Written by Being based near London means that I can often find unusual beers for The Brew Club that wouldn’t normally be found by drinkers in the US. Occasionally I will stumble across an American Beer that piques my curiosity – such as Blue Moon Wheat Beer.
Blue Moon is an American ‘craft’ wheat beer lovingly brewed by artisan brewers at the ‘Blue Moon Brewing Company’. Indeed the brew was indeed created by the brewmaster – Keith Villa – at the Blue Moon microbrewery at ‘The Sandlot’ stadium in Denver, Colorado. However the success of the brew means that it is now mass produced by the microbrewery’s parent company – Molson Coors.
The beer was first known as ‘Bellyslide Belgian White’ when it was first brewed in 1995, but legal action by the Confederation des Brasseries de Belgique (The Confederation of Belgian Breweries) meant that the beer had to be renamed for fear of misleading consumers that it was a product from Belgium.
The recipe includes ‘White Wheat, Oats, Coriander and Orange Peel’ and while many wheat beers are sometimes served with a slice of lemon, Blue Moon encourages the addition of a slice of orange to further enhance the orange flavour. No thanks.
So, a healthy pour, a good, if cloudy head and a heavy nose of orange peel and
coriander. The beer comes in 330ml bottles rather than 500ml bottles as is traditional for wheat beers in Europe, so unless Blue Moon make a smaller size wheat beer glass the brew would be somewhat lost in a traditional wheat beer glass.
The orange peel flavour comes through in the taste as well, the underlying flavour is sharp, if not tart, but refreshing for all that. The beer is unfiltered, which adds additional cloudiness and leaves a considerable sediment in the bottom of the glass.
This is a good wheat beer, almost a great wheat beer. In the same way that some craft brewers overdo the hoppiness of an ale, this is a little too ‘in your face’. I wouldn’t refuse it, particularly on a hot summer’s day, but if I was thinking about a wheat beer, I think I would go for Grolsch Premium Weizen or Kronenbourg Blanc.
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Indeed Coors success with Blue Moon directly inspired SAB Miller to create Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat, which The Brew Club gave a healthy four star rating back in August 2008. More recently, Blue Moon beer has been in the spotlight as the beer that Officer Crowley will be enjoying at the “Obama Beer Summit”.
You can also checkout Blue Moon’s Harvest Moon, their Autumn Pumpkin Ale!
I’m not a huge fan of Blue Moon, but will often suggest it to unadventurous folks who subscribe to molson’s typical lineup. I particularly hate it when i go to a restaurant ans order this, as it’s the best I can get, and it comes with an orange in it.
I’d rather just taste the beer.
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This is the first “non-generic” i.e. bud, coors, miller beer that I ever liked and I have to say even after my recent love affair with it’s still one of my favorites. I do LOVE the added orange peel.. and I find that the difference between tap and bottled is pretty huge…. leaning towards the on tap side.
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I have gotten a friend into more types of beer and this was pretty much his gateway. He has tried some better white ales now but this is an easily accessible gateway beer.
Mike’s last blog post..St. Bernardus Prior 8
I’d agree its a decent beer, and sometimes its the best thing available @ many restaurants. Its another good gateway beer! I actually almost got it today with lunch, but I opted for a diet Coke! (Is that bad?)
Scott- The Brew Club’s last blog post..Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale – A Beer Review
Blue Moon is a classic beer, perfect for showing coors and bud drinkers that beer doesn’t have to taste like, well…. bud.
I especially like their seasonal brews. The Spring Ale and the Havest Moon being my favorites of the bunch.
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This is by far one of my fall back beers . . . if nothing else is available I either look for Blue Moon or Sierra Nevada. It is really not all that bad of a beer, especially coming from Coors!
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Thanks guys – It’s a decent choice for sure. @WolfmanK, we did do a review of the Spring ‘Rising Moon’ and I actually had one a few nights ago and it was a good brew too. They use a touch of lime that isn’t overpowering like other lime-flavored beers!
If you want to check out that review, here’s the link…
http://thebrewclub.com/2008/04/24/blue-moon-rising-moon-review/
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Blue Moon was my first wheat beer. I have had many wheats since then and I consider Blue Moon to be pretty darn good. Not overly sweet and no odd aftertaste.
Normally I’m a hop head, but as hot as we’ve had it this June here in the Pacific Northwest, Blue Moon (sans the orange) has been my beer of choice. Otherwise it’s all about the Fish Tale or Immortal IPA (until next week, when I decide something else is better).
Blue Moon is tuns better than Bud or Red Stripe, not even close!!!! Blue Moon takes the gold at the Obama Beer Summit!
Hm. OK thanks for stopping in. I would agree that Blue Moon is better than the Bud Light that the President chose to have at this ‘beer summit’ but can’t say anything about Red Stripe yet. Still, its good to see beer in a positive light.
