Rusty’s repeats as coffee champion

Rusty’s Hawaiian 100% Ka‘u Coffee won top honors for the second consecutive year at the annual Hawaii Coffee Association conference and trade show at Waikoloa last week.

Fifty-eight premium Hawaiian coffees from eight districts were "cupped" and scored by a panel of industry professionals using standardized blind procedures. Rusty’s was named Grand Champion of Hawaiian Coffee.

Other district winners were Hawaii White Mountain LLC (Hamakua), Hilo Coffee Mill (Hawaii island), Moloa‘a Bay Coffee (Kauai), Greenwell Farms (Kona), Shim Coffee & Protea Farm (Maui), Coffees of Hawaii (Molokai) and Waialua Estate Coffee (Oahu).

Maui Brewing Co. earns gold medal

Hawaii breweries made a strong showing at the 2011 U.S. Open Beer Championships held in Atlanta. Leading the way was Maui Brewing Co., who received a gold medal for its SmokeStack Lager, silver awards for its Flyin’ HI.P.Hay, Shipwreck Stout, Wee Heavy and Maui Imperial Coconut Porter beers, as well as the bronze for its Redcock Doppel Bock, Coconut Porter, KGB Woody, Maui Onion Ale and Maui Black Rock IPA.

New microbrewery Big Island Brewhaus of Waimea won three medals, the gold for its Overboard IPA, and the two silvers for its White Mountain Porter and Red Giant Ale.

Hilo’s Hawai‘i Nui Brewing received a bronze for its Hapa Brown Ale.

The competition is held every summer as an open competition for commercial breweries worldwide. Including a handful of homebrew entries, there were over 1,200 beers judged in 50 categories.

Kahala fest to feature flavor of Napa

The Kahala Wine Festival will be featuring the best wines from Napa Valley and Sonoma County in California on Aug. 6, at the Kahala Hotel & Resort.

Guests will have the opportunity to sample wines from two of the top wine growing regions in the country, and enjoy a gourmet buffet prepared under the direction of executive chef Wayne Hirabayashi.

The wines that will be showcased will be from Aston Estate, Double Diamond, DuMOL Winery, Gemstone Vineyard, Jones Family Vineyards, Massican, Outpost Winery, PlumpJack Winery/Cade Winery, and the Rivers-Marie Wines: Thomas Brown, Sojourn Cellars, Tofanelli Family Vineyard and Vieux-Os.

Tickets for "The Best of Napa and Sonoma" are $75 advance, $85 at the door and $45 for children (in advance or at the door). Call 739-8760 or email restaurants@kahalaresort.com.