Beer Review: Saranac Blueberry Blonde

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: This brew poured a very hazy golden yellow. The chroma was very reminiscent of golden honey. The half-inch, pure white head peaked and then faded away into oblivion leaving a thin layer of fizzy bubbles to crown the beer. Along with the fast disappearance of the head, not much lacing was left.

Smell: There was plenty of grassy and sweet scents to go around. I also picked out some tart blueberries. Nice and tart. Just the way I like the fruit in my beer. Maybe that's why I really liked the Warheads candy when I was a kid?

Taste: As I wanted it to be, the blueberry flavor in this was quite tart and sour all of the way across the tongue. As the beer made its way towards the back there was a slight cracker and hop bite. The hop bitterness interestingly increased a little when the beer was able to warm. I like my fruit beers to have a crusty backbone to compliment the tartness. I got a bit of it in this brew's flavor, but not enough to vault this over some of the others out there.

Overall Rating: 

I love my blueberry ales and this one gets the job done. This tasted nice and tart. Still, I would have liked to get some more pie and pastry taste going when I have one of these. That's what holds this back. The head is also a bit weak and it looked as if this contributed to the lack of texture of the brew.

Monday Rant: Pumpkin Ales and Oktoberfests - Stock Up

I've already sounded off about the earliness of the fall seasonal beers being on the shelves at this point in the summer. It's pretty much a broken system. Brewers are making the product and distributors can't afford to sit on the supply or simply don't have the space in storage. I get it. I'm over it.

I still love my pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers. So, as I took a stroll through a local distributor towards the end of last week I came across the establishment's entire wall of seasonal brews.

There were plenty of pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers. Enough to last a lifetime. It was at this moment that I decided to make my first purchases of the fall season. After all, it'll most likely all be gone within the next month or so.

I picked up a case of each Saranac's Pumpkin Ale and Great Lakes' Oktoberfest. I really wanted to try the Saranac last fall, but couldn't find any. I've always heard good things about Great Lakes' Oktoberfest. It came down to that and Penn Brewery's Oktoberfest. I figured I'd be having plenty when I'm actually at Penn's Oktoberfest celebration in September.

My dad also pitched in and acquired a case of Yuengling's Oktoberfest (yet another I couldn't find last year) and decided to invest $90 in a case of the infamous Southern Tier Pumking. We've already indulged in the almighty Puca and tucked away the rest of the bottles until it gets a little closer to October.

Since pay day is this week, I'm planning on purchasing yet another case of pumpkin ale before everyone else buys it all up. Maybe some Shipyard Pumpkinhead or Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale? Have to stock up now!