Kona Brewing Company

A first-time collaboration beer between three pioneering American craft breweries that are part of Craft Brew Alliance (“CBA”) (NASDAQ: BREW) will be tapped at the 21st Annual Kona Brewers Festival on March 12, 2016. New England cranberries, North Carolina honey and Hawaiian cacao come together in Konambisco Amber Ale, which was inspired when the craft brewers behind Kona Brewing Co. of Kailua-Kona, HI, Appalachian Mountain Brewery of Boone, NC, and Cisco Brewers of Nantucket, MA. came up with the idea to collaborate on a beer that celebrates the extraordinary places each brewery calls home.

Hana hou! Following the debut of its exclusive-to-Hawaii beer series last year, Kona Brewing Company is brewing another round of seasonal Makana Series craft beers. Like last year’s series, each of the beers will be inspired by one of the four natural elements and be made with local island ingredients. Kona Brewing fans fell in love with the small-batch beer series, purchasing thousands of pints of the innovative brews, and, in the process, raised $57,662 for four Hawaii non-profit organizations dedicated to restoring and preserving the state’s precious natural resources.

After nine months of searching, Craft Brew Alliance has finally selected the site for its new 30,000 sq. ft. Kona Brewing facility in Hawaii. Located near its original brewpub, the 2.6 acre site in Kailua-Kona will be capable of producing 100,000 barrels and serve as a potential gateway to Far East export markets.

Hitting the beach with the bare essentials – surfboard and beer of course – just got a whole lot easier with Kona Brewing Company’s light, easy-to- carry 6- and 12-packs. The 12-ounce aluminum cans of Longboard Island Lager (4.6% ABV, 18 IBU) are currently available in select states and will expand to additional ones early next year. Big Wave Golden Ale (4.4% ABV, 21 IBU) is being introduced for the first time.

Two of Kona Brewing Company’s popular Hawaii-only specialty beers are returning to pint glasses across the U.S. The coffee infused Pipeline Porter and the coconut rich Koko Brown Ale make their return to the Mainland in response to increasing demand for the uniquely Hawaiian brews. The beers are limited releases and are not expected to stay on shelves or taps long.

Kona Brewing Company’s Makani Wheat Ale is the first craft beer made with honey collected from bees that pollinate the flowers of native Hawaiian koa trees. Makani Wheat Ale is the final beer in the four‐part 2015 “Makana Series” that supports local non‐profits dedicated to protecting Hawaii’s natural resources.

The opportunity to deploy a good pun never escapes the folks over at Craft Brew Alliance. A “swelling” number of beer drinkers are purchasing the company’s Hawaiian-themed session brand, Kona Big Wave, according to a press release. Citing recent IRI data, CBA said that annual Big Wave Golden Ale sales are up 66 percent – or as the company also put it: “four times the growth rate of the entire craft beer category.”

Craft Brew Alliance is doubling down on brewery expansions. The company today announced it would spend $15 million to build a new 100,000-barrel brewery in Hawaii. A list of potential locations is being reviewed and CBA said it expects the facility to be fully operational by 2017.

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) has announced its preliminary financial results for 2014, highlighting double-digit net sales growth across the company’s core family of brands including Kona, Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Omission. According to a release from the company, net sales increased 12 percent in 2014, and exceeded $200 million. Shipments grew 10 percent, a 6 percent increase over the year prior. Depletions, meanwhile, grew 7 percent despite an approximate 25 percent reduction in SKUs.

With an expansion into nine new states, the Craft Brew Alliance-owned Kona Brewing brand will be sold nationwide in early 2015. In a press statement, the company said it plans to enter Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and West Virginia next January.

Craft Brew Alliance today announced it has signed a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership with Appalachian Mountain Brewery, a publicly traded craft brewery based in Boone, North Carolina. Although specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, CBA told Brewbound the two companies will explore ways to “drive business growth and shareholder value through sharing resources in key strategic areas.”

In a follow-up earnings call on Thursday, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) executives expounded on third quarter results and discussed the increasingly competitive craft beer landscape.Total CBA depletion volumes grew 6 percent compared to the third quarter in 2013. Year-to-date depletion totals are now up 8 percent.

Brewbound is pleased to announce Craft Brew Alliance CEO Andy Thomas will speak at the upcoming Brewbound Session, which will be held in San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 4. Thomas will share his vision of a mature craft beer category. In his presentation, Thomas will address the important questions that, ultimately, will determine how much craft is able to grow.

Kailua-Kona, Big Island of Hawaii — Kona Brewing has announced that on October 25, 2014, multicultural 7 piece band Ozomatli will return to rock the Brewhouse Oasis for a pre-Halloween bash.