Blue by Sweetwater Brewing Company
Sweetwater Blue
Years ago I gave Sweetwater Blue a shot, and I remembered that it tasted overwhelmingly like blueberries, as if they poured some concentrated blueberry right into the beer at bottling time. So on recommendation from Jeff, I decided to give it another shot; he swears it doesn’t have too much blueberry flavoring in it.
(I’m out of pint glasses, so the bottle will have to do for this shot. So sorry.)
After opening the aroma is sweet and malty, without too much blueberry going on. But on first sip, man, this beer sure does push that blueberry flavoring right in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good beer, but the blueberry is just as overwhelming as I remember it.
The aftertaste lingers briefly, mostly the blueberry and not so much malt, hops, or any of the other stuff that makes a good beer. Goes down smooth, and indeed it is refreshing.
This is one of those beers that has, at least to me, an excess of fruit flavoring. Whether or not they use fresh blueberries or some kind of extract, I’m not sure, however I would guess they use fresh. For one, the bottle promises me ‘fresh blueberries’ and for two, it does smell and taste so.
Fru-fru beer drinker, this one’s a good one for you. Manly beer guzzlers, I’d recommend you pass on this guy.
Kevin
May 29, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I don’t usually like fruit beers but may I suggest Dogfish Head Fort. Probably my favorite beer ever.
steve
May 29, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Dogfish Head Fort, huh? I will certainly give it a shot! Thanks, Kevin.
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/occassional-rarities/fort.htm
monk
May 29, 2009 at 1:39 pm
maybe my taste buds are wacked out. I thought it was well balanced. cool you gave it a second go around though.
steve
May 29, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I didn’t say it was bad, just a bit too heavy on the blueberry.
Kevin
May 29, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Yeah, I tried this last weekend, and I totally agree. Way to strong of a blueberry taste. Practically no beer taste. Did not like. I have other blues that were a little more subtle. Much better than this one.
steve
May 29, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Well at least they go ahead claim it to be a “Malt Beverage”… I guess that’s fair enough.