"blueberry" news and stories

Ok, so I haven't tried every blueberry-flavored beer in the world (though trust me, that is my goal). That said, I can tell you what my favorite of the ones I have tried is: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.

Last week you may remember I gave a few deductions (too much Olympics!) to Blue Point Brewing Company's Blueberry Ale for balance -- pointing out that many times it can be hard to organically match malt and hops to fresh fruit flavoring, especially with extremely light ales. In my opinion, the best fruit beers tend to be unfiltered wheat beers.

Enter Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. Right out the bottle, the nose is of fresh (wild Maine, they say) blueberries, but the brewers at Atlantic Brewing Company (makers of Bar Harbor) aren't afraid to let the beer itself do some of the talking. The nose is full of malts with a touch of hoppy spice. Hold your glass up to the light though for this ale to reveal its true secret: It's got the color of a darker beer but as the official press states it's "combined with wheat to give this ale its lighter body." Basically, you can tell you're in for a mouthful.

"Our distributor asked us to do something like that," says Alan Brady, Head Brewer for Long Island, New York's Blue Point Brewing Company. "Now it's one of our top sellers."

Ah, what inspiration: I've heard more passion in bank transactions. But who can blame him: Blue Point's flagship beer Toasted Lager is a World Beer Cup winner. Now he has silly bloggers wasting his time asking questions about this fruity brew. Even the official description is somewhat backhanded: "Blue Point fresh Blueberry Ale offers an unusual twist on brewing that turns out to be just perfect" -- as if to say: "Don't worry, guys! It came out okay!"

There's a discrepancy as to how many blueberries actually go into a Blueberry Ale. The box boasts an impressive 735 pounds, whereas the website speaks to a more conservative 132. Maybe they halved the recipe? Either way, these numbers are meaningless to the average drinker -- It's all about what ends up in your nose and mouth -- and Blueberry Ale is appealing in both regards. The scent is a bounty of fresh, authentic blueberries, but surprisingly, the flavor itself is not overpowering., which is perfect. Beginner's mistake numero uno in fruit flavoring is putting too much on the palette.

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• Need to whip up an impressive dinner to please your sweetie? The Globe's got you covered
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• This teahouse is a little taste of Tajikistan in - where else? - Boulder, Colorado
• A Dorchester gathering celebrates West Africa with signature dishes and plenty of tradition
• Need a quick dessert? Try a Fast Blueberry Freeze - kind of like a blueberry slushy (and would work great with a splash of vodka or some triple sec)
• The Green Dragon, the Japanese Plum Ginger, and The Forbidden Passion: the names say it all
• These people aren't satisfied with just any old salad green - they go straight to the source

This Week's Food Safety Terror Alert has gone a depressing shade of blue (which isn't even on the meter) for a voluntary recall by Stonyfield Farm of their 6-ounce cups of Stonyfield Organic Fat Free Blueberry Yogurt based on reports that customers have found plastic or glass fragments in the products.

The affected yogurts have codes printed along the cup bottom that start with the following dates:

• Apr 13 08
• Apr 14 08
• Apr 15 08
• April 25 08
• Apr 26 08

If you have questions, you are advised to contact Stonyfield Farm Consumer Relations at 1-800-PRO-COWS or email crelations@Stonyfield.com.

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Kashi, a company once known for its hippy-dippy, fiber-rich cereals with cheesy names (Heart-to-Heart and Good Friends immediately come to mind), has ditched its nerdy image and now boasts everything from cookies to crackers to frozen pizza.

The company's website even highlights a few recipes that (obviously) prominently feature its products. And like the store bought stuff, the recipes are deceptively healthy. (They even offer full nutrition info, if you're into that sort of thing).

The recipes range from stuffing to smoothies, but one that caught my eye was the Blueberry Almond bars, the stars of the recipe being the Heart-to-Heart Wild Blueberry and Oat Flakes and the GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereals. Simple recipe tweaks, like adding tofu and soy milk and replacing white flour with wheat, make it the perfect guilt-free breakfast, snack or dessert.