Name: Maui Brewing Co Bikini Blonde Lager

Style: Lager

Country: U.S.A.

ABV: 5.1%

Beer description: Maui Brewing Company, out of Hawaii, produce mostly tap beers but with a further release in cans. The company has chosen cans over bottles as they’re easier to ship as well as generally better for the environment, and some would argue, better for the beer.

The Bikini Blonde is fairly dark for a lager. Many lagers have a straw/yellow colour to them and are inherently see through, while this beer is darker, with a hint of tangerine colour to it, and much less translucent. For a lager, there is a good and creamy head.

The aroma is what a good lager should be. It’s very crisp with a zest that runs through it. There’s a floral quality to the smell of this brew as well as an element of grape, which is highly unusual in any beer. There’s a bit of malt in the aroma, particularly vanilla, with a grapefruit smell which interacts interestingly.

Just as the beer hits the drinker’s lips, there is the distinct smell of the sea and sand. It’s the smell of a white sand beach. This suits the Bikini Blonde name perfectly.

The beer remains crisp in the first sip as well and the citrus zest remains too. There’s a general and sweet lemon taste to the beer that adds to the refreshing nature of it. There’s not much in the middle here, but Maui Brewing has allowed the carbonation to take over. As lagers are often less bold in taste, this is OK; too much in a lager can be a bad thing. Allowing the carbonation to become part of the taste spectrum adds to the beer without confounding the beer or the style.

Finally, the beer finishes on a fairly bitter note. There’s a hint of sourness at the very back of the tongue followed by a bitterness that stays with the drinker for some time. Once again, this is surprising, but welcome. All of this is surrounded by the definitive crispness that a lager needs to have.

While lagers can often be labeled as “boring,” “too subtle,” or “bland,” Maui Brewing has done well in pulling off a very good lager that even those who only like big IPAs will enjoy.

Check out general summary of Hawaiian beers.

Check out other lager reviews.

Check out other Maui Brewing Co beers.