Druken Blueberries: Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout

I'm generally a fan of blueberry-infused beer, so when I saw Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout I was instantly convinced that I needed to buy one, or maybe it was the Buffalo Bill name, a brewery I first read about in a Michael Jackson book from the 1980's.



It's a dark looking brew, nothing less of what you'd expect from a brew that carries the stout title. I'll be honest and say my pour was a little off, so I've had to shake the beer up a bit to develop a healthier head, but for what I lack, the brew itself makes up for my mistakes with decent head retention.

The malts in the brew are really thin, giving into the bitterness of hops and alcohol. The blueberry taste is there and coming on pretty strong. I was hoping for a thicker take, just shy of a milkshake, but I can't let my expectations trump the identity of the brew.

The smell emits alcohol and fresh concord grapes. One could say blueberries, but it might only be because they expect it to smell that way after they look at the label.

My one complaint, and yes, this is rare for me to have a complaint, unless I'm drinking something fizzy and yellow-golden: too much alcohol coming through on the taste. Once again I'm going back to the thin issue, but I don't think I'm way off in saying that whatever one must do to thicken this brew up (add more malted barley?), it would really improve on the idea of tossing blueberries in a stout. Make it a milk stout with the delectable fruit, lessen the hops level, and I'll really like this beer. Nonetheless, it's a good brew.