Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale - Matt Brewing Company

Treyliff

West Virginia

3.45/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- pours goldish and hazy with a bubble and fizzy white head with decent retention

S- smells like blueberry muffins with a bit of sweet malt to balance it out

T- sweet, with a crisp malt backbone, subtle blueberry with a slightly tart & dry finish

M- light body with low carbonation, foamy mouthfeel and slick finish, high drinkability

O- a basic fruit beer that isn't extreme by any means, but a good option of the beach, which is where I enjoyed it. Not their best beer, but certainly drinkable

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 14:55:50 | More by Treyliff

fx20736

New York

3.53/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

bought as part of Saranac's Summer Variety pack from Southtown Beverages on 4/26/13 for $ 7.99.

poured from a 12 oz bottle into a glass tumbler, served at fridge temp.

appearance: hazy lemon yellow with a one finger white head. no lacing.

aroma: blueberries, pale malt, faintest whiff of hops.

mouthfeel: decent

taste: bready malt with lots of blueberries and a some noble style hops at the end.

notes: fruit beers aren't really my thing. this is drinkable and the blueberries are very noticeable which makes the beer somewhat interesting. A novelty item for sure.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 20:53:53 | More by fx20736

MadScientist

New York

3.28/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: A medium gold with some haze and a slight purple hue. The head is long lasting, white and made of a small, rocky bubble.

S: Moderately-strong blueberry aroma with a light citrus hops and a moderate malt sweetness. There is a bit of a metallic aroma. No diacetyl.

T: There is the initial soft malty sweetness typical of a Blonde with a moderately-low hop bitterness. The moderate blueberry flavor doesn't overpower the ale. The balance is slightly bitter with a dry finish and a lemony aftertaste.

M: This beer has a moderately-light body with moderately-strong carbonation. There is a slight prickle at the tip of the tongue.

O: An easy to drink lawnmower type ale with some blueberry flavor and a fair amount of aroma. The fruit isn't so strong that it would stop me from having another on a hot day.

Serving type: can

12-05-2012 00:40:02 | More by MadScientist

magine

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass.

Pours a cloudy gold. Has a near white dense head. Tons of bubbles and a thick head remains along with very good lacing throughout the session. Good looks here.

Brew smells of big blueberry and yeast. Big fruity nose. Good nose.

Brew is crisp and peppery upfront. Some mild hop bitterness is balanced by good wheat flavors and of course nice blueberry flavors. As advertised, a blond ale with some good blueberry flavoring. Finishes crisp and slighty bitter and semi sweet. A good fruit beer. Good.

A highly sessionable brew that drinks well and would be a good treat to switch things up or have for a get summer bbq. I am not the biggest fruit beer guy, but this one works nicely. A good brew that would be a good lawnmower brew. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 01:51:43 | More by magine

woosterbill

Connecticut

2.3/5  rDev -31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

12oz. bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Slightly hazy light amber body under a finger of fine white head that leaves nice lace. Attractive.

S: Artificial blueberry, like in laffy taffy or a gas station muffin. I don't hate it at all, but I fi kind of hate myself for not hating it.

T: Lightly flavored, but what's here is unpleasant. Fake blueberry and dull bitterness. Watery finish. Meh.

M: Thin and watery at first, with some prickly carbonation thereafter. Not good.

O: Not recommended, even for those looking for a bland fruit beer.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 00:24:39 | More by woosterbill

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.63/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Big white to slightly off white head slowly falls into a nice lacing above a clearish honey golden colored beer.

Fresh warm blueberry muffins aroma with just a bit of some pale hops sneaking in.

A light blueberry muffin like taste with some lesser hops notes.

A light dry aftertaste with those same blueberry muffin tastes sticking around on this light bodied drink from Matt Brewing.

As far as fruit/vegetable beers go this is a pretty good one, the taste of the blueberries is big but not overbearing and artificial tasting like a lot of beers in this style.

Serving type: can

10-06-2012 22:04:51 | More by LXIXME

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured this one into a pint glass. It has a nice golden color body with a nice 1" white foamy head that hangs around for a while. The smell is straight up blueberry and a little bit of malt.
The taste is very nice of blueberry with a little bit of hops. This one taste real not fake or real sweet like some fruit beers are. The mouth feel is nice and smooth and the blueberry flavor lingers on the tongue. Overall this is a really good fruit beer and i could drink this one all summer long.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 20:15:23 | More by chefhatt

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.63/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a wellington glass.

Appearance: Slightly hazy gold, maybe a little darker than your usual. Head is about 1/8" coming off white with little depth to it.; dissipating to nothing after a sip.

Smell: Has a hard acai scent to it, but goes in one nostril and out the other.

Taste: If there is a sweet beer here it is. No not like soda sweet but more like the fruit beer you wish you always had.

Mouth: Medium, smooth and no complaints.

