Usually if the words “blue” and “beer” are mentioned to you in the same sentence, alarm bells would start ringing in your head.
That was my initial reaction when my P&J colleague Kieran Beattie approached me last week to show me an image on his phone of, you guessed it, bright blue beer for sale in Westhill.
The post was on the Westhill Service Station Facebook page, promoting the family-run retailer’s first collaborative beer (4.5% ABV) with Portobello-based Vault City Brewing.
It was named raspberry blueberry bubblegum bottles — not exactly your typical lager.
He suggested we carry out a taste test and I (along with several colleagues) were on board. Some needed persuaded more than others…
A beer that’s ‘really blue’, ‘quite odd’ and ‘nostalgic’ says our team
Kieran purchased two cans from Westhill Service Station before letting them chill in our office fridge.
I loved the packaging from the offset. It’s striking and perfectly encapsulates the taste.
On pouring the beer into several glasses, the teal blue was (unsurprisingly) overwhelming to the five of us that were carrying out the taste test.
We all gathered around a table and toasted to the occasion.
Being a fan of raspberry slushes and cinema staple Tango Ice Blasts, I wasn’t scared off. The drink resembled one that had melted completely (only it was slightly darker and thicker).
The taste wasn’t too different either. Tangy with a nice lingering fizz, it’s one of the few beers I’ve tried to date that I could sip away at.
As Kieran got stuck in, everyone let out a giggle – purely down his facial expressions during and after his sample.
We waited apprehensively for him to give his verdict.
“It’s really blue,” he said. Again, we laughed. “It tastes like someone has taken a whole bag of 10p mix and blended it down into a beer.”
The mention of sweets continued among our remaining testers. They included Jamie Durent, Callum Law and David Dalziel – all P&J colleagues who enjoy a pint now and then.
“It’s about as close to a drink version of those bubblegum sweets that you could imagine,” Jamie said. “You can taste that coming through.”
Callum added: “It’s a bit too sweet for me. It reminds me of blue bon bons.”
The sweetness was something that Kieran and I enjoyed. Jamie was sold too, going on to say he would have a whole pint of the concoction.
David added: “It’s zingy, tangy and quite odd. It is like a childhood sweet.”
Several sips and stained mouths later, is the Westhill Service Station beer worth buying?
No one had taken more than five sips of the beer. However, lips, tongues and teeth were coated in a layer of blue tinge.
If you can get past that (and love sweet-sour flavours like berry, bubblegum and sherbert) then the beer will go down well.
More information on the product…
The raspberry blueberry bubblegum bottles beer was brewed by Vault City, in collaboration with Hop Shop Aberdeen (which is based inside the Westhill Service Station), The Craft Bar and The Hanging Bat.
The beer is currently available exclusively to select bottle shops and bars. However, it will soon be launching on the Hop Shop Aberdeen website.
At Westhill Service Station, it currently costs £4.49 per tin. Stocks are limited.
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