New Brew Thursday - Kona Brewing Wailua Wheat

When I picked up this beer I was looking for something new and something fruity.  Wailua Wheat from Kona Brewing is what we ended up with.

It interested me because I'd never had a beer from this particular brewery before and I'd never had a passion fruit beer.   For that matter, I'd never had a beer brewed in Hawaii.   It was worth a shot.

Wailua Wheat is an American Pale Wheat Ale.  It's perfectly sessionable at 5.4% ABV . . . a good beer for enjoying an afternoon of beer and whatever without getting completely sloshed.






A lot of the beers I drink are unfiltered but if you don't like hazy beer then you'll like this one.  The beer is a clear golden color that smells of wheat, yeast and passion fruit.  It's sweetish but there is a bitter hoppy bite that keeps this beer from being overly sweet.  

I'm not a big fan of the in your face wheatiness of some wheat beers . . . this one is clearly a wheat beer but the flavor blends nicely with the passion fruit and hops so as to not be overpowering.  Wailua Wheat is an interesting and unique tasting beer  . . . I have to say I liked it.  Overall it's pretty good and I would recommend it if you're looking for something different or simply a fan of fruited wheat beer.



Check out Kona Brewing's Website or visit them on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Six Point Apollo

Six Point Brewing is new to Connecticut only becoming available here for the first time in June.  We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the famed Apollo.  When it arrived I snagged three four packs in anticipation of its awesomeness since it came very highly recommended and got excellent reviews.  

Additionally, Untappd was offering a special badge for drinking Apollo . . . double incentive!  Not that *I* need much of an incentive to try a new beer . . . but it doesn't hurt to get that extra push.









Apollo is a summer wheat beer that is a sessionable 5.2% ABV.  It pours a bright golden amber color with a quickly dissipating head. There's no questioning that this is a wheat beer . . . it's very wheaty but that's not the only dominating flavor.  With each sip I could clearly taste lemon and banana and . . . check this out . . . bubblegum.  Yeah, I said it . . . bubblegum, it's subtle but very much there.  Interesting.

As far as wheat beer goes, this is a good one.  For a newby, a beer like Blue Moon is a  good entre' into wheat beer with is very mild wheatiness . . . but if you want something with a more intense flavor profile then Apollo is it.

A nice, drinkable summer brew named for the Sun God!  And, yes . . . I got my Ray of Light badge from  Untappd  for drinking two Apollos and then the Sun God Badge for drinking two more . . . it was a struggle but I managed to force them down. **wink** **wink**


For more information about their different beers check out Six Point's website or visit them on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Sunday River Brewing Company

Hubby and I went off on a long motorcycle ride on a beautiful day. We went through two states. . . Maine and New Hampshire . . . three notches. . . Evans, Grafton,  and Pinkham. . . making a 200 mile trip.  The plan was simply a nice long ride and to see some beautiful sites.  Which we accomplished most successfully but we had the bonus of finding a micro brewery along the way.

Sunday River Brewing Company

The brewery / brew pub was waaaaay out of the way in the middle of nowhere.  And, because we were on the bikes we obviously weren't going to be slamming down a whole big pile of beers.  Hell, I don't feel comfortable riding after having a single beer. 

So, we decided to share a sampler and a whole big pile of hot wings. . . a few sips each of six beers . . . just a tease really. . . and noms.

About the brewery:  Sunday River Brewing Company (SRBC)  . . . once tied in with the now defunct Stone Coast Brewing Company . . . is located on  Sunday River Road in Bethel Maine. It is a decent sized pub with clear viewing of the brewing area.  The brew master . . . or pro brewer, as he is called there . . . is Stewart Mason.  A home brewer to start he began working for breweries in Boston and then other locations until he made his way to Sunday River, where he’s made his home. 

Our lovely and knowledgeable server, Darcie, brought us our sampler and described the brews as such . . .  a blonde, an alt, an IPA, a porter, a wheat and a double IPA.

The first, Sunday River Blonde, was a pale lemon colored ale; a very light and refreshing but tasty 3.8% ABV; this would make an excellent session beer that you could enjoy many of on a long hot day.

The second, Sunday River Alt, was a tawny colored ale that is lightly sweet and has a clearly define caramel flavor. Another excellent beer.  Smooth and delicious. (4%ABV)

The third was Sunday River IPA. For some reason I have been lusting after IPAs recently and this one didn't disappoint me. Grapefruity hoppiness, bitter on the front end with a clean finish. A classic English IPA flavor with 5.7% ABV.

So far we're going three to three on liking this brew pub's offerings . . . and the wings are pretty darn good, as well . . . they all cant possible be good. Can they? Read on . . .

The fourth was Black Bear Porter.  This was my least favorite of the sextet . . . but not because it was bad.   It was indeed quite good, in fact.  What made me like it less than all the others is the smoky aspect. . . I'm jot a fan of smoky beer, that's all.   Hubby claimed this to be his favorite partially because of the smoky flavor . . . so, to each his own. This porter is typically dark and malty but surprisingly hoppy.  6% ABV

The final two were seasonals . . .

The fifth in the line up was a Belgian Wit a pale golden yellow.   A fruity wheat beer simply screams summer.    Like a lemonade beer . . . oh so good and refreshing . . . was refreshing, light and tasty.  The lemon wasn’t overpowering but instead complimented the wheat to create a nicely balance beer.

The final beer in our sampler was Mollyockett’s Revenge, a double IPA. A very big IPA coming in at a strong 8% ABV.  Despite the high alcohol content there was no boozy taste.  A really good hoppy beer . . . bitter, citrusy and seriously good. 

The beer discovery of Sunday River was nearly as amazing as the awesome ride.  If you’re ever in the area of Bethel Maine stop by and have yourself a few brews, you won’t be disappointed . . . great beer, pleasant staff and good food make for an all around experience.

Cheers.