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I just started to love Blue Moon. Add a fresh orange peel from the market and man is it tasty. One other really amazing combo is Blue Moon mixed with guinness beer – If order it at a bar ask for a black and blue.
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Black and Blue… I’m almost tempted to try it!
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My favorite beer…and love Black & Blue’s!!!! I got my boyfriend into drinking Blue Moon and now we both love to grab a six pack and chill.
I was genuinely surprised at how good this was. I’ve not been a big fan of American brewed Belgian style wheats, so I didn’t think this one would be much better than the average. But, it is really good. The orange does come through a bit strong at times, particularly as the temperature goes up. But, for what it is, it’s pretty good. I rate it just below Sam Adams’ Blackberry Witbier, which is so far my favorite American witbier.
Thanks Eric. I’ve been tempted to try the Sam Adams Blackberry Wit, but I’ve had more bad experiences than good with the berry-flavored beers, so I’ve always held off on trying it. Maybe I’ll grab a single next time just to see what its about.
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Blue moon is one good beer One of my favorites i don’t like Budweiser or coors i like Heineken and corona i don’t know its my taste
Hey Jim, thanks for stopping in. The cool thing about beer is that everybody has their favorites! I think Blue Moon is a decent beer as well!
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I believe this is the best brew I have enjoyed in a long time! All the above are pale endorsements! My ex brewed beer for years, adding extra hops, grains, sugars, etc. so one learns discernment. We also enjoyed many Canadian, European, and Mexican brewskys, this beverage is above average on many levels. I consider myself a connoisseur of adult beverages and this one is SUPERB! I had not had a beer in a long time and this treat was a real delight to indulge in, now to find a six-pack for the frig! I have enjoyed Heineken, Guinness, Corona, “Blue” from Canada, etc. this one ranks up there with the best.
I saw it on the menu board at the local Pub in Ponce Inlet at the local Lighthouse Restaurant and gave it a try; yum! it was perfect with my Burger and Onion rings!
Trudy
Superb Brew!
Trudy, glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing!
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First came across this beer whilst in Florida,at first I was abit doubtful about it, thank goodness I and my family tried this beer.
Every day we enjoyed a few beers whilst on holiday .
Where can you buy this beer in England
Excellent beer, cannot find this beer in the North of England
@Roger it’s becoming widely available in the UK, Sainsbury’s have it in bottles and it’s becoming widely available on draught.
I suspect that Molson/Coors are positioning it to try and grab a piece of the draught wheat beer market.
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Loves Savannah, and the Blue Moon was one of our favorites the last time, but in
Oct, 2010 the hostess refused to seat us because we were going to have a beer, and it was about 7:30 PM and many tables were available behind the bar.
Guess we won’t go there again! Tony Roma’s was happy to have our business.
So it goes.
I have loved this brew since I first tried it 4 years ago and it keeps getting better!
At last I have found a pub that sells Blue Moon.
It`s called the Valley in Scarborough,my eldest daughter and her fiance go quite often and have acouple of pints they decline the orange.
My self I have not yet been to the pub, but I was lucky enough to have twenty four bottles delivered as a Christmas gift which Ienjoyed.
Hi Roger, thanks for stopping by (as Scott would say). As I suspected Molson/Coors are starting to push Blue Moon here in the UK and I’ve found several bars in the City of London that are serving it.
I enjoy it, but would still go for the Grolsch or Weihenstephaner at home.
Thanks for your reply Bob Icame across Weihenstephaner by chance one night when returning home from Leeds,my wife and I had some Sainsbury vouchers to spend so we call at the store in York and tried this beer to see if it was as good as Blue Moon, we were very impressed with it.
We went again about Christmas and bought some more (cleared the shelf of the last thirty bottles only two left at the moment.
Normally when at home I used to drink Fuller Smith`s beers like 1845,6.3% but cannot get it at Morrisons now.
So it`s usually Grolsh,Tuborg and Weihenstephaner.
ah think it”s a fine tastin” brew..look forward to findin” on tap and tryin” one of them black & blooes…!
Miler lite cap on blue moon
I would like to say Blue Moon is my first wheat beer … It’s not bad, has a surprise taste to it. I never had it with an orange peel. Will have to try..
Hop. that’s great! Check out other similar beers, its a great style! I don’t care for the orange thing, but try it anyway!
http://thebrewclub.com/category/wheat-beers/
where can it be bought in sheffield area except tesco…would like to buy in bulk if i can
Not sure @Mick, it’s a while since I bulk bought beer in Sheffield, but there used to be a good beer warehouse at the Chesterfield end of the Hasland bypass out to the M1. Might be worth a look.
tried it once, really liked it. I have one bottle that has the lable upside down
@Ruben – LOL! I wonder if its worth anything? (Doubt it) ;-p