Brewery – Mt. Carmel
Beer- Hibiscus Blueberry Blonde Ale
Style- Blonde Ale
ABV- 5.5%
IBU- 21

Mt. Carmel Brewing’s Hibiscus Blue introduces itself with a subtle blueberry cobbler aroma, complimenting a light bready flavor with hints of hibiscus tea adding a crisp, dry finish.

This was one of the first pieces of the taproom series puzzle.  It was put on tap and quickly became an absolute runaway success.  I’m fairly certain that it caught almost everyone at the brewery a little off guard too.  As the taproom series of bottle releases kicked into gear, it only made sense that it needed to be released, so they did.  The beer became the first of the “taproom series” to make it’s way into six packs seeing a pretty wide release across the city.

This beer might actually represent the “new wave” of Mt. Carmel to me.

My Thoughts on Mt. Carmel Hibiscus Blueberry Blonde Ale

I love that they describe this beer on it’s label as a blueberry cobbler aroma, because that’s the exact thing that it screams at me when I smell it.  Bready, sweet and fruity all mixed together into a dessert in a glass.

The beer tastes like a perfect summer drink, it goes down as easy as you can hope a summer drinker to, but still has a nice hibiscus backend that keeps your interest throughout the glass, unlike so many other “lighter” drinks might.  Don’t mistake this for just another “gateway beer” or some basic fruited letdown – this beer is no joke.

I don’t care if you’ve been drinking craft beer since before some of the head brewer’s around town have been alive, or if you just had your first microbrew yesterday, you should not be skipping this one over when it’s on shelves.  Wonderful, and refreshing… this is worthy of your time for sure.