Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

a little dark and malty for a pale. nothing too exciting about this one, although i enjoyed it well enough. usually i'd complain more about the lack of hoppiness, but the malt characteristics were nice.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 6

Attractive light copper with thin head that hangs around. Really good fresh aroma consisting of subtle citrus and a decent ammount of medium bitter hops standout. Zippy in the mouth. First sip actually made my mouth water..odd..

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A good Pale Ale that falls a close second to the Kona Fire Rock Ale as far as the HI beers I tried. Very nice hop/malt balance with a smooth, somewhat bitter finish. Very easy drinking. Copper or light brown color with a nice head and lacing. This is a good overall beer that I think can appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers. The reason it cost me 6 bucks is because I had it at Mama's Fish House restaurant and any of you familiar with Maui will know that place isn't cheap. It would be much less if you purchased it from a retailer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Another winner from a brewery that's quietly won over more than a few folks the past few years. I'm not sure if this particular beer is their flagship beer, but it's definately pretty damn interesting, IMO.

Standard light-amber in appereance, with tons of lacing resulting from the thick head of foam.

Floral in the nose -- finally, an Hawaiian beer with some hops! Quite assertive in the flavor department.

The flavor profile follows through what the aroma promised -- that is to say, this definately has enough hops to make this American Pale Ale work. But what's interesting is that this doesn't seem to load up on any the standard PacNW hop varities, as far as I can tell. If I didn't know better, this beer's bitterness and flavor comes from something much less APA-traditional..., Cluster? Willamette? British Columbia Goldings? With maybe a dash of Columbus?

Either way, the soft-yet-assertive hop profile in this beer is what really sets it apart from it's peers here in Hawaii -- even giving the current bottled champ (Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale) a run for it's money.

A beer I first found and enjoyed during my last trip to Hawaii (almost exactly two years ago), and I'm glad that my rememberences of this beer weren't flawed. Recommended.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Great initial aroma, then disappated fairly quickly; good, solid head formation and retention; average mouthfeel for a beer of this style; acceptable bubbles; good mouthfeel. I'll have another!

Aroma: 0 | Appearance: 0 | Mouthfeel: 0 | Flavor: 0 | Overall: 0

My first from Hawaii. I like this one.