Marin Brewing Co. - "Bluebeery" ale

Whenever I travel, I'm always on the lookout for simple, tasty beer that doesn't require an extended tasting session (or a trip to Sonoma County) to enjoy. Today's post focuses on one such beer - a 5.00% ABV ale made with blueberries, coming from Larkspur, CA-based Marin Brewing Co.

We were actually going to visit the taproom, which is located right in Larkspur Landing where one can pick up the ferry into San Francisco (it's a fun trip!) Our schedule changed and our new plans didn't permit an in-person visit, unfortunately, but luckily I found a few bottles of Marin Brewing beer in the Novato Whole Foods to try.

A word about berry beers, in general - honestly, I've never been that impressed by them. Berries are a fun ingredient, and they go with a lot of things, but every berry beer (with perhaps the exception of Empyrean's "Pitched Blue") has fallen flat to me. Each one I've tried is either too sugary or too thin; or in the case of a gose, too sour. In their purest form, I think I've only had Midwest or East Coast berry beers, so I'm curious to see how the Left Coast folks handle the style.

According to the label: "...We use only the finest ingredients: Malt from Washington and Wisconsin, hops from the Yakima Valley in Washington, Marin County's own water, and a carefully selected strain of yeast." That's cool. Marin County has pretty good water, I'm told, so I guess I can't complain. Let's crack it open.

It's darker than I was expecting, actually. Pours a deep amber, and generates some thick buff-colored foam. It generates a light, apple cidery nose....also curious.

Hmmm, okay, this is interesting. It's very, very light, but in terms of heaviness / texture, not of flavor. I'm getting a solid flavor of caramel malts, with some wheat sheaf / cereal flavors, and a blueberry juice throughout. The blueberrry is most pronounced on the finish, as the air mixes with what's left on your tongue. The aftertaste has a nice touch of wheat, which doesn't last too long.

I think the texture is what strikes me most about this. The blueberry flavors are fine - mostly juice, a bit sugary - but when it comes to the softness, it's almost like light beer. I like that it's not super flashy, made in a straightforward fashion with a handful of good ingredients, and has a price point suitable for everyday drinking. A good find! I think this was something like $5.99 for a 22oz bomber, so definitely cheap enough to enjoy on the regular.