Think back to those lazy days of summer, when it’s so hot and humid that moving seems like a chore. However, the sound of the Mister Softee truck is like a siren’s call. There’s the rush of the song, the scrambling and the truck-chasing, even as an adult. When you reach the truck, then comes the tough decision of what comes next. An all-ages favorite (and mine as well) is the creamsicle, a sweet and chilly treat that’s typically orange but really can be any fruit flavor on the outside with a vanilla center. Decadent Ales from Mamaroneck, NY, which has made a name for itself brewing “desserty” beers, seems to share my love of them as well. The proof? Take a look at the cream pop series of beers and, more specifically, Blueberry Cream Pop.

Blueberry Cream Pop

Blueberry Cream Pop is an 8.6% ABV Double IPA brewed with blueberries with Madagascar vanilla bean added.

From the can: ”Our all mosaic dry-hopped double India pale ale with blueberries, Madagascar vanilla and proprietary blend of sugars.”

The 16-ounce can pours a delightfully murky, highly carbonated orange tarnish with a tinge of plum hues. The smell is pure Mosaic: muskmelon and peach. There is a sharp lactic tang with a citrus scent but I do not pick up a blueberry on the nose. The flavors of mixed berry (black and blue) are almost candy-like in sweetness but non-medicinal and do not become cloying or sticky. Cantaloupe follows with husky vanilla lactose and heavy cream rounding everything out; it’s full-bodied, slick and creamy. Carbonation keeps this milkshake IPA from being overwhelming and remains absolutely sluggable. The flavors are very well rounded and executed.

A quick interview of questions with brewer and founder of Decadent Ales, Paul Pignataro, revealed that Decadent uses 200 pounds of pressed blueberries with Madagascar vanilla bean and marshmallows creating the “cream.” The marshmallow is made in-house, cooled and added to the beer.

Cream Pop Series

Blueberry Cream Pop is not a seasonal release: It’s a rotating release and part of Decadent’s larger Cream Pop Series. The inspiration behind the beer, and the Cream Pop series of ales, comes from the desire to create something that resembles the liquid form of a creamsicle, with fruit outside and vanilla inside. Rotating Cream Pop Flavors include Orange, Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Mango, Peach, Peach-Mango, Raspberry and Black-Raspberry. There is also a “double whip” series which entails double the fruit and “cream.”

Decadent Ales is aptly named. These beers are big, bold and sweet without seeming overly boozy (don’t let it fool you). Blueberry Cream Pop is LARRRGE.* This DIPA is lustrous and velvety to treat yourself and your sweet tooth.

*The term (and way of life) “LARRRGE” is credited to TheIPAHunter of BeerAdvocate. Shouts to you my friend. Stay LARRRGE.

Photo credit to craftbeerkings.com

Cheers!

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