Buffalo Bill’s Blueberry Oatmeal Stout

After my last bout with Buffalo Bill’s (Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale), I hadn’t really thought much about them so it surprised me a bit when I noticed their Buffalo Bill’s Blueberry Oatmeal Stout on the shelf at Fred Meyer in Monroe.  Of course, we don’t get that many new brews through, so I had to pick it up and give it a whirl in the hopes that the brewery would redeam themselves in my eyes…

So… did they?  Well, I must admit that they did a little bit with this one.  Blueberry beer is hard to get right… just ask the folks that brought us Wild Blue Blueberry Lager <shudder>.  So, heading into this one my hopes were barely high enough to be called high… but here you go:

Buffalo Bill’s Blueberry Oatmeal Stout pours dark and with a small head… not surprising or particularly blueberry-ee, but it makes up for it in the nose…  the nose is definitely blueberry… sweet but not candy or syrup… so far so good.  Then the taste… the taste is definitely interesting. Not a typical stout… definitely more on the light side with the blueberry very subtle and having its biggest hit on the roof of the mouth near the back. There is a bit of bitterness in it that isn’t quite right but only off by a very small margin, so hard to notice. Not much of a finish… dies quick after the swallow.  In the end, in the land of crappy blueberry brews, this one stands out… it keeps it mild enough that it isn’t overpowering and isn’t too sweet and that is commendable.  So… nice work, Buffalo Bill’s… I might actually look forward to your next brew.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Kennebunkport Blueberry Wheat Ale

My second trip into blueberry beer land has been an abismal failure.  Kennebunkport Blueberry Wheat Ale disapoints with the best of them (Wild Blue) and leaves me feeling slightly violated.  Ok… ok… that is pretty harsh. It did get better when I started thinking of my happy place while eating cashews and holding my nose.

I am not sure, but the blueberry beer genre may truly be set up to fail. 

Kennebunkport Blueberry Wheat Ale starts with a slight blueberry smell… just subtle enough and slight tart enough to have me hoping this one comes through for me.  Then you taste it and realize the body actually has not blueberry flavor… the finish sure does, but it is way, way too sweet.  I mean candy sweet… enough to make me do the mouth-open-stick-tongue-out-and-chew-on-it move.  Make the flavor go away!

Oh… and BTW folks… get a friggin website up and running, would you?  Your trail of breweries and restaurants and beer consulting companies is making my head hurt.

JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right