Blueberry Addiction

I do love a tasty blueberry-tinged beer so if you have any recommendations beer buddies, then send them this way please.

When I worked for Marston’s I was lucky enough to go to visit Shipyard Brewery in Portland, Maine and sipping that Seadog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale was an absolute dream!

My obsession grew on that trip – in fact, it blossomed beyond belief.

The blueberry beers I’ve had the delight of tasting lately are: Northern Monk’s ‘Blueberry Wild Ale’ and Deya/Odyssey ‘Beautiful Blueberry’. Both looked striking in their respective packaging but would the taste match the outfit?

As part of the Patrons Projects, Northern Monk’s blueberry delight is a collaboration with Alefarm brewery is certainly an interesting beer. With an almost reddy purple tinge when poured, it certainly got me salivating, while the blueberry and candy-esque aromas were very enticing. It’s taste wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting and this actually wasn’t a bad thing because it wasn’t overpowering and sickly as some blueberry beers often are.

The Deya and Odyssey collaboration was a little bit too reminiscent of Ribena for me, however my boyfriend/volunteer taster actually preferred this to the Northern Monk offering. This blueberry and mosaic IPA provided easy drinking but it really wasn’t as punchy as I’d hoped.

Onwards to the next Blueberry beers…

Beer of the week – 28.03.2016

When I picked this beer up I did so with a feeling of total intrepidation. I’d normally steer clear of such a flavour combination but Northern Monk Brewing Co. aren’t ones to let the side down in their experiments, so I thought ‘what the hell?’ Brewed with Grub & Grog as part of its refectory series, this beer really messed with my mind and my tastebuds!

On opening the Northern Monk Parsnip & Black Pepper Dunkelweiss the aroma had hints of wheat, caramel and banana. As to be expected from a dunkelweiss it was banana flavoured and there were definite hints of spices.

Before you get scared about the word ‘parsnip’ on the label take a chill pill because the taste isn’t overbearing at all. Yes the black pepper is evident but it isn’t so intense that it smacks you in the face, its actually pretty alluring.

This beer was a little bit more surprising with every sip, giving a number of different dimensions. At times I felt it was sweet and at others spicy which as a consequence kept me coming back for more.

The bottle is quite large at 660ml so grab a buddy (or two) and give it a whirl – it will certainly give you a lot to discuss.