Sea Dog Brewery, founded in Maine in 1993, has grown fairly steadily during the craft beer emergence and now has a brewery in Clearwater, Fla. They offer a wide range of beers brewed in the English style, using English barley and yeasts. One of their more popular beers is their Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale which has won a few awards along the way in the fruit beer category.
The beer pours a bit darker than I expected, coming through with a honey-like appearance. There was a one-finger deep head upon pouring. I blame my glass for it dissipating so quickly. There is a blueberry aroma, as one would expect. There is also a slight wheat note and a scent of alcohol to the nose. There is some carbonation seen but it doesn’t look to be too much or too little.
Notes of malt, wheat and blueberries dominate the flavor. None are too dominant and actually play well together. When it comes to blueberry, it can be hard to find something that doesn’t overpower or offer an artificial taste. Instead, what Sea Dog has done is give you a wheat ale with a good blueberry accompaniment. This brew actually had more carbonation than I was expecting, enough to tickle the front of you tongue but not enough to kill the experience by any means.
The blueberry doesn’t kill the beer but the sweet notes of the blueberry rather make this a refreshing beer. There is a malty flavor that does poke through and balances the sweetness and tartness of the blueberry. There is a little creaminess to the beer but a dry finish. It makes you want another sip almost immediately. There is a slight blueberry and malt aftertaste but nothing that would ruin the experience in any way.
This is a pretty good summer beer. If you are looking for a refreshing beer that you can drink on a hot summer day but are tired of all the citrus flavors then this would be a good alternative. At just 4.6% ABV it is something you can drink a couple of.
Overall, this is a good beer. If you love blueberries you will love this. If you don’t like them then why are trying a blueberry wheat ale in the first place? Seriously, Sea Dog managed to find a pretty good balance here and made a fun beer with a flavor you don’t often see.
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