Blue Moon Review
Classy and Delicious with an Orange.
I was visiting a friend at Columbia and he had gone out to get more beer. He called his roommate from the store to ask what kind to get, and someone suggested Blue Moon. “If he’s getting Blue Moon,” I said, “tell him to pick up some oranges.” I explained the tradition of garnishing a bottle of Blue Moon with a slice of an orange and I was almost laughed out of the room. “Dude, we’re not at a restaurant,” said my friend’s roommate. “We’re just drinking beer.”
That’s true, but you’re drinking Blue Moon you should always drink it with a slice of orange. When the beer arrived I sliced up the orange and said, “try it.” Everyone took a slice. “Hey, that’s pretty good!” So to make a long story short: by the end of the night the oranges were gone, and I was no longer the laughingstock of the room.
And definitely the best thing about Blue Moon is that it is “just beer,” but it’s not just beer. It’s not too expensive and it’s very easy to drink a lot of, but it’s also interesting, respectable, and fully worth the trouble of garnishing with an orange.
It’s a “wheat beer” (it’s made with a much higher proportion of wheat than other beers) which gives it a sweet, spicy, kind of citrusy taste. It’s not a beer for big parties or beer pong, but it’s perfect to sit around and drink with friends. It’s also a good after-dinner beer in the summer–never go to an evening barbecue without bringing a few packs of Blue Moon.
And if you’re a hair-of-the-dog person, this is the perfect beer to nurse a hangover. I had one with pancakes after a long night and it went down perfectly–no joke. Blue Moon is a versatile, all-purpose beer. Don’t bolt it trying to get drunk, but keep a six-pack around to break out for your buddies — and if they don’t show up, well, there’s more for you. Slice up an orange, turn on the TV, and appreciate a good beer.
Class Value: 3/5
Party Value: 2/5
Taste Value: 4/5
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Really? Stop posting statements like “It’s a “wheat beer” (it’s made with a much higher proportion of wheat than other beers) which gives it a sweet, spicy, kind of citrusy taste.” because the fact is wheat malt has nothing to do with those tastes. The yeast strain (Belgian Wit) and the coriander and orange peel are where that comes from. Blue moon is an attempt to get domestic swill drinkers to broaden their palate. Before you bashed Hoegaarden you should have done some research. Hoegaarden is the original Belgian wit, the style blue moon is attempting. How can a low rent clone of an original be considered a better beer than the original? I understand the audience you are going for here, but don’t speak as an expert when you clearly are not.
You’re correct that the high proportion of wheat doesn’t actually GIVE Blue Moon its flavor. That comes, as you said, from coriander, orange peel, and a blend of other spices known as “gruut.” However, gruut is used in all witbier, which is the only kind of wheat beer that’s even remotely popular in the United States. If I was writing for a German audience, where hefeweizen (a wheat beer that does not contain gruut) is popular, I might have made the distinction. But then, if I was writing for a German audience, I would also write in German.
As for your question, “How can a low rent clone be considered better than the original?”, the answer is simply because it tastes better.
In modern brewing gruut is a specific ratio of coriander, orange peel/curacoa/bitter orange and hops, not an additional ingredient. What you said would be like telling a chef to add carrots, celery, onion and mirepoix to their stock. Ask any brewer and they will tell you this: yeast is the single most important ingredient in beer, yet you left it out of this conversation completly Gruut is not used in all witbier. The name witbier (white beer) comes simply from the suspended yeast sediment or trub in the bottle giving it a whitish appearance, not as a distinction of a wheat beer with gruut.
You said: “However, gruut is used in all witbier, which is the only kind of wheat beer that’s even remotely popular in the United States.”
Which is not true, I am a brewer in the Denver metro. The most popular beer we produce is a wheat beer, not a witbier.
Have you heard of Boulevard wheat, Sunshine wheat, Paulner Hefeweizen, Easy Street wheat, sierra nevada wheat, 312, Franiskaner or Sam Adams Wheat? I would consider ALL of these “remotely” popular. And furthermore the comment about if you were writing for a German audience, you would write in German, what does that even mean? How did you manage to shift this conversation from Belgian/French to German beer? That was a long stretch for humor. Hefeweizen’s are in fact popular in the U.S., all of the aforementioned beers are within the style guidelines of hefeweizen’s.
Lastly, the comment about it just tasting better: taste is refined with experience and ultimately expertise. If I would have had a St Bernardus ABT 12 or Duvel at 15 years old, I would have hated them. Now, after years of growth and appreciation, they are two of my favorites.
What this all comes down to is you have a forum to offer you opinion on the tastes of beer to the world, not post inaccurate statements that are a reflection of your minimal knowledge of the brewing process itself. We brewers take our beer very seriously, and find it insulting when a person like you over simplifies and inaccurately posts about the process.
Kolby, you’re way to anal about beer man. You sound like some wine snob. I mean, correcting him and everything was great but you’re giving a lecture here. Have a few 312s and calm down
Kolby’s comments are totally killing my buzz
Kolby. You are an overzealous loser. That is all.