Kona Brewery Bringing Their 'Bia' To Chicago

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 6, 2012 11:00PM

RedEye’s Kate Bernot has the skinny on the latest entry to Chicago’s already crowded beer shelves. Kona Brewing will debut in the Chicago market early next year, bringing a taste of the 50th state to the Third Coast.

Kona’s flagship beer (Longboard Lager), Big Wave Golden ale and Fire Rock Pale ale will be available year-round at Binny’s locations across the area and draft locations still to be determined. Seasonal selections from their Aloha series will also head our way.

Bernot also notes that beer drinkers concerned about freshness need not fret, as Kona’s beers in the continental 48 states are brewed in Portland, Ore. and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Kona, along with Redhook Brewing and Widmer Brothers Brewing, is part of the Craft Brew Alliance.

(If that name sounds familiar it’s because the Craft Brew Alliance was the group that purchased 42 percent of Goose Island Beer Company in 2006, which was the first domino to fall that eventually led to Goose Island being purchased by Anheuser-Busch; A-B holds a 36 percent stake in Craft Brew Alliance.)

Digressing, the arrival of Kona to Chicago only sweetens an already overflowing pot of beer options in Chicago. Kona makes some pretty amazing beers—we’re especially fond of their Da Grind Buzz Coffee Imperial Stout—but it will be interesting to see how their year-round selections will fare in the market. Other noted Breweries such as Firestone and Boulevard entered the market by offering limited selections before rolling out the year-round selections. But Kona has its Craft Brew Alliance backing in place to accommodate demand, if it reaches the point where it exceeds supply.