If you live in Hawaii, or have vacationed here, you may have had the chance to try Kona Brewing Company’s Castaway IPA. It’s one of the few beers that you could pretty much only find in Hawaii. That’s about to change as Kona Brewing plans to release Castaway IPA to all of its markets in mid April.
Castaway IPA will be available year-round in bottles and draft. It is being termed as a Hawaiian-style IPA. The draft version I’ve had in the past has had a clean and light malt base that allows the tropical and citrusy hops take the show. Castaway IPA is definitely very sessionable because of its lower above (6.0%) and light body.
Kona’s brand new Brewmaster Billy Smith shared, “IPAs are one of the fastest-growing segments in today’s craft beer industry, and we think mainland craft beer lovers will appreciate how distinctive Castaway is from many current IPA offerings. The citrus, tropical and mango influences combine with what you’d expect from a typical IPA to create a drinking experience that takes you back to the islands.”
Castaway IPA specs:
Style: Hawaiian-style IPA
ABV: 6.0%
Bitterness: 55 IBU
Hops: Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe, Millennium
Release date: April 14, 2014
Beer In Hawaii 
AWESOME! My favorite choice from Kona, and absolutely sad it hasn’t been bottled. Until now!
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I had a sample of this on draft recently and found it to be well-balanced. A friend of mine that just turned 21 went to Kona brewing recently and txt me to see what beer to try and I recommend this to him. Unfortunately, when I asked him later how he liked it, he said that there was “shit” in the beer from dirty lines. I haven’t been to the pub in a while and was wondering if anyone else has had this issue.
Glad to see it in bottles though, I find that in general, at most of the bars on island I feel more comfortable getting bottled beer, especially if they do not cater to a craft beer crowd, because unfortunately I too have experienced a lack of clean lines on island.
Which reminds me that I need to call Kemo’o Farms and let them know I got sick off the Castaway on draft there last Friday. Know I’m wondering if it was a batch issue and not the lines?? Thanks for letting me ramble! Cheers and have a safe and beery weekend!
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If you experience dirty lines or feel a bar isn’t tending to their system you should contact the distributor as well. Kona is distributed by AB and they have a draft team that can help get the issues fixed. AB Hawaii has a website and you can google it to get a contact.
The more consumers demand bars to keep clean lines the better we will have it. The distributors will respond.
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Awesome! I’ve been drinking Castaway for years at the Brew Pub in Koko Marina. Every time I go there, I ask when they plan to bottle this brew. Looks like someone finally listened! Thanks for the note, I’ll be on the lookout for it when it arrives in April.
Aloha,
Bob
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Looking forward to finding it here in San Diego. But to compete with some of the bigger beers, Imperials, and Double-IPAs, I would hope to see a very hoppy, higher ABV (8%+) land on the mainland from Kona Brewing.
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