Kona Brewing Announces New Lightweight Bottles

Kona Brewing to use lighter bottle in an effort to curb environmental impact

Kailua-Kona, Big Island of Hawaii –  In a move to minimize environmental impact, Kona Brewing Company has announced its award-winning beer will be produced in glass bottles that are 11% lighter than before. The company, Hawaii’s largest brewer, has reduced its bottle weight from 8 ounces to 7.3 ounces for all Kona brands. The new lightweight Longboard Island Lager bottles will begin hitting shelves of grocers and specialty beer stores in early March, and the new bottle will be virtually identical to current bottles in look and feel. The new weight Fire Rock Pale Ale and Wailua Wheat Ale bottles will be on shelves by late March.

The flavors of Kona brands will be completely unaffected, and no changes will be made to the brewing process, quality or recipes of the beers. Like many sustainability programs the brewer has implemented, such as its new solar energy generating system at the brewery on Hawaii’s Big Island, the savings on the new lightweight bottle will be great for both the company and the environment.

The reduction in bottle weight will save 3,375 tons of CO2 emitted per year, which is the same as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a car traveling 8 million miles and equates to taking 511 cars off the road for a year. Seen another way, the savings also equates to easing the workload of 154,688 trees, which would have been taxed with offsetting the CO2 emitted by production of bottles, shipping and fuel.

“I am absolutely thrilled this day has come,” said Kona Brewing Company’s President and CEO Mattson Davis. “As we have gained in popularity on the mainland, sustainability is even more important in getting our beer out there responsibly, and I’m proud Kona has found ways to protect the flavor of our beers while reducing use of unnecessary materials.”

Kona Brewing Company was started in the spring of 1994 by a father and son team that had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. It is a Hawaii-born and Hawaii-based craft brewery that prides itself on brewing the freshest beer of exceptional quality, closest to market.

This helps to minimize its carbon footprint by reducing shipping of raw materials, finished beer and wasteful packaging materials. The company is headquartered where it began, in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island. It has grown into Hawaii’s largest brewery, has three restaurant sites in Hawaii and beer distribution reaching 28 states and Japan. The brewery was named the fastest growing top-50 craft brewing company in the country based on 2008 sales figures. It posted 19.8 percent year over year growth in 2009. For more information call 808-334-BREW or visit www.KonaBrewingCo.com.