Sigh. You know that movie you love from childhood? Like, take certain Mel Brooks films… some are still hilarious (Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles) some I watch now (History of the World Part I) and I can’t believe I—you know, I’m going to stop there. That could become a pretty volatile choice of filmography to use as an example.

But you know what I mean, right? Yeah you do. You so do. And I bet you know what I’m getting at, eh? I drank this brew a fair amount in college. Not a whole lot, but enough to where it was something of a staple. It was locally brewed (which may be part of its situation here on the west coast) and available in the charming little shop a stone’s throw from my Boston apartment. Damn I miss Boston. Sigh. Anyway, this is a good beer. But as I cracked my first Wachusett Blueberry in years, I was expecting a great beer…

It’s just too much fruit, dammit! The aroma is very nice—maybe the nicest thing about the brau* actually. You smell a light maltiness and a whole lotta blueberries. Then time for a sip… if you’re very thirsty and slurp back a good deal of beer, you will be refreshed, I tell you. You will be refreshed. But if you’re looking for some complexity in your brew, you may be out of luck.

The malt character is pretty low. As are the hops. There is a little bit of hop in the finish, but not quite enough. Put all the pieces together: aside from blueberry, there’s not enough flavor. Not enough BEER FLAVOR, man! Fruited brews are supposed to be just that: beer with added flavor from fruit. It shouldn’t taste like juice with added beer. Now I’m not saying it’s quite that serious of a situation here, but… it’s less than ideal, friend-o. Have an Long Trail blackberry and call it a night. (Plus there are charming bears on the label! Bears! Waaaaaaaaaa-hoo!)

*from the German for “stoicism.”