Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Blue Moon: Review

In The Bottle or On Tap - Part 2

5.4% abv
12 oz bottle
$8.00 a six pack
Blue Moon Brewing Co. aka – Coors
Golden, Colorado, USA
Bluemoonbrewingco.com
Belgian-Style Wheat Ale

The Bottle

The bottle reads that it is an unfiltered beer.

The appearance is a cloudy burnt yellow. The overall bouquet is light: with light to moderate spice and a touch of orange and some coriander.

The flavors seem muted to me. I get the orange peel taste and a touch of coriander but the flavors don’t seem clean and crisp or maybe I should say, discernable – no maybe it is that they are not distinct. There are also notes of wheat and yeast.

The mouthfeel is crisp because of the carbonation. The overall taste is pretty clean because of the lack of a lingering aftertaste. I just get a short aftertaste of spice.

Of course the marketing says, ‘uniquely complex taste.’ It is pretty simple to me: Orange, Coriander, Wheat, and no Lingering aftertaste. On a zero to ten scale on complexity, 10 being high, I’ll give this beer a 3 for complexity.

Overall I have to say, ‘I enjoyed this beer.’ I think I like Celis Grand Cru more.


Now, I am off to the tavern to sample a little Blue Moon on tap.

I visited the Ironwood Grill in Downtown Plymouth, Michigan. I belly up to the bar and find myself in front of an attractive bartender – damn I miss stopping by a good bar now and then. I order a Blue Moon, first time I ever had one on tap before, and I order it without the orange slice.

I get a typical bartender pour with no head (on the beer). The aroma is hard to pick up with all the food that I can smell around me. The color seems to be the same as the bottle a cloudy burnt yellow. The orange is easy pick out for the taste. The coriander seems a little less but, the wheat and yeast flavors are still present. Not a bad tasting beer.

Continuing with the research mode I order a second one with the orange slice. The orange flavor now is, of course, dominating. I think I like it with the orange slice. I would normally suggest – NO orange slice. With the Blue Moon I recommend the orange slice.


Remember, on the earlier posting, I said it has been at least 8 years since I had this beer. I was at a work party and I had my first Blue Moon then. It was in a bottle and I drank it out of the bottle at that party and I hated it.

Tomorrow’s research – I’ll drink one Blue Moon out of the bottle. This has to be Ron’s issue. He and his wife when at home are drinking Blue Moon from the bottle.

Visit Part I - Blue Moon - The Question
Visit Part III - Blue Moon in the Bottle

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