Bleu Tub
Whiner Beer Company

 

 

i am impossibly stoked to be seeing some beers from these guys here in idaho, especially on tap like i found this one, man i hope they keep it coming! this is a little less blue than i thought it would be, more of a reddish pink tone, maybe less fruit saturation than anticipated, and the boss pour from the tap leaves almost no room in the glass for a head, which i hate, but it seems plenty capable of holding one if allowed, this is nice and fizzy and lively in terms of mouthfeel. the nose here is vinous to me with the fruit, tannic and tangy, not real sour or bacterial, but not super funky either, its subtle, less mature than some of their stuff, brighter with the fruit, and also showing notes of blackberry and currant and cranberry among the blueberry. some oak to this, and an almost belgian ester rather than anything bretty, not overly complex but springy and appealing. the flavor is about the same, lactic tang and a saison type strain working together on the ferment it seems, very clean and dry to finish but the fruit stays intact. identifiable as blueberry but there are suggestions of red wine grapes and blackberries here too. not overly woody, and light on the malt side, this really is a showcase of the fruit and the relatively simple ferment for the style. as much as id love to see this all bretted out, i also appreciate its approachability like it is, and think its a heck of a gateway to this sort of thing for those not yet captivated by them. leagues more nuanced than any berliner or gose type of lacto beer, but not too sour to be highly drinkable, even refreshing. the blueberries do a lot for this, and it has me thinking about other fruits, white wine grapes, peaches, strawberries, if this is not a series yet, it definitely could be!