Pitched Blue
Empyrean Brewing Company

 

12 oz. can. best by Sep 03, 2023. I'll be honest, I have no clue what to expect with this one. Labeled as a Black Ale with Blueberry added, i was initially under the impression this was beer made with blackberries & blueberries, but now that seems to not be the case... on ward....

Poured to Warlock stemware.
A: Interestingly dark, brownish-cola colored, strong finger of frothy khaki-tan head. Lots of good fluffy lacing. Looks intriguing enough.
S: Aroma is pleasant and enticing.. soft & creamy, with subtle hints of roast, chocolate, vanilla. "Blueberry" smells vaguely artificial, which I am suspicious of..
T: It's losing me a bit here, as these flavors don't seem to mix together at all. Seems like there was actually blueberry juice imparted here, it tastes somewhat authentic, it's tart & sweet, and absolutely clashes with the roasted & charred malt flavor profile of the black ale. Super dry.
F: Lowly carb. Slick. Not easy to drink at all..

I'll end this review with some 3's, and I think that's being pretty generous. Would not recommend.

Empyrean Brewing Pitched Blue -----3/5.

 

 

 

12oz bottle. Poured out a jet-black color with a large, khaki-colored head of foam. It smelled of blueberry muffins, caramel and bread. Sweet blueberry flavor with not much else.

 

Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 10/22/2018. Pours lightly hazy dark reddish/purple/brown color with a 2 finger fairly dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, blackberries, fruit skin, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted biscuit, light roast, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of berries, dark/bready/light roast malts, and light earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, blackberries, fruit skin, caramel, brown sugar, toffee. vanilla, toasted biscuit, light roast, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light herbal/floral/grassy bitterness and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy blueberries, blackberries, fruit skin, caramel, brown sugar, toffee. vanilla, toasted biscuit, light roast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of berries, dark/bready/light roast malts, and light earthy hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness and tart/tangy fruit balance, with no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from carbonation and lingering bitter/tartness. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/acidic/tangy mouthfeel that is good. A bit too foamy carbonation. Zero warming alcohol for 5.5%. Overall this is a very good dark fruit beer. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of berries, dark/bready/light roast malts, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the over carbonated/drying finish. Nice balance of jammy berries, nicely rich malts, and mild earthy hops against sweetness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Lower carbonation would have been better.

Dark with thick khaki head. Smell of blueberry, biscuit and chocolate/roast. Carbonation high but enjoyable. Taste blueberry up front and throughout but not overpowering. Has a slight tang and finishes chocolate biscuit and blueberry.
Overall a very good seasonal

12 oz bottle poured into Empyrean snifter. Best by October 22, 2018.

Loud hiss of the cap. Dark brown-to-black color with a tall khaki head, almost overflowing the glass. Head recedes slow, and sipping the head tastes like freshly baked blueberry-chocolate-chip muffins.

Aroma of blueberry muffins and slight acidic blueberry tannin.

Flavor comes together nicely with blueberry muffin tops, coffee, chocolate chips, and dark roasted malt. Slight caramel as well.

Feel, well this batch is quite over carbonated, I can only hope they'll fix that in the future. Without the busy carbonation, I think this beer would kill. Unfortunately the feel really suffers here. Roasted, drying finish.

Overall, manages to tackle both blueberry muffins and chocolate chip cookies without coming across cloying or fake, quite a feat. I'd be willing to try it again next year to see if the carbonation issue is fixed

 

 

This beer pours a deep brown with a medium to large head. The aroma is dominated by fresh and acidic blueberries, wiht a hint of oreo cookies. The flavor is a combo of sweet and sour, with the blueberries coming through very strongly, but also big notes of milk chocolate, and a hint of roast bitterness at the finish. The mouthfeel is light with fluffy carbonation. Overall this is a fun, if not particularly serious beer. It is rather like a bluebbery and chocolate cookie, but it is not cloyingly sweet, which is nice.