Overall: For what this beer is, it satisfies the buds. I am not a fanatic of the fruit beers but this beers has a taste that is not soda like others. You are drinking a real fruit brew. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 04:26:01 | More by BlurryVisi0n

searsclone

Arizona

3.4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

bottle to a pint glass

pours a straw color with a small white head. huge amount of bubbles

smell is blueberry, toasted bread and hops

taste is blueberry upfront, a touch of bitter hops, then more blueberry. the fruit lingers quite a bit

mouthfeel is crisp and easy to drink

overall, easy to drink, great mouth feel and just the right amount of fruit. Glad I tried this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 02:29:10 | More by searsclone

dogfishandi

New York

3.43/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle at fridge temp.

pours a hazy slightly deep golden color, a nice layer of some tight white head with decent retention. some nice lace as well.

interesting aroma. on first whiff, the blueberrys are definatly there, but as it warms the aroma takes of a berry fruit juice type of smell that gets a little odd and footy sometimes . hints of grain behind and not much else.

seems to be just the right amount of blueberry flavor with some crisp grain and wheat to balance. finishes crisp, light, and refreshing with a nice dose of blueberry juice flavor that lingers. a nice crisp carbonation.

a nice summer drinker with just enough fruit to please anyone, but a little boring for the real beer nerd.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 17:52:33 | More by dogfishandi

atr2605

New York

2.98/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A-pours a hazy golden color with a white head with white head with pretty poor retention
S-blueberry, hint of malt, pretty faint overall
T-Mainly blueberry met with some hop bitterness that keeps it pretty well balanced
M-medium-light bodied
O-good session beer but definitely nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 01:27:23 | More by atr2605

KB24

2.93/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - Cloudy golden to light orange. Barely any head and no lacing.
S - Blueberry and a little bit of wheat.
T - Very faint blueberries. Malty wheat flavor, hardly any hops present. Tastes more like a wheat ale with a touch of blueberry.
M - Plenty of carbonation, a little grainy taste. Also a little heavier than I think it should be.
O - Not bad but left more to be desired. Could use more blueberry, and maybe some more hops to balance it.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 18:15:59 | More by KB24

smcolw

Massachusetts

2.73/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

No lasting head and no lace on the glass. The beer is green tinged grainy yellow colored.

I can smell the blueberries as the beer is placed in front of me. Closer inspection reveals a cotton candy aroma.

This is quite sour, especially given the smell. Thin bodied with a very high carbonation. Short aftertaste, but it does feature a bit of hop and pale malt. The taste leans toward the tannic of the blueberry skins.

Serving type: on-tap

09-01-2012 16:51:51 | More by smcolw

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a short white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains a lot of blueberries along with light caramelized malts and a touch of hops.

T: The taste likewise starts out with a strong blueberry sweetness along with background flavors of citrus and caramel. The hops presence is very mild and the malt character is thin as you usually find in this type of beer, but they create a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, it’s a solid beer for blueberry ale but there are others I would pick first.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 01:01:06 | More by TheManiacalOne

smcnulty1981

Rhode Island

3.3/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: some haze when pouring golden color with a reddish orange hue 1 finger white bubbly head that disappears quicks with no eal lacing

S: lots of blueberry hints, malt , some caramel and yeast

T: like the smell blueberry dominates although it has a taste of real blueberries rather than a syrup there is s decent balance of the blueberry and the grains on the taste

M: thin feel on the mouth but it is very drinkable although a little sweet

O:not a very complex beer mainly two notes throughout the blueberries and malt although it does strike an ok balance between the two this beer would seem to pair well with food that is on the spiceier side being that this beer could help cut through the spiceness

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2012 06:15:22 | More by smcnulty1981

Dunkel8771

4/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I was tremendously surprised with Saranac's Blueberry Blonde Ale.
The appearance was a bit cloudy and lighter than expected. The strong blueberry aroma fills the nose with sweet fruity smells.

The feel of the beer in your mouth was a bit wet and the initial swallow allows the drinker to taste the ale without having to deal with the blueberry taste. It is only after the ale is down the gullet that the smell of the blueberry juice hits the nose from inside the mouth that makes this such a great ale to drink.

For those who do not like blueberry, i would not recommend. For those interested enough, this Ale will definitely delight the taste buds and leave you longing for more. I can only expect that it will be fall or winter when I'm longing for a couple and it is out of season.

I first tasted in the Saranac Summer Variety Pack. To my surprise, I found an entire case the next time I visited. (should've bought two)

Taster will not be unsatisfied!

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 15:02:36 | More by Dunkel8771

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This pours out as a lightly hazy looking golden color. The beer appears to have a bit of a thickness to it. The head is pretty strong with a decent lacing too. The smell of the beer is sweet, with some blueberry aromas in there too. The taste is sweet too, some blueberry flavors throughout. The mouthfeel is smooth and almost oily, there is a nice carbonation too. Overall it's not a bad beer, not the best either. Was nice to try, would be best on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 23:52:02 | More by Knapp85

TheMultiYeast

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours pale straw yellow with little head.

