3/25/14:  It is the end of March here in Chicago, but this everwinter refuses to end!  It's below freezing outside but I'm already thinking ahead to the sweltering heat of this summer.  I'd love to have a batch of beer on-hand that was really light and thirst-quenching, but low-alcohol enough to drink all evening without getting too puzzled.  So, as my first attempt to make a delicious but low-alcohol beer:

Easy Breezy Dark Blueberry Recipe!

Boil 2.5 gallons of water.  When in steeping range (145 to 160 degrees F) steep 1 lb of Special B Malt (140-155 Lovibond).  Bring the water to a full boil and add 6 lbs frozen blueberries! I used wild Boreal ones for that extra punch of the feral blueberry in its natural habitat.  Also add 3.3 lbs Special Dark liquid malt extract (I used Breiss).  Boil for 30 mins and then add ½ oz pelletized Willamette hops.  Boil for 55 more mins and then add 1 lb maltodextrin.  I would have added it earlier with the LME but I just stupid old forgot until the last minute!  Boil for 10 more mins, terminate boil and cool your wort, add another 2.5 gallons of water, and pitch your yeast.  I used Wyeast 3711 French Saison for that creamy body and low flocculation (which should also help give it some substance).  Let it ferment for two weeks, and then bottle!  

Picture: Fermentation has started!  This beer is looking a lot darker than I thought it would turn out - I think I might have been too heavy-handed with that special b!

Review May 26, 2014:  This was definitely one of my better beers.  A rich, creamy, and ever-so-slightly-pale-lavendar head atop a roasty, smooth and tart body.  The blueberry comes through most discernibly in the nose, with the perfect balance between a fruity and roasty finish; a hint of that perfect B crispy roast at the very end.  Everything came together with this beer to make something outstanding, I can easily see brewing this beer again. 

If I were indeed to make it again, I would use only a half pound of special B, and perhaps change up the yeast to something a little higher ester-producing to accentuate the fruit – perhaps I would even use the same yeast at a higher temperature. 

A truly delicious beer!