Kona Brewing Co. -- Koko Brown

Kona Brewing Co.'s Koko Brown ale is the newest in the "Aloha Series" of seasonal offerings.

 It is 5.5% ABV and has a mild 28 IBU's.

Review:
This offering from Kona Brewing pours a dark walnut color and carries very little head. The aroma is dominated by coconut, but somewhere deep in the back of your nasal cavities, you can pull out a dark roast (almost burnt) barley note. The taste, like the aroma, is completely dominated by the coconut flavor. There are toasted coconut notes, sweetened coconut flake notes, and canned coconut milk notes. The malt notes are lost behind this sledgehammer of nuttiness and the only discernible traces of hops arrive late in the taste. The hop bitterness is somewhat earthy but is insufficient in strength to overcome the sweet coconut.

(Side Note: According to the website, this beer is brewed with Cascade, Willamette, Warrior, and Millennium hops. From the taste of this beer, I'd say that Kona must have used one hop cone per barrel... give or take a few.  )

Overall Impression:
-There are two dimensions to this beer-- its color (brown) and COCONUT. 
-If you don't want beer to get in the way of your coconut, try this beer.

Grade: C

Barrel Man says,

"Tastes like

    Malibu Rum."

(This bottle was purchased at Liquor Collection)

Maui Brewing Co.'s Coconut Porter

Maui Brewing Co.'s "CoCoNut PorTeR" (that's how they type it on the can) is a "robust porter brewed with six varieties of malted barley, hops, and hand-toasted coconut." It weighs in at a solid 5.7% ABV and 30 IBU's.

Review:
This beer seems to follow the BJCP guidelines for the style of Robust Porter very closely in all ways except the area of flavor, where there seems to be a lack of black patent or roasted grain character. In that way, it is closer to a Brown Porter, which I find understandable since the brewer probably wanted to highlight the coconut flavor, which may have been masked by any amount of intense roast flavors. I did, however, note a slight chicory flavor, which I found pleasing. As you drink the beer, the flavor is dominated by sweetness that lingers until the moment you swallow. At this time the dry finish takes over and readies you for your next sip. Within this style there can be a slight astringency from the roasted malts. My tasters (in a blind tasting) said that there was a slight metallic taste. I too could taste this, but I couldn't tell if it was from the aluminum can, or from the roasted astringency.
(Side note: although I do not know why this beer is “like hot chicks on the beach,” I do know that the 1814 on the design relates to the London beer flood of 1814, a tragic but interesting event.)
Overall Impression: Fits the style. Carbonation reminds me of a soda more than a beer. Slightly sweet for my taste. 

Grade: B (for me) / B+ (for coconut lovers)