Blueberry Wheat Ale
Public Coast Brewing Co.

this is pretty darn good, especially in a world where so few beers in this style space use real fruit anymore, the order of the day is inauthenticity, and so this stands as a bit of a bitch slap to the wannabees, way cool. my first beer from these guys, will have to make a point to visit when we are at the coast next. this is so obviously done with real blueberries, and lots of them, the base beer is wheaty sure, but its simple and clean, a vehicle for the berries, thats all it needs to be, and this isnt sweet, over flavored, or cheap in any way, its real and its awesome, and it hits just right in high summer. somewhat hazy dark pink to light purple color with some body from the pint can, frothed up head on it looks good, and the carbonation activity is solid. the nose is subtle, lightly tangy from the skins, not sweet at all, a hit of blackberry to it too, but the blueberry is real obvious, slightly nutty on the wheat side, totally neutral on the ferment, this is very summery and a nice aromatic showcase of a fruit i dont usually think of as super fragrant, but maybe i have been missing that in my blueberry consumption. the flavor is even more pronounced, real fruit all smashed up, flesh and skins and all, juicy but fermented rather dry as this sort of thing goes, which is nice, makes it way more drinkable than most. i like the wheaty body this has and how smooth it is overall, the blueberry is just right in here, the essence of summer, and this is great both frosty cold and warmed up a bit. ive been off the fruited wheats for years because of lack of real fruit and lousy proportions, marshmallow additions and all that gunk, this restores my faith, great work!

Poured into a weizen glass. Pours a hazy, almost murky, dark purple brown with a fine, two finger khaki head; different. Aroma is almost all blueberry, with touch of wheat. Flavor is wheat, fresh blueberry and a touch of lemon; blueberry up front and some mildly grainy wheat developing into the finish with a lingering blueberry aftertaste. Medium bodied with light creaminess. After the surprising color of the pour, much darker than expected, the blueberry character is immediately clear in the aroma. Flavor is fairly typical American style wheat ale, but as expected, mixed with blueberry juice. The juice is fresh and authentic tasting. After seeing the pour, I though perhaps I should have listed this as dark wheat ale (the color is very dark), but the base ale tastes like pale wheat malt, without the caramelization of the darker style. The color is clearly from the blueberries, which are very effective at dying a dark color. I'm a blueberry fan, and I liked this one; refreshing and fruity while staying fairly dry as expected from the wheat style. Nicely done.