Premium Blueberry Lager – Blue Dawg Brewing, Baldwinsville, New York

ABV:  8%

Senior year of college. That’s when I first drank Wild Blue Premium Blueberry Lager out of Blue Dawg Brewing, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch in Baldwinsville, New York. I’m the type of girl who likes to pick up a different 6-pack to try every time I go to the store. Lucky Dog, may it rest in peace, had a pretty great beer selection for a college town that subsists on the likes of Natty Light, and this one, with its unique flavor and higher-than-your-average-beer alcohol content, caught my eye. Sure, it made me the odd one out at parties, but it did the job, and it did it well.

I had kind of forgotten about Wild Blue until last week, when fate stepped in. I was looking online for recipes, and I came across The New Englandah Burgah. In case you can’t read Bostonian, that’s a burger, and it’s made with maple syrup then topped with bacon, Vermont cheddar, and green apple slices on a toasted bun. And do you know what they recommended you drink with this wonderful taste creation? You guessed it, a blueberry beer. I immediately thought of Wild Blue, and it was then I decided what I was going to write about for my debut beer review.

So Wednesday, after a particularly miserable day at work, my boyfriend and I headed down to Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky, the one place I knew I’d be able to find it. For those of you who haven’t been, Party Source is a craft beer heaven and just a mecca of alcohol in general. Anyway, we picked up a bottle of Blueberry Lager (and 9 other beers) and headed home to make dinner. What resulted was something delicious!

The beer pours a deep purplish-red, almost like a burgundy wine, and what little head it has dissipates quickly. Several other reviews I read said it was sickeningly syrupy, but I would have to disagree. The flavor reminds me of blueberry pancakes, sweet but not too much so. Paired with the burger, it’s even milder. It does bring out the sweetness of the usually tart green apple, but the sharp cheddar cheese and the bacon tame it enough that you’re not overwhelmed. To be quite honest, I felt like I was eating a hearty breakfast, as the maple syrup gave the burger a taste reminiscent of a sausage patty.

Overall, I was highly satisfied, both with the beer and with the meal, and I would definitely do this combination again. I even think it would transfer well to the colder months, despite fruity beers typically being associated with summer. I guess it all just depends what you pair it with. Do you have a favorite beer/food pairing? If so, let us know!