Fire Rock Pale Ale - Kona Brewing Co.

tjsdomer2

Illinois

3.41/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Ruby-copper with good foam and decent lacing. Not too much carbonation.

Smell: Sweet caramel and dry hay. Not incredible, but a nice balance.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Dry hay and a hint of caramel. A bit too sour in the background. Pretty active carbonation, but flattens in finish.

Overall Drinkability: Not as good as Pipeline Porter or Coconut Brown...not even close. Enjoyable to start, but not great in the end.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 01:17:49 | More by tjsdomer2

neenerzig

Ohio

3.74/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured out of a 12 oz bottle into one of my pint glasses. This beer pours a clear medium to copper/amber/dark golden color with a white head that is initially 1 inch when first poured. Settles pretty quickly to a medium to thick ring lining the inside of the glass with a pretty good film layer of foam hanging out on the beer's surface. Pretty decent lacing too. Aromas of slightly toasted caramel malt and some grassy, floral hop notes. Decent flavors of some slightly toasted caramel malt and some grassy floral hop bitterness. Good balance of the malt sweetness and the hop bitterness, but the hop bitterness does tend to be the more dominant flavor profile here. Has a crisp, yet smooth, oily and even slightly rubbery medium to full bodied mouth feel with moderate carbonation. Easy to drink in the way good beer should be.

Eric

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 04:30:41 | More by neenerzig

Nugganooch

California

3.46/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle from the Kona Brewing variety pack - served in an Imperial nonic glass

A: Dark caramel color nearing a copper-amber really with some light hazing towards the center. Otherwise near perfect clarity. Thin half finger of light retaining khaki suds float on top leaving behind some light etch work and dots of lace.

S: Toasted biscuit and caramel malts with some understated earthy hops. There are faint stone fruit like esters coming through as well. Real bready aroma overall.

T: Tastes of caramel malts, toasted bread, and biscuit. Some nice stone fruit juiciness and light earthiness there with a moderate amount of bitterness. Has a flowery finish with a suggestion of citrus fruits. Alcohol is completely hidden and there is a pleasant balance to the beer overall but this is definitely a malty Pale.

M: Moderate to lighter body with a nice frothy smooth feel from the ample carbonation. There is a nice drying effort in the finish with some residual hop oils and malt sugars lingering on the palate.

D: Perfectly average pale ale that boasts a malty profile with some complementary bitters. Has some nice balance in flavors actually just offers very little to get excited about.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 21:14:05 | More by Nugganooch

matjack85

Illinois

3.91/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I bought this as part of a build-your-own six pack for $9.99 at the Binny's store in Bloomingdale, IL, making them $1.67 each. 12oz brown bottle with a brewed on date of Jan 13 of 2013, making this bottle about 3 months old.

The beer poured a deep copper color with a 2-finger off-white head that lasted a few minutes and left lots of spotty lacing on the glass.

There's not much smell to this - just some very weak malt.

Lots of caramely sweetness along with other toasted malts to give this a big malt forward profile. Some juicy fruitiness adds to the complexity, and there's just the perfect amount of hops to keep it balanced and to give it a gentle bitterness. It's delicious.

Light to medium bodied, crisp, and with medium high carbonation.

This is by far the best beer from this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 09:22:33 | More by matjack85

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

(Served in an American pint glass)
A- This beer pours a crystal clear deep orange body with a thin white film and a gentle carbonation

S- The pine and pith hints give way to a pale malt note when it opens a bit but the aroma is pretty clean over all.

T- The fizzy covers much of the taste except a pungent bitter hop after taste. There is a field corn note that comes through as the beer opens and the fizz dies down.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a full scrubbing fizz and no alcohol heat noticed.

O- The fizz and hop bitterness is about all there is making it not very sessionable and a bit one-dimensional. The hops are mostly bitterness and no any flavor or aroma to them.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2013 15:23:53 | More by rhoadsrage

sam_bliss

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very red for a pale ale. Light copper colored with an impressive white head. Long retention and good-looking lacing as the foam ever-so-slowly subsides. It smells a bit malty, and pretty weak. Perhaps I've poured it too cold, but I can hardly make out any real scent. Taste is upper malty for an APA; some roasted malts mix in to the caramel and pale malt foundation. Raisins, dark brown sugar, and some grassy hops make this worth drinking. There is a little bit of hay flavor as well.

