Troegs Splinter Blue

So my girlfriend waited for five hours in line to get Troegs Splinter Blue the day of release. Sadly, it coincided with Great American Beer Fest, so I couldn't wait on my own (reasons why she's the best!). Splinter Blue is the DreamWeaver Wheat beer aged in wood barrels with tart cherries and Bettanyomyces. The beer pours a strawberry color, due to the sour cherries injected into this beer, and very foamy white head. The head sizzles as it disperses, which is a very cool sound to hear from a beer. The aroma consists of sour cherry, wheat, and a hint of lemon. The taste very big and tart, really hanging on the sour cherries. The mouth feel is very bubbly and almost champagne-like. In the background, there a light wheat flavor with hints of lemon and orange. On the finish, the oak flavors come out of the beer, but are not overpowering. The after taste is dry and sour with some wheat, almost similar to a crybaby candy (remember those?) The alcohol content of DreamWeaver is 4.8% ABV, but I feel that this beer with the cherries took on an additional alcohol content, maybe in the 6.0% to 7.0% ABV. Wow, what a beer. The sourness and tartness that attacks the tongue up front is very pleasant while not overpowering. There are some hints of the original DreamWeaver in the background, but this is a completely transitioned beer.

Breaking News: Troegs Blue Release Date

Troegs announced today via their website that the release date for Troegs Blue will be on September 16, 2010 at 10 AM. There will be 400 bottles available of the DreamWeaver with tart cherries and Brettanyomyces, with a 2 bottle limits and a cost of $23 per bottle. My only problem with this release date: it's during Great American Beer Fest. I am scrambling to have someone pick me up some bottles.

SweetWater Blue

I picked up a bottle of SweetWater Blue on my trip to South Carolina. The beer pours a pale yellow color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is filled with blueberries, similar to a muffin. The taste is light and sweet with a good blueberry accent. I was surprised that Sweetwater pulled off the blueberry accents without being too fruity, but not overly light either. The alcohol content is 4.9% ABV. I thought that the Sweetwater Blue had a good wheat flavor to compliment the blueberry in the beer, and nothing was lacking or overdone, which is very important in a fruity wheat beer.