Beer In Review: Battle of the Blueberry Ales
Updated 1/22/09 as the Atlantic Brewing Company has updated their
website.
Updated 8/4/10 as Sea Dog Brewery's website has vanished, but there appears to
be a blog.
Fruit ales typically abandon bitterness for sweetness. The two Blueberry Ales
below are no exception. The key in making a successful fruit ale, in my opinion,
is to make sure that the ale is not too sweet. We're not making
Kool-Aid here.
Both of the beers here are brewed in Maine and boast using real Maine
blueberries. Each makes for a light, refreshing summer ale or dessert beer.
Their sweetness makes for the perfect complement to cheesecake or other
desserts. Why ruin an evening out by pouring acrid coffee down your throat.
Don't you get enough of that all week at work?
 Sea Dog Brewery,
located in Portland (Maine's Beer Capital), makes the Blue Paw Wild Blueberry
Wheat Ale. Light golden yellow in color, the aroma of blueberry isn't hard
to pick up with your nose. The Blue Paw is also light in body, but not too
overwhelming in its sweetness. And at 4.6% ABV it won't overwhelm your
brain either.
 The
Atlantic Brewing Company, located
in Bar Harbor (a brewery in a tourist mecca!), makes the
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
It's also a wheat ale but darker in color than the Blue Paw. The Bar Harbor
Blue has a slightly bolder taste, which also comes across as less sweet. That's
because they use real blueberries and not a syrupy extract. The hops are light
(Target and Williamette) and the blueberry flavor more subtle. 5.2% ABV.
Both ales go well with seafood. I had the Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale with
barbecued salmon (seasoned with ginger, crushed mint, sesame seeds, and Enova
oil), corn, and black rice. I had the Blue Paw with coconut encrusted tilapia
and barbecued sweet potatoes (seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, parsley, and
butter).
I like both ales a lot. If I had to choose between the two, I would go with the
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. It's just a flavor preference and I my tongue says Bar
Harbor beats out Blue Paw by just a few percent. YMMV of course. Have your own
taste test.
Sam Adams Home Brewer Contest
Got a sample of your homebrew handy? Well, mail it on
in to the Boston Beer
Company. If you win, Sam Adams will make your beer. Details on the
website. Unfortunately,
you've got to have it in by August 18th so you don't have much time left
to brew something up.
Vermont Brewers Festival
Got nothing to do this weekend? Well, then get your ass up to Burlington,
Vermont for the 14th annual Vermont
Brewers Festival. Beer tasting sessions run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Featured brewers include Harpoon, Long Trail, Rock Art, Otter Creek, Magic Hat,
Dogfish Head, Ommegang, Matt Brewing (think Saranac), Unibroue, Smuttynose and
many more. And if you go, nag the Magic Hat folks about discontinuing
Heart of Darkness and Ravell and how the Sam Adams folks don't
wuss out on the fans of their beers.
\_/
DED
8 Comments:
 Mike said...-
If Burlington wasn't about 7 hours away I would get my ass up there.
But it is, so I won't. Alas.
Ever try Bluepoint Brewery's Blueberry Ale?
Mmmmmm. They're a helluva brewery in general.
- 7/21/2006 7:12 AM
-
 DED said...
-
That's kinda why I'm not going either, though my wife and I have gone in the
past, before we were parents. However, our senior beer correspondent is headed
up there. I'm hoping that he'll file a report that we can use here on the blog.
Yes, I believe that I had them at a brewfest in NYC in May 2005. I
believe that it was indeed the Blueberry Ale that I had... and it was good. It's
not currently carried by my liquor store, but I have a little bit of pull with
The Beer Guy so, if it's available through his distributor, I might be able to
get some.
- 7/21/2006 11:25 AM
- jnubel said...
-
the only blueberry beer I've had was in Massechusetts. I enjoyed it so much I
brought a case home for the summertime. Here is their link:
http://www.wachusettbrew.com/store_beer.htm
PS, feel free to bring some
of these blueberry beers down to NJ in August if the mood strikes.
- 7/24/2006 5:32 PM
- Alan P. said...
-
Blueberry beer? Never tried it. Sounds interesting, something I might like
anyway. But then, I'm hardly the connoisseur you appear to be. I'll have to try
it sometime.
- 7/24/2006 6:12 PM
- DED said...
-
Connoisseur? Why, thank you Mort. All this time I thought I was just a beer
snob. ;)
- 7/25/2006 1:11 PM
- Mike said...
-
The term "geek" always seems to fit best for most of my interests.
In
this case, Beer Geek.
- 7/26/2006 6:30 AM
- DED said...
-
I've been critical of the big name brewers and chosen to stay sober rather than
drink swill like Bud, Coors, and Miller. As a result, a friend of mine accused
me of being a beer snob. I shrugged and said, "Ok. Fair enough."
- 7/26/2006 12:23 PM
- Anonymous said...
-
Blueberry beer virgin says "Never have cared for Bud beer" always looking for
new BLUE food and drink,
indulge in BLUE!
- 5/10/2008 10:33 PM
That last comment was weird. - DED
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