000 for its first beneficiary, Recycle Hawaii.
Staudt still plays an integral role in the festival, recruiting and working with the 25 participating Big Island restaurants each year.
"The Kona Brewers Festival has really evolved over the years into a top-notch event," she said. "What started out as a gathering of a handful of breweries and restaurants has blossomed into one of Kailua-Kona's best events of the year. One facet has remained the same, however, and that is the festival's commitment to the community. Each year, funds raised go to several community organizations."
KONA BREWERS FESTIVAL
Dozens of carefully crafted ales and lagers will be on tap at the Kona Brewers Festival Saturday in Kailua-Kona.
FOR THE FIRST few years, proceeds from the festival were donated to Recycle Hawaii and the American Culinary Federation Kona-Kohala Chefs de Cuisine, an organization of culinarians and food service businesses that promotes the profession through education, certification programs and award incentives. As the event grew in size and popularity, so did the fund-raising effort. In 1999 the TREE (Tropical Reforestation and Ecosystems Education) Center, which educates youths about the importance of conserving and protecting the environment, became the third beneficiary.
The next year, the Aloha Brewers Guild, a statewide organization of local brewers that promotes the Hawaii craft-brewing industry, joined the list of recipients.
He Kula Na Mea Hawaii, a group dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the islands' cultural heritage and natural environment, followed suit in 2001. And last year, aloha also was extended to Kohanaiki Ohana, a coalition of Hawaiian cultural practitioners and environmental activists who advocate malama aina (stewardship of the land) and traditional ahupuaa (land division) concepts in land-use planning.
Since its inception the Kona Brewers Festival has raised more than $120,000 for these organizations to continue their important work.
"Everyone wins at this event," says Tucciarone. "It supports worthwhile causes, and it's a fun social gathering where attendees can mingle, talk story and make wonderful discoveries about beer. Some people have come not knowing anything about beer; they're not even sure they like it. But after chatting with the experts and sampling different brews, they pick up a real interest in and appreciation for it."
KONA BREWERS FESTIVAL
Big Island chefs prepare delectable dishes to share at the Kona Brewers Festival.
Participating breweries will be pouring tastes of more than 60 types of beer, including Chocolate Kona Coffee Stout from Brew Moon on Oahu; Hula Hefeweizen, a Bavarian-style ale with a pronounced banana/herbal flavor and aroma from Kona Brewing Co.; and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Old Growth Imperial Stout from Caldera Brewing Co. in Ashland, Ore.
This beer is aged in wooden barrels that were used to age bourbon, resulting in a very flavorful product whose complexity is accentuated by the subtle tannins, oakiness and sweetness.
Superb food -- all you can eat -- also will be a big draw at the festival. Previous events have offered everything from seared ahi and kalua pig to grilled lamb chops and ono poke, a local favorite that blends chunks of raw fish with ingredients such as onion, seaweed and inamona (kukui nut relish).
The lineup of nonstop entertainment always is a hit with the crowd. In addition to live bands playing contemporary Hawaiian, bluegrass, classic rock 'n' roll and pop, there will be hula performances, a thrilling fire-knife dance and the Trash Fashion Show, during which models will walk the stage wearing outfits they've made entirely from recycled material, including aluminum cans, cardboard and tin foil.
"Great entertainment, a beautiful setting, delicious food and, of course, outstanding beer -- the Kona Brewers Festival has all the ingredients for a memorable event," says Tucciarone. "It definitely livens up a lazy Saturday afternoon in Kona!"
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
