EBC Blue Berry Wheat Beer

Ellicottville Brewing Company (EBC) is a small brewery in western New York. I’d never heard of them before, but came across a six-pack of their Blue Berry Wheat Beer at Superstar, one of the finest beer distributors on Long Island. I was with my friend, who does not consider himself a beer-drinker, but is always willing to try something new. If he has a choice of beers, he’s willing to drink something like Magic Hat’s No. 9, a very pleasant peach-flavored lager. So I initially recommended some hefeweizen-style beer, but when I saw the big “Blue Berry” on the EBC six-pack, I figured we might as well both try something different.

It’s a very light lager, with just a hint of spicy hops. The blueberry flavor is soft, clearly fruity, but not overpowering. It’s refreshing beer, made for spring and summer. There are some fruit beers or lambics that I enjoy, but can only have a few ounces of, because their flavors overwhelm. But the blueberry in the Blue Berry Wheat Beer is so mild that I could enjoy a bottle or two and not have lollipop-tongue afterwards.

My friend read the packaging and saw that EBC has a restaurant at their brewing company. Checking out their website, I saw that they have two locations, one in Ellicottville, go figure, south of Buffalo, and another in Fredonia, southwest of Buffalo. I’m fairly sure that I’m going to go out of my way on my next trip to Niagara Falls to stop in the Fredonia location. It really would be out of my way, but I can’t pass up the chance to step foot in Fredonia and sing a little song.