Fir Rock Pale Ale is more of an amber if you ask me. But I won't judge based on that; it's a good beer. It is interesting and something different - "Hawaiian-Style" I suppose. I can appreciate a beer that breaks from the norms and even the definition of such a broad style. Notes that bring to mind sweet oatmeal with raisins are balanced out by just the right amount of hops. This is far less bitter, or refreshing, than your typical SNPA model.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 06:31:48 | More by sam_bliss

Bills453

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - nice amber color that one would expect. Loses points because the head doesn't last. Decent lacing on the glass though!

Smell - a little bit of hops and some floral smells, but not much.

Taste - an ok pale ale. A like more bold hops in my pale ales of any variety. This would be a very nice session pale ale though because the hippiness certainly is not overpowering.

Mouthfeel - good

Overall - an ok pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 21:30:05 | More by Bills453

martinlauridsen

Denmark

3.78/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Opening a bottle of Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale. The date on the bottle says NOV 27 2012, which means it was bottled almost 4 months ago. Hoping that the hop aromas have not taken too big a hit from that fact.

Appearance: A beautiful clear, dark copper color with a clear white, coarse head which is gone in 2 minutes. Color reminds me of scotch.

Aroma: Not too hoppy on the aroma. Rather on the malty side, which I accredit to the 4 months in the bottle. Especially, caramel malt is prominent. Just when poured, has grassy and floral notes.

Taste: Subtle sweet maltiness with the bitter aftertaste of an IPA.

Mouthfeel: This is the best part of this IPA. Very round and drinkable. I am having this in a cold Danish march with a foot of snow outside. However, I believe that this IPA will truly prove its worth on a warmer summer day.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 18:47:30 | More by martinlauridsen

mattcrill

Ohio

4.11/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Aroma: Light crackery malt nose with a touch of earthy and slightly woody hop character. Clean fermentation notes.

Appearance: Deep amber pour with a thick and sudsy off-white head.

Flavor: A touch of bready sweetness up front followed by more earthy and slightly citric hop character. Minerally water profile which adds to the depth and character of the flavor. Balance is nearly even with a slight nod to the hop character. Finish is long and slightly bitter. Aftertaste is clean leaving the palette wanting more.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Just a touch of creaminess and even a little resiny/oily. No alcohol heat.

Overall impression: An immensely drinkable, complex, and refreshing pale ale. Seems a bit heavier handed on the malt than what I'm used to but really enjoyable. Nicely done.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 20:46:55 | More by mattcrill

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aloha!!! Trying the Kona Brew Fire Rock....its decent. The beer pours a nice clear copper with a finger thick white head that is leaving a lace. The smell is mostly caramel type malt....not much hops. The taste is a well balance pale ale, but the malt is more pronounced than the hops. The mouthfeel is medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a tasty beer and would be good to session.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 03:45:30 | More by WoodBrew

Hoptometrist

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on tap into a shaker glass
A- Poured a clear orange color with lots of visible streaming carbonation, off-white frothy head left lots of dense glass coating lace
S- Big aroma of peach, grapefruit, mango, and tropical hops
T- Lots of peach, grapefruit, and mango hop flavors. Very tropical and fruit forward. Moderate to mild bitterness.
M- Dry, medium body and carbonation
O- A very good fruit forward pale ale with lots of tropical hop flavors, fitting I suppose for a brewery in Hawaii.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2013 00:25:50 | More by Hoptometrist

hosehead83

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12oz. bottle into a standard pint glass.
Chill-hazed copper in color, with a moderate cap of bone-white foam.
Aroma-Toasted malt, faint floral hop note
Taste-Toasted malt, herbal and floral hop notes, citrus -rind bitterness snakes in and out balanced by caramel and a bit of mineral essence. Very tasty and exceptionally well-balanced. Nothing over-the-top, just classic American pale. Excellent flavor and character. Great with a hunk of aged white cheddar.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 18:14:25 | More by hosehead83

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Ted Nugent sets rocks on fire. Get used to it. Anyway, this stuff pours a clear copper topped by a finger of lightly off-cream foam. The nose comprises mild pine needles, mild caramel, and light orange rind. The taste brings in more of the same, with more orange and a touch of flowers. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta/kinda drying finish. Overall, a nice, if not altogether distinguished, brew. 'Nuff said.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 04:45:31 | More by TMoney2591

magictacosinus

California

3.94/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass from a 12oz bottle. Packaging states that this was bottled on "09/26/12," meaning this is over 4 months old at this point.

