Bleu
Central State Brewing

16 ounce can, no dating on it but I'm pretty sure it's quite a few years old since the brewery has been closed for a while now. But the brew has been in my fridge a long time too so hopefully this isn't too bad at this point. Served in a Teku, the beer pours a reddish/purple color with about an inch or so light pink head. Head retention and lacing are both OK. The brew smells earthy, grainy, peppery spice and some blueberries. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's the addition of some hay, herbal, and red grape flavors. Started subtle tasting overall but did get better as it warmed. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's smooth with a good amount of soft carbonation. Was truthfully expecting this to be worse, it's not bad by any means but wish the blueberry was stronger here. Definitely more earthy than fruity tasting. With that being said, I didn't have any problems finishing the can. If there's any still left around, might as well try it.

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark, blood red color and a thick, cloudy consistency. There was an inch of creamy, off white, fairly long-lasting head. Not much lacing, though.

S: A decent, but not great aroma of blueberries, Belgian yeast, citrus, a musty quality, and spices.

T: Tasted of a fair amount of Belgian-style yeast (present throughout), a fair amount of blueberries (not quite enough), light spices (peppercorn), the musty / earthy quality, and some citrus (lemon). An uneven, somewhat flat flavor. Blueberries aren't an overly powerful fruit, and they need propping up. This flavor doesn't quite get the job done.

F: A good amount of carbonation with a dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: Definitely an uneven beer all around. Has some good qualities, but could've been better.

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, no can dating. Pours fairly hazy deep ruby red/light purple color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of lightly tart blueberries, fruit skin, lemon, orange, peach, pear, red apple, melon, peppercorn, red grape, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, lightly toasted biscuit, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, blueberries, and moderate bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of lightly tart blueberries, fruit skin, lemon, orange, peach, pear, red apple, melon, peppercorn, red grape, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, lightly toasted biscuit, and yeast earthiness. Moderate peppery yeast spiciness and light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart blueberries, fruit skin, lemon, orange, peach, pear, red apple, melon, peppercorn, red grape, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, lightly toasted biscuit, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, blueberries, and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great malt/spiciness balance; and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Moderately crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from yeast spiciness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/sticky, and lightly acidic/tangy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 7%. Overall this is a very nice fruited saison. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, blueberries, and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink for the ABV. Not as jammy on the fruit as I wanted; but still spot on for the style profile. Very well balanced Brett/Saison yeast complexity, berries, and solid pale/wheat malt backbone. A very enjoyable offering.

a lightly bretty blonde or saison type with blueberries. these guys have always really impressed me, and it was great to drink a handful of their beers recently, this is perfect for spring and summer, light but interesting, and dry too, for how fruit forward it is, its really natural and then resolved in the finish, everyone else who makes a blueberry blonde for summer take note. its so awesome that this is as drinkable as it is yet also has as unique of a yeast complexion as it does, young but funky brett there in the finish after a cleaner farmhouse vibe earlier on. the grain is really slight here, just enough body and maltiness to make this taste like beer underneath all the blueberries. the color is so pretty, deep violet bright pink, sunny and summery looking, with a gentle haze and a lot of head on it. carbonation is high, it moves along the tartness from the blueberry skins, and makes whatever sweetness is here from the fruit only last a second. similarly, the brett is drying at the end and not overly developed, but its a nice nuance for sure, and makes this rather distinct as mellow as it is. overall this is delicious, another winner from these guys. i am alway surprised each time i drink a beer from central state that they are not getting more attention from the beer nerds. this is really good.