E-Malt.com News article: 4112

USA, Oregon: Kona Brewing Co., which will mark its 10th anniversary this month, announced its production has now gone well over the 1.5 million gallon mark. The company said on January 31 it is now the nation's 51st largest brewery and has 1.5 % of the total state beer market and 10 % of draft sales here.

Kona Brewing Co. President Mattson Davis was managing a restaurant in Portland, Ore., when, in December 1996, he was called to the table of patron Cameron Healy. What Davis thought would be a complaint turned out to be a job offer, a request that he move to Hawaii to help with a new business venture in Kailua-Kona. Today, Davis oversees production of six draft beers and three bottled beers and operation of two pubs that employ nearly 150 people while also serving as an officer of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.

Kona Brewing is now the largest brewery in the state and has brewed 1,550,000 gallons of beer including Da Grind Buzz Kona Coffee Stout, Big Island Ginger Beer, Lilikoi Wheat Ale and Koko Loco Coconut Stout.

The company will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Feb. 15, at 5 p.m., at both its locations: Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai and Kona. It will introduce a new Belgian-style beer made from local oranges and grapefruits donated by Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers.


02 February, 2005