This week, we had the pleasure to be invited along with a select group of watch collectors and watchlifestylers, to an intimate beer tasting evening with Kona Brewing Co. at the Omega Boutique in Chicago. As usual, our friends from the Omega Boutique put together a very classy and fun event surrounding us by amazing timepieces in their showcases. As expected, the star of the night was the highly coveted Speedmaster 'Dark Side of the Moon' that several collectors were already sporting. Considering the huge beer connoisseurs that we are and our passion for timepieces, there was no way we would've missed this event.
Kona Brewing Co. was started in 1995 by a father and son team, Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa. Their dream was to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. Their love for Hawaii and a desire to protect the pristine environment there, brought them to the Big Island to fulfill their vision. Kona Brewing Co. continues to be headquartered right where it began, in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island.
After some brief remarks from Charles Hocevar —Manager Omega Boutique Chicago—, Saul Hernandez —Key Holder Omega Boutique Chicago and one of the savviest watch salesmen we've ever met in the U.S.— and Mattson C. Davis —Managing Director Kona Brewing Co.— we continued to enjoy our evening with some delicious hors d'oeuvres and some great beers that were paired with some of the timepieces on display at the boutique. Quite clever and very well done.
The beer tasting included Longboard Island Lager, Castaway IPA and Big Wave Golden Ale. Since we are not huge IPA drinkers, we decided to stick to the lager and the golden ale. Longboard Island Lager is a smooth refreshing lager fermented and aged for weeks at cold temperatures to yield its exceptionally smooth flavor. A delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements the malty body of this beer that goes down quite smoothly.
Big Wave Golden Ale was one of our favorite beers during the evening due to its unique finish resembling that of St-Germain elderflower liqueur. Big Wave is a light bodied golden ale with a tropical hop aroma and flavor in a very refreshing ale. This beer looked just perfect alongside the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M GMT GoodPlanet ref. 232.30.44.22.03.001 that we featured previously here.
Castaway is a copper-colored India Pale Ale where you’ll taste bold, citrusy hops with a touch of tropical mango and passion fruit, all balanced by its rich caramel malts. Castaway IPA has a clean, crisp finish that’s as refreshing as the wind in your face when you set sail for adventure. Not big fans of IPAs but this one in particular was really interesting and a perfect pairing for 'Speedy' fans.
Now, enjoy the rest of the images from a great night with friends, beer, food and the most important element, timepieces. Omega, thank you for a great evening.
For more info on Omega click here and for Kona Brewing Co. here.
