Schools are starting back up, the humidity is coming down, and the end of summer is nearing. The cure for the end of summer blues can be found in blueberry beers, if - and only if - they are carefully chosen. To make sure you don't waste any of summer's last moments, here is a New England summer six-pack of five blueberry brews and one blackberry.
Wild Blue - Baldwinsville, NY
The label for Blue Dawg’s Wild Blue has it as an 8% lager, but the flavor is so heavy on the fruit that even a heavy lager is completely obscured. A well-crafted fruit brew should the underlying beer flavor to come through to some degree, but that is not true with this one. Even lambic lovers gave this one a thumbs down. Not surprisingly, Blue Dawg is owned by Anheuser-Busch.
Blackbeary Wheat – Bridgewater Corners, Vermont
Long Trail’s berry offering pours a classic wheaten gold, providing a visual relief after the Wild Blue. Its flavor follows suit, with the wheat flavor slightly stronger than the blackberry sweetness.
Blueberry Ale – Patchogue, NY
Blue Point's blueberry ale has very mild fruit flavor. Think Elmer Fudd: it’s vewwy quiet, but if a wabbit (rhymes with “palate”) shows up, he cannot hide. It’s a good compromise six-pack when fruiters and non-fruiters are drinking together.
Wachusett Blueberry – Westminster, MA
Wachusett Brewery’s blueberry has a big fruit nose, and a hint of purple to the usual golden ale. The fruit and the ale are equal partners when the beer is poured into a glass; straight from the bottle, the blueberry is stronger, somehow, but still never overwhelms the ale.
Blue Paw – Portland, ME
Sea Dog’s blueberry wheat ale, brewed by a division of Shipyard, is very mild in flavor. Neither the nose nor the flavor is overwhelmingly fruity. Blue Paw is much more of a quality wheat than anything else.
On to Oktoberfest!!!!
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