All About Lingonberries!

Hi Everyone!

Alex Leedy here to tell you about my quest to bring Lingonberry to Colorado brewers (and beyond)!

BRIX: 8.9
pH: 2.7
Country of Origin: Austria
44lb Bag In Box
Frozen Shelf Life: 2 years
Chilled Shelf Life: 6 months
$235 per BiB

You might be thinking, like I do, “Lingonberries are an IKEA thing!” Seriously the first time I tried anything with Lingonberry was Dryck Lingon at IKEA and loved it! When I got that first taste, I knew I wanted to make a beer with it. I envisioned the label with funny IKEA Shmoo people and giving an allen wrench with every 6-pack!! It’s been quite the adventure to import Lingonberry, but it has finally happened!  

Lingonberry, also called cowberry, foxberry, or rock cranberry, is a small creeping plant of the heath family and is related to both blueberries and cranberries. I like to describe their flavor as CranRaspberry juice with a hint of Chardonnay.  

After that initial taste in a brightly lit, modern, hex-key-assembled cafeteria, I searched high and low. I even tried to contact the IKEA supply chain people, but with no results. Then at the Natural Products EXPO West in 2017 I met a supplier who promised he could get Lingonberry puree for me. I was thrilled. After months of communication, there were, of course, caveats. He could only get IQF (Individual Quick Frozen) and I'd need to buy a pallet. Even though this path proved fruitless, I kept at it.  

In late 2019, I was searching for a source for Black Raspberry and discovered a Canadian supplier who brings Lingonberry Puree in from Austria ONCE a year! It was slated for March of 2020, so obviously that did not happen. Just as I was about to give up, I gave this Canadian supplier a call back in September of 2020 and it was actually in stock! After three years of searching, I have finally brought in a pallet of delicious Lingonberry Puree. Who is going to be the first to make a beer (and share it with me)?

Cheers,
Alex