I'm drinking some Wild Blue blueberry lager right now. As a beer, it's shit. As a fruit soda with 8% alcohol, it's not too shabby. Guess I'll give the new blackberry Samuel Adams a try tonight too while I'm at it.

Not really. Lambic has a distinctive taste that this stuff is lacking. It's unique to say the least.

I won't be buying another 6-pack of it, but it's not so horrible that I refuse to drink it. If nothing else, it's an easy way to get buzzed.

The only blueberry based beer I liked was the one Sweetwater makes. That one is excellent. All of Sweetwater's beers tend to be good though. I hada really awful blueberry stout once, but I do not remember the name. had it when I was visiting a buddy of mine down in Memphis, TN, and I did not recognize the brand.

Got a few new beers last weekend that I am all excited to try. Southern Tier's Trippel, Dogfish Head's Sahtea and Southern Tier Mokah. Also was able to stock up on Alagash Black, first time I have seen it in a local store!

In other good news, Liquid Solutions is fianlly restocking Ninkasi again, so I can get Tricerahops. I love that IIPA, it's pretty amazing, just hard to get here.

Sea Dog, out of Maine, makes a pretty good blueberry wheat beer called Blue Paw. Seems like a more appropriate base for a blueberry beer than a stout would be. I'm generally not too big on fruit beers but I could have a few of those without gagging from the sweetness. My fiancée absolutely adores it.

The Sea Dog Microbrewery and Restaurant

Living in Louisiana, this time of year has me craving for wheat beers (Hefeweizen). I have tried the In-Heat Wheat by flying dog, and find it to be a decent wheat with banana and clove smell on the nose, and a light toasted malty taste with citrus notes. Are there other Hefeweizens that you would recommend (aside for Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat)? I'm not always a big fan of fruit beers overall, as the fruit can be overpowering, but Abita Beer's Strawberry Harvest is exceptional this year. This is a light lager with the perfect amount of sweet strawberry taste, and a good amount of hops in the middle of the taste.

@Monocle
It is best to get the Maharaja within the first couple of months. I found that the beer doesn't "hold" well over time. Last year, I bought a couple of bottles right around when it was released, drank one (or two) right away, but wanted to save the others. When I opened them a few months later, I found the bold taste was somewhat flatter than the initial tasting. It was still very hoppy, but that fresh blast had somewhat diminished. For finding a place that sells it I use Avery's website (http://www.averybrewing.com/), to find a store that official sells it.

Noticed that myself with the Maharaja, the ones I got around July last year did taste a lot better then the remaining ones on shelf I found in October. We should get it here eventually, Avery beers are always good at moving in my market, I just need to wait it out.

There are a few of the 2008 left at my good beer store, but I have not bothered with them, wanted to get some fresh ones. I am happy to get some more Hoptimus Primes while I wait, very good little IIPA.

Wish I could help you out on suggestions for wheat beers, but I just never could get into the style, Dunklewiezens being the only exception. I have heard that both Sierra-Nevada and Victory make some rather decent ones, if you can get them in your area.

Maybe look around on Rate Beer? I use that page sometimes to get read a bit about a new beer when it pops up in my area.

A lot of domestic brewers will do a wheat beer and call it a hefeweiss, but the end product isn't very similar to the true-blue German style because a lot of domestic brewers won't bother to import the yeast strains they use in Germany. This yeast is directly responsible for the high carbonation of the beer and the banana/bread smells on the nose, and you can't really get a sense of what a hefeweiss is like unless you use that sort of yeast. You can still make a perfectly delicious wheat beer (and many domestic brewers do), but it won't be a hefeweiss.

A lot of German hefeweizen get really good distribution in the states: Paulaner and Franziskaner are probably two of the biggest ones. I can find them in grocery stores here in Atlanta. Weihenstephaner is really outstanding, but doesn't get as widely distributed.

For American microbrews, I'd suggest Sprecher's hefeweiss (pretty close to the German style) or Bell's Oberon (definitely not a hefe but damn tasty). I'd stay away from Sam Adams or Leinenkugel.

That brought a tear to my eye. I'm so sorry for your loss!

Seriously though, I wonder what would cause that. Developed allergy to hops or something?

Gluten, perhaps? I've seen some Gluten-free beers here at one of the big breweries in Boulder, Colorado, but I can't remember which.

I don't think it is gluten because I eat all sort of gluten with no issues. It doesn't seem to be any particular style of beer, as it has happened with many types. I'd say it only happens 1 out of every 50 times I drink beer. Wine and hard liquor appear to be fine. I've drank beer for 15 years but this started only a year or so ago. It has happened with pasteurized, unpasteurized, bottle conditioned, draft... Apologies if TMI, but when i'm sick all I can taste is yeast. The whole situation is different than the "I drank 1/2 a bottle of scotch and am sick" type of sick. With that you just feel crappy and nauseous. When this happens, it is pretty painful and violent.

Is it Hops? Yeast? Ulcer? IBS? Doctors are just like... "Oh, you have good insurance huh? Well then, how about a few invasive procedures involving scopes!?" I don't want to turn this into the "oh poor west" thread; A lot of different beer drinkers from around the world read this and maybe somebody out there had a similar experience.

I've been drinking at a great local, slightly hidden local bar lately, and its beer selection is just amazing. In particular I've been falling in love with their Rogue choices, especially Dead Guy and their Hazelnut Brown. To top it off, their cask selection last week was Allagash Burnham Road, a smoked beer. I believe (as far as I can remember) this was the first smoked beer I've had and it was quite amazing. The smoked taste lingered far into the night, it probably would have been perfect with a cigar.