USA, HI: Kona Brewing beers now available in Ohio

Kona Brewing, the Hawaii-based beer company, part of the Craft Brew Alliance, is now available in the Central Ohio market, bizjournals.com reported on January, 17.

“Ohio is a top 10 beer state,” Kona President Mattson Davis said, noting both the ever-growing roster of local and regional craft beers and the expansion of the mass-selling Yuengling brand into the market in 2011. “We love to be in the Midwest, where beer means something.”

Kona sells six beers – Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and Big Wave Golden Ale can be found on store shelves and bars year-round, while its Aloha Series of seasonal selections rotate between Koko Brown (now through May,12), Wailua Wheat (May,12-September,1) and Pipeline Porter (September, 2 to December, 29).

Kona can be found in Kroger Co. stores as well as other shops, bars and restaurants around town. The suggested six-pack retail price is $7.99 to $8.99.

Kona Brewing was founded in 1994 in Hawaii and has been distributed on mainland U.S.A. since 2004. Its last expansion was to several East Coast states in 2008.

Kona is in 35 states now, an expansion possible by being part of the Craft Beer Alliance (along with the Redhook and Widmer Brothers brands), which has breweries in Oregon, Washington and New Hampshire that Kona can tap to shrink its shipping distances, costs and carbon footprint.

“We realized how to grow,” Davis said.

The beer sold in Ohio comes from New Hampshire, but Davis said the company has found a way to replicate the Hawaiian water used in the original brews to help form its distinctive Hawaiian character. The brewer also fills out the beers with specific Hawaiian flavors such as toasted coconut (Koko Brown), passion fruit (Wailua Wheat) and Kona coffee (Pipeline Porter).

Kona sold more than 220,000 barrels of beer last year, which would put it as one of the top 10 craft breweries in the U.S. The combined Craft Beer Alliance brands were the fourth-biggest craft brewer in 2011, according to the most recent tally by Beer Marketer’s Insights.

Davis said he expects 20 percent annual growth in the coming years.

Kona is likely right about the timing. Brands like Yuengling and Denver-based Oskar Blues have moved into Central Ohio in the past year-plus, while the local scene seems to be adding new operations by the week.

18 January, 2013