Smell offers big blueberry notes, pancakes, grain, some yeast, herbal hop notes.

Lots of blueberry again in taste with more grain and touch of floral hop character.

Pretty light, highly drinkable in body but less in taste due to sweetness.

Blueberry lovers rejoice.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2012 16:49:54 | More by TheMultiYeast

daliandragon

North Carolina

2.95/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours pretty impressively, with solid inch of white head that leaves sticky speckled lace crowning a translucent pale golden body. The nose is awash is fresh blueberries and wheat and a touch of citrus zest. I am not usually a fruit beer fan, but this one starts better than most.

Well, it is refreshing, I'll give it that. Light in texture and mostly clean in the finish, but the taste is mostly insubstantial, if inoffensive. Wheat palate, with a berry garnish. It's fine for what it is, and quite suitable for 110 degree heat index Carolina days like today, although it must be said there isn't much there there. I don't like fruit beers, but this is acceptable to beat the heat.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 01:42:45 | More by daliandragon

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz Bottle from CJ's Potsdam NY for 1.65$

Appearance - Hazy amber colour with a large size fizzy white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some fair lacing. The head lasted for 3 or 4 minutes.

Smell - Malts, breads/grains, blueberries, corn

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts mixed with some bread/grains and some sweet blueberries. It reminded me a bit of a blueberry pie filling like flavour. It ends with a slightly tart yet sweet blueberry aftertaste.

Overall - Once again, not my favourite style of beer.. but this one is actually not that bad. I might even be able to drink a few of these in one sitting.. which isn't something I can do with most fruit beers. It's definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 23:52:10 | More by spinrsx

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The last of my haul from my latest trip to Pinocchio's in Media, PA in furtherance of The CANQuest (TM). I am going to have to get back on the trading cycle pretty soon or risk running dry on CANs.

From the CAN: "Ale with blueberry juice and natural flavor added".

The Crack revealed yet another craft CAN filled to its brim with beer! That has to be one of my favorite aspects of The CANQuest (TM), since it is like getting more than I paid for each time. The Glug was progressing a little too rapidly and I was getting a lot of foaming action which caused me to take my foot off of the gas. The two-plus fingers of French Vanilla-colored head that formed were so dense and thick that I began to wonder if I would need to scoop some of it out, so great was its retention. The nose caused the room to smell like blueberry pancakes! Color was a cloudy orangish-yellow. Mouthfeel was medium and the taste of blueberries was prevalent. It had a slight bitterness to it, but not in any kind of unpleasant way, just enough to offset the inherent sweetness of the berries. Finish was semi-dry and very refreshing, especially on a hot, humid summer afternoon. I would not personally fill a cooler with it, but a few CANs to attract some sweeties would certainly be in order when heading to the beach.

Serving type: can

07-03-2012 16:38:33 | More by woodychandler

kangarooAdam59

Maine

3.75/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Into a pint glass:

A: hazy golden colored body gave a white, frothy, foamy head appeared for a good thirty seconds. It left barely any lacing and some fast rising bubbles were seen.

S: blueberries in front with some wheat in the back.

T: blueberries up front; in the back, some bready malts came out a bit along with some light lemon.

M: medium, not watery but leaves a good refreshingness all around, sessionable

O: blueberry comes out pretty strong, but hey I believe that`s what Saranac wanted, still a pretty good beer. I would have this it again

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 22:56:27 | More by kangarooAdam59

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.48/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a two finger white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Hazy straw color. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Blueberry nose and flavor is almost sweet blueberry, hints of bitterness at finish. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 22:18:51 | More by jdhilt

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer is courtesy of woodychandler, who keeps me up to date in the latest canned beers. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a cloudy dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is bursting with blueberries. Taste is subdued compared to the smell, some blueberry, a touch of bitterness, rather mild. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a refreshing beer on a hot day.

Serving type: can

06-25-2012 02:33:51 | More by tone77

corby112

Pennsylvania

1.85/5  rDev -44.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a hazy golden yellow color with a one finger frothy white head that slowly settles into a lasting ring. Sporadic spots of lacing left behind.

Odd metallic/medicinal aroma with zesty spicy, citrus, pale malt and artificial blueberry. This combination it a strong chemical/medicinal quality that is off-putting.

Medium bodied with the same weird combination of flavor that was suggested in the nose. Bitter and metallic and really does taste like children's medicine/cough syrup. Bitter earthy hops with zesty spice, bready yeast, light fruit and blueberry juice. Not overly sweet surprisingly with the berry flavor mostly lingering in the finish. I see what they were going for but it just doesn't work for me. Hard to drink.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2012 06:24:34 | More by corby112