A Secret Love Affair: Blueberry Ales

When it comes to my favorite beer styles, I've always been one to prefer a good Vienna Lager or a nice Weissbier. Especially when it comes to pairing a beer with your supper.  I've never been steered wrong when it comes to these two styles at any point in the year.

With that said, I have also been known to have a soft spot for fruit beers. I guess you can classify it as a slight form of beer immaturity since I'm only in my third year of being old enough to consume alcohol legally.

I think my affection for fruit beers stems from my time spent at North Country Brewing Co. on Main Street in Slippery Rock. North Country's "Fruit Bowl" on the tap list would change every few weeks or so. There was a decent selection of fruit beers such as a blueberry, a strawberry, a cherry and even an apricot. When I came in for a drink I was always intrigued to try the new fruit beers.

Thus began my love affair with the fruit style. I think that my enjoyment of these beers are at fault for my more recent obsession with Weissbiers due to the citrus undertones.

Of any type of fruit beer, I consistently return to the blueberry ales. The first one I had was the infamous Blue-Eyed Blueberry Blonde while on an NCAA Tournament trip two years ago at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery in Buffalo. I distinctly remember that beer's scent being almost like a stack of blueberry waffles or a pie. I was this close to having  a hallucination of me walking up to a window of a farmhouse in the old cartoons and seeing a pie there with the scent vapors coming from it. It was amazing. 

The taste was perfect. I haven't been able to taste any fruit beer that replicates the scent and flavor I had that night and I most likely won't be able to taste this amazing beer again as i can't find it listed on the brewery's website anymore.

I eventually found a case of Blue Point Blueberry Ale to hold me over (which I will review tomorrow for you in order to keep the theme going. Unfortunately it's nowhere close to the Blonde I consumed two years prior. The only thing similar in the two beers is the clear, blonde color.

As I continue my search to match that Blue-Eyed Blonde that tempted me so that memorable night I've come up with a small list of blueberry-related brews that I have my hungry/thirsty eyes set on.

Atlantic Brewing Company's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale (5.2 percent ABV)

When you do some research on other websites/blogs for blueberry ales, Bar Harbor's is the one you will see mentioned the most. According to Atlantic's website, this beer doesn't take the sweet approach that most of the beers do, but that slightly sour taste on the back of the tongue that you get from real blueberries should be more present.

From what I found elsewhere this beer is a shade of copper, compared to the two blonde ales I drank previously. If I can get my hands on this beer I might be in for a completely different, yet still exhilarating experience.

Boulder Brewing Company's Kinda Blueberry Wheat (5.2 percent ABV)

Kinda Blueberry looks to be a completely different take on blueberry ales than anything mentioned previously in this post. This beer is an American wheat, but with some natural blueberry flavor behind it. From what I can deduct from Boulder's website, this is as close as it gets to a blueberry hefeweizen. Mind-numbing, isn't it?

Other reviews I've come across for this beer state that it's a fairly tart-tasting drink with some bread and wheat taste to balance it out, which is essential to bringing out that pie/pancake/waffle taste. That's exactly what I'm looking for


Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout (7.5 percent ABV)

This is the one beer in this small list that sticks out like a sore thumb, as does it's ABV. I've never heard of an Oatmeal Stout with blueberry in it. Most of the reviews I can find on it describe the taste as being of the sweet blueberry type, with a hint of chocolate forcing it's way onto your tongue. It looks as if this beer's flavor is a bit confused on what it wants to be, but I'm still intrigued to try it.

I came across some of Buffalo Bill's Original Pumpkin Ale this fall and wasn't exactly blown away. That doesn't help my expectations at all. I know for a fact that bottles of this beer are in the cooler at Blue Dust in Homestead as I write this.

I'm always on the lookout for new fruit beers. hopefully I can get my hands on these three sometime in the next year or so. If you know of any others, please let me know about it!

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