Beer Review: Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale Bangor, ME, US By: George Zhen May 12, 2005

(Bangor, ME, US) - This is a surprise review, thanks in part to an email we received from one of our new friends, Paul Sossong. Paul noticed that we were up near Maine, and he suggested that we try and get something from the Sea Dog Brewing Company out of Camden and Bangor. A quick retooling of the flight plan and we were in business. Really, it was on the way to Halifax....

So, unfortunately, the person in Bangor International who was bringing us the brew must of misheard us over the din, and we got the Blue Paw Wheat Ale instead of the Cabin Fever that we wanted to sample. This is a shame, since the Blue Paw Wheat Beer has a couple of things going against it in this reviewers book. First, I'm no big fan of wheat beers. Too, well, wheaty. Mix that up with some strong Maine blueberries, and it's already an uphill battle for Sea Dog.

The brew rightfully smelled of blueberries when opened. Is someone making a pie in here? Smells real fruity. It pours nicely, but the head really grows even if there is a small amount of aggression applied during the operation. Color is real blonde and clear. You can probably see your fingerprints through the glass. But the dominant characteristic is the fruit.

I couldn't get past the flavor. It was so un-beer like. Like eating a cone of blueberry ice cream. It's hard to find any other sensation to describe because the berries are so overwhelming. Coupled with the wheat and it tasted more like dessert than beer. As I said, I can't profess to liking beers that are too fruity anyway, so I doubt there is a good one for me.

As for the effect, the alcohol content is a respectable 4.6% alcohol by volume, so it has impact. Problem in my case is the wheat. For some reason, the minute I start drinking wheat beers, I can feel the headache coming. Wine does the same thing to me, so that may be a localized trait.

Geoff put it best when he called Sea Dog's Blue Paw Wheat Ale "girlfriend beer." Yeah, it's pretty fruity and probably drinkable for those who don't really like beer. For me, it was not very good. I am, however, anxious to try some of the other interesting offerings from this brewing company. This is probably not the beer to judge them by.

For more information on the Sea Dog Brewing Company, visit their website at www.seadogbrewing.com