The way I write my titles is misleading on this one. Technically, it is a milkshake IPA, but I get so few of them through here that it seems odd to try and create a label just for them. It is... untidy. I say that in the full knowledge that I am including the label for a fruit beer, even though blueberries are, by their nature, berries and not fruits. I say it's close enough, and I'm here to drink beer, not make labels (yes, that is also my job, but it's not strictly enforced).
The beer has a kind of yellow-orange added to a honey colored beer to make the whole beer change to a dirty dishwater. It's not a great color, but this is what you get when you use blueberries. The white head boils down to a complete cover on top of the beer with a little lacing left in its wake. The aroma is yeast and mushed up berries. I'm kind of surprised how musty the yeast is, and I think I'm getting more of that dust that is on the outside of the blueberry before you wash them.First sip is sweet, yeasty, berry-filled, and quite bright. It's a nice, refreshing beer with a smoothness that comes with the sweet from lactose sugars. It's remarkably refreshing for a beverage with a 6.5% ABV that doesn't seem to intrude at all on the flavor. I don't know what more to say - Panther Creek is really good at what they do, and so far, this is really good.
Tip-in is berries, yeast, and a floral hop with moderate carbonation. The middle is a smooth beer with almost no flavor and a buzz of carbonation. The finish is a slamming door of bitterness and flowers that scatter berries about before sending bitterness and carbonation into the trail off.
Bottom Line: The finish is a bit off, but it has something.
2.5/5