Blueberry DRIPA
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

 

On tap at Kuhnhenn Brewing in Warren, MI.

This one pours a dark amber color with purplish tints, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells somewhat malty, with some pine and marijuana, along with blueberry jam.

This works much better than I would have expected, really – any possible sweetness that may have come from the heavy blueberry infusion is definitely balanced really well by the assertive hop bitterness. It’s tangy and sweet, but also pleasant resinous, with lemon peel, spicy and piney hops, and some grapefruit.

This is medium bodied, with a pleasantly bitter finish, and a nice drinkability.

Blueberry is not always something that would really work with a West Coast style IPA, but Kuhnhenn has made it work here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed on draft at Kuhnhenn's Clinton Township location. Considerably darker than the base DRIPA, with a hint of blue but mostly brownish, with a half-finger of head. Strong blueberry flavor that stands up to the bitter hop character, balancing the two quite nicely. It comes across as very different, but still very well executed; I think I like it more.

 

 

 

 

16 ounce prowler into tulip glass, filled on 5/19/2018. Pours crystal clear reddish orange color with a 1 finger dense light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/light tart/tangy blueberries, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, white bread, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/pine hops, blueberries, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/light tart/tangy blueberries, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, white bread, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness; and light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of blueberries, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, white bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/pine hops, blueberries, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate increasing dryness from bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, grainy/sticky, fairly resinous/rindy, and lightly acidic/tangy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 9.5% after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic fruited DIPA! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/pine hops, blueberries, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV. Great mix of dank and vibrant hop complexity, with balanced blueberries; and a really lightweight malt body for the ABV from the rice as expected. Just enough malt to balance the fairly aggressive bitterness. A highly enjoyable offering. Not quite as impressive as the base beer, but close.