I won't lie, I bought this on a whim. Yes, I'm a big weirdo that enjoys fruit beers. They're good on a hot day and as a chaser between your more hefty brews, don't judge me! In all of my drinking experience however, I've had yet to encounter a blueberry beer that has really tickled my fancy; in fact, most of the blueberry brews I've encountered have been pretty gross. Either they have absolutely zero flavor from the fruit or they taste syrupy and fake and all around just displeasing. But I enjoy a good Boulder beer, so I figured I would give it a shot.
Beer: Kinda Blue
Brewery: Boulder Beer Company
Style: Fruit/Vegetable BeerABV: 5.5%
Glass: Stemmed Tulip
Aroma: More of a wheaty malt aroma with little to no blueberry. I can detect the blueberry addition with a cupped hand over the glass, but it is otherwise pretty faint.
Body & Texture: Medium bodied, thickened by the fruit. Effervescent carbonation assaults the mouth with a hefty prickle. Drinking a little cold, which enhances the feel of the carbonation, but doesn't take away from flavors.
Taste: I'm quite surprised - this is the first blueberry beer I've encountered that I haven't faced out as terrible from the first sip. The smooth flavor starts and ends with a wheaty malt, somewhat like the slightly darker side of a hefe. Blueberry comes in mid-taste and is lightly sweet, bringing in enough blueberry to classify this as a fruit beer without bringing in too much sticky flavor.
Overall: As I mentioned in the pre-tasting comments, I was a little nervous about tasting this one. I've had a few blueberry beers that have been so wretchedly syrupy and full of added fake "blueberry" flavoring that they've been just too entirely unpleasant to drink. This one however was not at all displeasing in that department. It is quite obvious in the flavor that fresh blueberries were used in lieu of the displeasing blueberry flavoring that many brewing companies utilize, and cheers to Boulder Beer for that! If you're brewing a fruit beer and not using fresh fruit, shame on you - you're making an alcoholic soda that isn't fit for public consumption. If fruit beers are your bag, go ahead and pick up a Kinda Blue from Boulder Beer - it's great to enjoy on a hot afternoon, and would be a delicious end to your Saturday BBQ paired with a fruit-topped cheesecake or a berry cobbler!
Read about Kinda Blue and check out Boulder's other beers here - http://www.boulderbeer.com/
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