On Christmas Eve, I was at a relative’s house. I imbibed on IBC Rootbeer while my other relatives had punch, wine, or beer. My uncle brought over a blueberry beer. He explained that it was a different tasting beer for people who didn’t typically like beer. With it’s red foam and deep hue, it was a bit unusual looking. My aunt thought it was delicious and rather reminded her of a wine cooler. She mingled around for a little while and wondered why she was feeling so tired.
My cousin, who used to be really into microbrews and even brewing his own (with mixed results) took a gander at the bottle. “Did you know that this had 8 percent alchohol in it? That’s not beer. It’s like malt liquor?” My aunt said, “Well 8% is low isn’t it? Afterall, fruit juice with only 8% juice is pretty junky for you.”
“No,” my cousin reiterated with an incredulous look on his face, “that means that it is more like a stiff drink. Just think if about 10 percent of this bottle was straight alcohol.”
“Oh, then I guess that is a lot.” Then my aunt who is normally a lightweight when it comes to booze, had another.
I was glad that she lived very close to my parents. I wouldn’t have wanted her to drive home like that.
The review of the Wild Blue Blueberry Beer was favorable, and above average for those that are beer drinkers and were present, though the approval rating was significantly higher for those that preferred wine to beer any day. With many breweries coming out with blueberry beer, I consider that a little bit of a trend. What’s next? Raspberry? Strawberry Beer with a whipped cream topping?
| 3.5 |
