Kona Brewing – Longboard CANS Coming March 2012

We’ve been watching as beers form the Craft Brewers Alliance (Redhook, Kona & Widmer) have been showing up in cans (Longhammer IPA earlier this week), so it was a pleasant “surprise” to see Kona Longboard Island Lager coming in 12oz cans.  It makes perfect sense, with the distance this beer travels, so stay tuned for more.

We brought you the label above and now here’s the official press release!

KAILUA-KONA, HI – Craft beer drinkers who spend much of their time in the surf, sun, and sand will soon have an easier way to bring along their favorite beer. Kona Brewing Company has announced plans to offer its flagship Longboard Island Lager in 12-ounce cans, which are scheduled to hit shelves mid-March 2012. All Kona markets will receive Longboard cans, including the newest markets of Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey.

Aluminum cans offer a range of benefits for consumers, beer, and the environment. Perhaps the biggest benefit for fans of Kona Brewing Company’s Longboard Island Lager, however, is that cans allow consumers to enjoy Liquid Aloha where glass bottles typically aren’t allowed – like on the beach or at the pool.

According to Kona Brewing president Mattson Davis, the can’s enhanced portability as a take-along is especially beneficial to Kona beer drinkers who enjoy rewarding themselves during outdoor pursuits. “Cans are lifestyle-friendly for the Kona consumer, who’s more likely to take us to the beach, hiking or snowboarding in the mountains, paddling their local lake or river, or any other time where glass bottles aren’t the best way to go. Now they’ll have a lighter, more compact way to take our beers along.”

Longboard Island Lager is slated to make its debut in cans at the Kona Brewers Festival on March 10, 2012 in Hawaii. Kona’s home market of Hawaii will be the first to offer cans at retail, scheduled for March 12, 2012. Longboard Island Lager cans will be available year-round in 12-ounce 6-pack configurations.

“Longboard Lager has experienced tremendous growth over the past five years and we’re hopeful the Longboard cans will add to the excitement our fans continue to have for craft beer,” continued Davis. “Liquid Aloha in a can is what Kona beer drinkers have asked for and we’re stoked to bring it to them.”