Color is an orangish-amber, filled with ripe tones produced by the malts, and plenty of syrupy goodness to boot. Carbonation is relatively decent, although there wasn't that much of a head overall. Lacing gently rests on the glass's walls, and bubbles seem to be abundant even as this warms up. Looks mellow overall, but afraid if this might be too old at this point.

Getting plenty of cascade hops on the nose, alongside another gentle plunge of citrus that resembles most closely orange peel. Lots of strong caramel and honey notes here, however. Usually this is the case as these beers get a little older in the bottle, but it doesn't smell too yeasty or boozy at this point. There's a little bit of hefty yeast notes that rise at the back of the neck after each large whiff, yet this seems pretty balanced overall, and indeed, as mellow as the appearance was in the beginning.

The flavor starts off slightly bitter, with some of the hoppy notes coming through, but is quickly replaced by biscuit, toasted malts melded with brown sugar and candied honey. A little bit of spiciness catches me by surprise, often resembling cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Fruity notes are not too tropical, but they do seem to resemble apricots when they're not too citrusy. It's pretty balanced and easy to consume overall, especially given the syrup-like character and simple aftertaste despite all of the flavors. A little bit of alcohol burn gets you as well, which also came as a surprise.

This is a bare bones pale ale for sure, but some of the hoppy characteristics are different here, definitely in ways that I haven't found in the APA style before. While not in-your-face in any way, indeed, its balanced nature is what I enjoy about it. I will try more beers from Kona Brewing Co. in the future.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 04:25:34 | More by magictacosinus

MattyG85

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams "Perfect Pint" glass. Label bottling date of Oct 30, 2012.

Appearance: Pours a somewhat cloudy copper amber orange with lot of rising bubbles. Solid three fingers of off white head with good retention. Leaves a lot of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A nicely floral and malty aroma. Solid hop presence with hints of floral and grassy hops and some citrus orange peel and lemon. Subtle pine spice. Strong malt scents with good hints of grains, biscuit, crackers, yeast, caramel, and toffee. Smells nicely bready and earthy. A solid mix of malts and hops that you expect in a Pale Ale.

Taste: A solid mix of bready malts, floral and citrus hops like the smell hints. A nice mix of floral, grassy, and piney hops with a kick of citrus orange, lemon, and a little grapefruit. A nice balance of bready malts with notes of wheat grains, biscuit, crackers, yeast, caramel, and toffee. A pretty solid balance of hops and malts. Bready and nicely drying.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, spicy, clean, and smooth. Finishes fairly dry.

Overall: A solid Pale Ale. Pretty standard for the style, but good.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2013 07:35:14 | More by MattyG85

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pretty quick, thin head that doesn't last at all. Clear copper and amber color. Almost no bubbling.

Toasted cracker malt aroma and some orange peel and earthy hop notes.

Toasted, biscuit and cracker malts. some what syrupy palate. Malt sweetness is well balanced by the earthy, orange bitterness from the hops. Crisp feeling on the finish. Pretty easy to drink and session.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 20:34:34 | More by scruffwhor

AmitC

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A pretty decent APA. Just fine.

Pours a good pale amber color, some off white head. A few bubbles. Clear.

Some hop aroma, very slight malt. Just ok, nothing enticing or exciting about it.

Just fine display of floral hops and good mix wit body. Dry finish. Not one of the bitter stuff.

Body is light to slightly medium. Moderate carbonation.

