Wild Blue Blueberry Lager
Posted by dugpark on March 30, 2008
So… after an extremely dissappointing round of Utah beers, Ryan and I decided it was time to head up to the Idaho border (Franklin, ID to be exact), visit a very popular gas station there (La Tienda), and get us some real beer. This gas station has to be one of the most popular in the state due to its 20 minute distance from Logan (less than a mile from the UT border) and its availability of real beer, wine, and lotter tickets every day of the week. Actually, good article about this – HERE.
So, what was on the list?
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Wild Blue Blueberry Lager – 6 pack
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Wasatch – The Devastator – Single
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Samuel Adams Cream Stout – Single
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Coors 24oz @ 5% – Single
Of course, I have had some pretty good experiences with fruit flavored beers in the past little while… at least the Weizens have been good, so I figured blueberry lager would be a winner…. but boy was I wrong… Wild Blue Blueberry Lager has to be one of the sweetest beers ever created. I mean this stuff is suh-weet. Several comments from the tasting gallery as this one went around:
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“tastes like badly fermented cool-aid”
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“way, way, way too sweet”
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“tastes more like wine that beer”
Now, I know that this says they won a gold medal, but yet again I wonder if it was some small county fair or something… I mean, this stuff wasn’t very tasty. So… what was wrong? Specifically, I think it was the fact that they claim to use blueberry syrup. I think that is the failure. It makes it too sweet, so sweet in fact that it overpowers the beer taste and just tastes like high fructose corn syrup infused beer. I was really expecting something like the Pyramid Apricot Weizen where you get just a hint of apricot but the beer is still beer… overal not good… only redeaming value, quite honestly, is the high alcohol content… if you can stomach it, it will get you drunk.
Update (4/3/08): Alright… since I bought it, I kept drinking it… and it started to grow on me. If I started the night with this beer, things turned out much better than if I had standard brews first. So, I am changing my rating as follows:
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First Beer of the Night JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road
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If you had a different beer first JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right
james said
I have to agree with your initial and final review of this beer. And, I might add, I’m shocked and revulted about the syrup factor. I came across your page in an attempt to find a decent review that might make me feel better about what I was pretty sure was an adventurous purchase gone awry. Looking forward to see what else you have to say about these types of beers…
dugpark said
Thanks James! My next “adventurous” beer is going to bee the Banana Bread Beer from Wells & Young’s Brewing Company… I hear it is actually pretty good… we’ll just have to see about that.
Phantazim said
Banana Bread Beer is one of my faves, I cant find it here in TX however The Wild blue is a good beer in my opinion, I dring alot of ciders I.E Strongbow and Blackthorn. If you can find either give them a try
dugpark said
I will have to venture into the cider realm some time… has not been a focus lately, but that can change real quick.
Good ol’ Texas… just came back from there. Shiner sure is good and they have way more of a variety than I thought they would.
anna said
I disagree…I love differnt, new beers and this, for me, is wonderful! I love it’s differnt, new taste. Sure, it may not be a “typical” beer but it is definatley innovative!! I love it and if you haven’t tried it you should, just to say you have before you judge!
dugpark said
As I always say… to each their own! Glad you like it. That is all that really matters is that you know what you like and you stick with it. Thank you for reading the blog… we appreciate it!
TomR said
I live in Idaho, and this beer is sold just down the street from me. So many of my friends were telling me it was just like a berry-flavored soda and it was so good. I won’t be buying beer based off of their advice anymore. I don’t mind a good cider or Mikes once in a while, but this one was just way out there. It was sweet and just down right nasty.
dugpark said
I share your opinion of this beer, my friend. Others do seem to like it, though, so what can you do. Thanks for reading.
Doug
Andy said
I just stumbled across your blog and I know that my response to this is many months late…it’s funny that you drove to Idaho from Utah to buy a bunch of beers that are all available here (except for this Blueberry stuff, but our state buyers know better than to buy something like that). As for Squatter’s beers, next time you are in SLC, try them at the pub. The bottled versions are brewed by another brewery and a different brew staff. On nitro, when brewed by Jenny Talley, the Oatmeal stout is pretty good. I don’t bother with the bottled version anymore. You can also try her small-batch house brews that don’t get bottled, like her award-winning seasonals and year round favorites Vienna Lager and Emigration Amber. You also missed the shining star of the local bottled beers: Squatter’s IPA (which is only available in bottles) has probably won more gold medals and more consistently than any other English IPA in the country.
Also, around the corner from Squatter’s is another pretty good Brewpub: Red Rock. They won Best Large Brewpub at the GABF this year, having won more medals than any other brewpub in the nation. I’m proud of our local beer scene. Next time you’re in SLC, give it another shot.
dugpark said
Thanks Andy. Great points and perspective. I am sure there is some good stuff around SLC… we don’t make it out there much, but next time we do I will try to at least hit a couple of your suggestions. Will give me something to do, anyhow.
The Oatmeal on Nitro sounds good… should have tried the IPA for sure. Also very cool on the Red Rock win… I’m sold. Keep promoting the local beer scene!
nostawetan said
This beer is one of the worst that I’ve had. I’m a fan of incorporating fruits into beer as fermentables. I think that is sort of happening with something like that Pyramid Apricot Weizen mentioned above. The attenuation of the fruit sugars tends to make for a more subtle and drier brew. It really does seem like someone accidently bumped a bottle of blueberry syrup into the brew…way too much. I’ve found a similar thing (but to a lesser degree) in Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss. I posted more what I thought about these type of beers on our site…thank heaven for beer.com
dugpark said
Hehe… my thoughts exactly. I will have to check out the Leinie’s… sounds interesting.
steve guidry said
I like this beer, though I don’t know if beer is an accurate label for it. I don’t mind the overkill of blueberry taste when I’m in the mood for something different, though surprisingly I usually don’t like things that are overly sweet. I guess its the fact that it’s a natural fruit flavor (that I like) that makes it appealing to me, and the 8% alcohol content doesn’t hurt either.
dugpark said
You know, I guess you would have to be in the right mood for this… now that it has been nearly a year since I tried this, I might be up for trying it again… maybe…
Maybe it would be good over pancakes or icecream… 
Bill Carlton said
I drank an entire six pack of this stuff in 2 hours while updating our goofy site http://geddongear.com. Yeah – this is a shameless plug, but the beer was good. It reminded me a lot of a barley wine. I do believe Im hooked.
dugpark said
That was shameless… but your site is pretty funny, so added to the blog role!
You should try the Buffalo Bill’s Blueberry… I think it is much better, but you be the judge. 
Doug
Kelsey said
I tried this a few months back at my boyfriend’s uncle’s and could never remember what it was called. Now that I’ve found this I’m going to look for it. I have to disagree and say this is a really good beer, but then again I am a girl, and I like sweet things a tad better–though Guinness Extra Stout will always be my first. It’s a nice swing from the normal and I don’t find it too sweet. It’ll get you nice and drunk, too.
dugpark said
I can appreciate it when someone disagrees…
I am heading back to Utah this week… maybe I will pick up a bottle for old time’s sake and see if my tastes have changed… 
That and I may try it over icecream this time…
Dug
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Em said
I actually like Wild Blue a lot- but I tend to like odd things and it just happened to strike my fancy. The rest of my family/friends hate it, I have to wheedle and pay up for anybody to pick it up on beer runs.