We’ve heard of white IPAs, black IPAs, red lagers, and of course green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, but have you ever heard of a blue beer before? They exist. Or at least one does. Here’s a look at Abashiri Beer’s Okhotsk Blue Draft.
Okhotsk Blue Draft
Blue isn’t one of the colors we normally think of when we’re talking beer, but Okhotsk Blue Draft from Abashiri Beer is true to the name.
First produced in 2009 as a gimmick, it gets the blue color from blue seaweed, locally-grown flowers, melted iceberg water in the Sea of Okhotsk, and Chinese yams. No artificial dyes like you find in that St. Patrick’s Day crap at the local sports bar.
So what’s it taste like? I’m not really sure. But now you can try it yourself, though there are a couple small issues.
First, due to European laws they can’t export a beer with the original ingredients. So they’ve substituted Blue 1 for the original stuff that made it blue.
Second, the company that now distributes it can’t export alcohol to the United States.
So those of you outside the US have to give it a go and let the rest of us know what it’s like. It still has to be better than green beer.
Feeling Blue
As brewing continues to grow, there’s no doubt we’ll continue to see a wider range of colors to go with the always expanding offerings. Okhotsk Blue Draft may be the first blue beer that we know of, but it’s unlikely to be the last.
If you’d like to get your hands on some Abashiri Beer’s Okhotsk Blue Draft cans, click here to order from Firebox. Drop us a line and let us know how it is!