Very run of the mill stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 00:24:29 | More by AmitC

Fatehunter

Oregon

2.65/5  rDev -27%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured a finger of head on a hazy, medium straw colored body.
The aroma is faint citrus and pine.
The taste is watery with some mild malt and hardly any note of bitterness.
It has a higher carbonation level which is annoying with medium body.
A below average pale ale. No real flavor and the mouthfeel was too fizzy.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 16:32:27 | More by Fatehunter

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I poured this beer into a tulip style glass and received about a finger of head from the pour. This beer is coppery in color and kind of cloudy.

The nose on this one was pretty minimal. You can smell light hopping and malt on this one.

This pale is pretty malty. I also get some unusual/earthy spice... almost like nutmeg or cinnamon. The balance is a little off, but this is a pleasurable flavor on the whole.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 20:40:57 | More by ummswimmin

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

3.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Coppery to amber in color, mostly clear with a fair head and lace. It's a pretty color, but could use a bit more head and lace.

Aroma is that of a pretty malty pale ale with a nice hops presence. Citrus and fruit also make an appearance.

Taste follows the aroma pretty well. It's malty up front, with a crispy hops bite and a fruity, citrus, biscuit flavor.

Body is pretty good for a pale ale, medium, crisp and somewhat sweet on the finish, with a lingering malty finish with just a tinge of hops.

Overall this kind of reminds me of Stone Pale Ale. It's malt-forward, and hoppy, but not overly hoppy. It's not going to get confused for an IPA, which is fine by me in a pale ale. I bought this as a single to try/review but I would certainly be happy to buy a sixer of it.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 00:55:46 | More by AlCaponeJunior

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A-honey colored with a nice cream colored head

S-aged grains and creaminess. Some tropical fruits. Faint scent overall

T-comes in with an extremely, extremely smooth taste of light hops and tropical fruit flavors. The taste pretty much ends there. No bitterness. Just a touch of jungle fruit remains.

M-medium to low creamy carbonation with a semi-creamy finish

O-not exactly what I want from my pale ales. It's a bit too fruity. It's not a terrible beer, but this is quite girly for an APA. The flavors are fairly watery as well. Even tastes somewhat adjunct. I like a lot of Kona beers but this was a let down.

Serving type: on-tap

11-20-2012 23:30:51 | More by AdamBear

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

What we have here is a good basic beer. Color is copper with a smallish white head and some carbonation.Aroma is light but balanced with sweet caramel malts and a citrusy hop smell.
Tasty yes but nothing to write home about. A densent malt bill bready and grainy mabe and hops having a lighter citrus taste.
This is a drinkable standard for the masses beer and there's nothing wrong with that.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 12:14:37 | More by micromaniac129

Neorebel

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Fire Rock Pale Ale is a beautiful color, somewhere between copper and golden brown. It's head is off-white and frothy. There is a slight haze to it and carbonation is noticeable. It smells great- I am picking up pineapple, grapefruit, as well as some nice malt sugars. The citrus scent is also present, as advertised. Wow, this is a magnificent APA! Great balance of fruity notes, toasted malts, and unique hops. This beer coats the mouth nicely and the sugary taste fades out to a somewhat dry finish. Medium bodied and slightly warming on the way down. When I first tasted this on tap at Firewaters in Atlantic City, I thought it was almost hoppy enough to be like an IPA, but I am not getting that at all this time from the bottle. Overall, a real treat... do not hesitate to buy!

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2012 21:45:01 | More by Neorebel

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a 64 oz growler into a nonic tumbler- pours a clear amber color with a couple fingers of white head, decent retention, some nice spotty lacing.

Smell is mild and of light grapefruit hops and burnt caramel.

Taste is better than the nose- citrus up front followed by slight bitterness and caramel sweetness, finishing with citrus. Nothing special bot not bad.

Mouthfeel is very nice- medium bodied, full carbonation, sweet finish. This a pretty decent pale ale, but not really hoppy enough for me.

Serving type: growler

10-07-2012 03:52:54 | More by Hopdaemon39

cyclonece09

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a red color with a small white head that leaves some lacing. Smells of piney and flowery hops and light malt. Tastes of bitter piney hops and slight alcohol, along with some darker malt with slight caramel flavor. Beer is medium body, good carbonation, and finishes nicely. Overall, an above average beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 21:59:23 | More by cyclonece09