Maine Coast Wild Blueberry Ale

En fût. Verre de dégustation chez Jack Russell’s Steakhouse & Brewery (Bar Harbor, ME). Arôme: Odeur de bleuets. Apparence: La couleur ets ambrée légèrement voilée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de bleuets légèrement amer. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps et la texture sont mince. Faible effervescence en bouche. Présence d’amertume venant de la pulpe des bleuets en arrière goût. (Rating #1796)

Any first impressions?
-An immense opaque head throned over the rusty brown clarity.
-The sweet, fruity perfume of blueberries reached my nostrils even before the waitress set the pint glass on our table.
-The first half of the sip is full of blueberry sweetness, the second half of its dry and lightly tart skin.
-The mouthfeel appears bloated (some nitro?), but fits the pie clone attempt.

What if you dig deeper?
-A toasty, dry finish cuts the fruity wave just enough to make you want to get another gulp.
-A brown ale base could have yielded more malt flavors to render complexity.
-A smidge of buttery fat emboldens the rich blueberry nose.
-Quite the idiosyncratic fruit beer; not up to New Glarus levels of course, but this batch was pleasantly flavorful.

On tap at the brewery restaurant.

Pours a cream, five-finger+ head that goes very slowly and leaves a chunks of lace. Amber color. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Strong bluberry nose. Starts sweet, blueberry flavor is not overwhelming, dry finish with some hops barely lingering. $2.13 for a 12oz bottle from Bayside Liquors Bar Harbor, Me.

Ok, so this one finally works, but I think it is only coincidence. On draught at the brewery, 8/14/2005. The little, bittersweet wild blueberries are fresh and real in here and well-prepared for the corky, rusty yeast assault. Good crisp mouthfeel, low, pleasing carbonation, kind of feels like an Abbey Trippel, dry and perfumey. Light grainy malt and tons of tartness/dryness from the yeast. A touch of sweet honey malt on the end. Light to medium-light bodied. Huge foamy head, moderate retention and a pale-copper-golden appearance with some rusty earthen-clay tones and the head being white.
The crazy, drying, sourish yeast works, coincidentally, I have to believe, because it keeps this fruit beer tart and dry, as a good fruit beer should be (in my opinion).

Pours copper with no real head to speak of. Smell and taste was dominated by blueberries (one of my favorite berries), but fell way short of the other Bar Harbor area blueberry offerings.