is blue beer possible?

I was reading a thread on blue beer that had this link in it http://www.takahasi.co.jp/beer/lineup/index.html Does anyone know anything about this beer? I tried to run the website through babel fish but not much is coming through the translation. (They mention the Soviet Union and a hair piece). Is this just food coloring? I'll be real disappointed if it is. The only thing I could think of is putting a lot of blue berries in a pale ale, but I think that would be a dark purplish blue, and it would almost be a cider by the time you had enough. In case you haven’t guessed I want to make a “Romulan Ale” to serve to all my geek buddies. Food coloring just seems like cheating.

It's made with an extract of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. I'm sure they take the Zima approach of filtering the snot out of actual beer and then adding back flavorings, thickeners, and the blue stuff.

 Translated the page using the Google Chrome Browser, here is what it listd for the "blue beer" fwiw.

Okhotsk sea ice image of sky blue "Okhotsk" light and refreshing finish to the faucet has a rich brewing water using the concept of ice in the Okhotsk Sea.
　Technology has been developed under the guidance of Tokyo University of Agriculture Faculty of Bio-Industry, and fine bubble foam by bright blue sea of Okhotsk ever clear the floating sea ice causes the image slightly blue.

Not much more info but at least it's in English: http://inventorspot.com/articles/feeling_blue_japans_got_beer_29460

I suppose you could always use blueberries to make a "dye" of sorts, and then add it post fermentation. I have no idea how well it would work. Maybe try adding a bit to a bottle and recapping it, and see how it looks after a week or two. The more "dye" you add, the more intense the color, but also the flavor from the berries, I'd imagine. Hell, who said arts & crafts day is really a different project from homebrew day anyway! Here's a guide for the dye part - let us know how it goes!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/700331/how_to_make_and_use_natural_blueberry.html?cat=6

If you're trying to stay natural, you could start off with a shotgun approach: blue cornflour in the mash, lots of borage flowers and blue pansies, and blueberries galore.

I just drank some of the Japanese one on the 4th. Also had one of their red potato beers, also on that website, along with the Hitachino Nest White Ale, and I did a sort of Red,White, and Blue beer thing for the 4th.

I liked it quite a bit. It had a super dry finish that I found refreshing. Not as big of a fan of their potato beer.

944play said:

It's made with an extract of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. I'm sure they take the Zima approach of filtering the snot out of actual beer and then adding back flavorings, thickeners, and the blue stuff.

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Agree - its got to be a very neutral "malt beverage" to start with a touch of the blue that they extract from the seaweed or algae or nori. Any "yellow" in the drink and the final result will look more green than blue.

From a fruitbeer perspective its hard to find a fruit that is truly blue rather than purple. I would agree with the suggested blueberries ( though you may want to crush them and then just keep the skins for more color and less dilution) or perhaps blackberries.

what about blue potatoes? they look purple on the inside but im willing to bet they would make an intersting color potato beer if thats your thing

Rguardian989 said:

what about blue potatoes? they look purple on the inside but im willing to bet they would make an intersting color potato beer if thats your thing

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The skins are so minimal by mass and calories that they're unlikely to have much impact on the beer's color--if you wanted to try, peel a bazillion of them and use the peels (only) in the mash/boil.

I tend to think that they and blue corn are relatively useless, but they're worth a shot--I'd go total shotgun with every possibility for the first try..

You are correct in thinking that blueberries give you purple beer.