An imposing man appears and dancers, dressed in yellow and red regalia, glide into formation. Around the beachfront bay, the crowd of two thousand hushes, from the chefs and beer pourers preparing on the luau grounds, to the swimmers playing in the water, to the festival attendees patiently lined up on the neighboring deep-water pier.
Cutting through the quiet, the man’s voice rings out across the bay in the native Hawaiian language, rich and strong, welcoming ancient spirits to the festival and asking for blessings for the day. Even the birds seem to stop chirping in reverence for the ancient Hawaiian tradition. As the chant fades to silence and the dancers stop swaying, the crowd roars into an ebullient single cheer and then, only then, is the Kona Brewers Festival open to pour.
Photo by Kim Sharpe Jones
Every March, the historic grounds of the King Kamehameha Hotel are transformed from luau grounds into the most scenic beer festival grounds imaginable, right on the shores of the white sandy beach with surf crashing into black lava rock. A benefit for a local Kona children’s charity, the festival has strong attendance support from the local community while being one of the most sought-after beer travel experiences around. No common beer festival, Kona offers a blend of transportative experience, a vast selection of craft beer from all over the U.S., and chef-prepared cuisine — at an all-inclusive price.
Photo by Kendall Jones
It’s no surprise that Hawaii’s local breweries line up for the festival, so it’s an excellent place to taste beers from the Islands’ smaller craft breweries like Kauai Island Brewing or the Big Island Brewhaus. More surprisingly, it’s a great place to try beer from breweries you may not find at home. They vary each year, but the 2014 line-up of breweries from wide-flung places included Double Mountain from Hood River, OR; Jolly Pumpkin from Dexter, MI; Eel River from Fortuna, CA; Coronado Brewing from San Diego; and Bayern Brewing from Missoula, MT.
Photo by Kim Sharpe Jones
The food was an unanticipated, unrivaled treat, more like a high-end tasting experience than your typical beer fest cuisine. Over 30 chefs from the islands turn out their best tastes, ranging from Poke burgers to Kalua pork. Entry includes ten tastes of beer, but unlimited food (while it lasts).
The goal of the festival is zero-waste, so all food and beverage service items are 100% compostable or recyclable, with disposal stations throughout the festival staffed by volunteers to help you sort your waste. Garage even becomes part of the entertainment with a Trash Fashion Show, featuring costumes made with 100% recycled materials.
A full slate of live music rounds out the entertainment, with a stage at the far end of the festival grounds, situated so festival-goers can sit on the lava rock bulkhead to take a breather, or dance their flip-flops off between beers.
If you go:
The official festival Website: http://konabrewersfestival.com/
In 2015, the Kona Brewers Festival celebrates its 20th year, taking place on Saturday, March 14th from 2:30 to 6:30. Tickets were $75 in 2014, and for the 2015 festival go on sale January 31, 2015. They will go fast – like almost immediately. If you have friends on Oahu or Hawaii, you can try asking them to nab tickets for you at the Kona Brewery in Honolulu or Kona.
Arriving at the festival couldn’t be more convenient than if staying right at the host hotel, the King Kamehameha, a Courtyard by Marriott property. With parts of the hotel recently remodeled after flooding caused by the tsunami of 2011, “The King Kam” offers quiet and comfortable rooms, many with views, in a superb Kona location that’s walking distance to everything in town, plus offers one of the area’s calmest beaches for swimming and snorkeling right out your door.
For your flight, the festival’s official partner airline is Alaska Airlines, which offers a discount on round-trip tickets for festival-goers, and has nonstop service to Kona from Seattle and other west coast cities.
Photo by Kendall Jones
