A Couple of Beers.

Boulevard Zon

I have always loved Boulevard Wheat. It's good; it's mellow; it's smooth. It's great with an orange. Then I tried imported German wheats. They blew my mind. Wheat seems sort of ... simple in comparison.

Zon is a much more flavorful contribution from Boulevard. This Belgian style white has a tiny bit of orange peel, and some of that underlying spice found in a German (or Belgian) wheat. Blue Moon is the only Belgian White Beer that I've had, and this is much more complex than that. Zon isn't perfect, though. It's got a sort of hollowed-out beer alcohol flavor under everything else, towards the end of my sip. But the spice in the finish comes in and covers it up again and then I smile.

A quick note; Leinie's Sunset Wheat

Tried this one a few weeks ago. This wheat beer also crosses beyond anything its company has done so far. So far, Leinenkugel's has come out with Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss (I haven't had their Oktoberfest), and neither has the complexities to live up to the expectations that other craft breweries have set. And this is really good! It's got the German wheat spice, only it also has the seemingly trademark bitterness that comes with all Leinenkugel's beer.

Sea Dog Bluepaw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale

A friend working the counter at another liquor store in my chain suggested this beer. I'm jealous of their massive amount of cold beer space. So he says "Try this one. It's our best seller. It's light like But Light but it's got this nose just like fresh blueberries! It's great!" And then he added a line that I always add, "Come back and let me know what you thought." It made me cringe.

Yes, this beer is sort of cool. It really smells like blueberries. Fresh, fresh blueberries. And it tastes like beer with a pretty healthy hint of blueberries. Fresh, fresh blueberries.

Blueberries!

And that's it. My friend was right about Bluepaw being as light as Bud Light. In fact there are no flavors that identify this beer as a "wheat ale." The blueberries are neat, but there's nothing else there. Boring assed beer. Where's the wheat? Where's the ale? My advice: try this beer. One bottle, mixed in a mix-and-match six pack with five Kronenbourgs. Or five Zons.