Why Is Everyone So Surprised?
Written: May 17 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cloudy, citrus-smack, crisp, refreshing: just what the witdoktor ordered.
Cons: Just a touch heavy on the citrus; just a touch heavy overall.
The Bottom Line: Plays Well With Others. Good price. Tastes good. Wide appeal. Doesn't mind being reviewed in sentence fragments.
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| beerfly's Full Review: Blue Moon Belgian White 2404b |
Yes, it's made by Coors!
Now that we've got that out of the way,, let's talk about the beer. Blue Moon Belgian-style White (BMBsW), to use its new, Confederation of Belgian Brewers-approved name, is a beer brewed a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Coors company. There was a line of these beers, but I believe they've all died off except for the Belgian-style White. Which is fine by me, I never really liked the others much at all.
The BMBsW, however, is a different story. Much as some people love to hate Coors, this is a very well-made beer, squarely in the character of the Belgian witbier style. It's brewed with bitter orange peel and coriander, it's brewed with unmalted wheat, and it's cloudy. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, of course, so here's the proof.
BMBsW has the lovely light-apricot color typical of witbiers, though it does run a bit darker orange than the classics like Hoegaarden and Blanche de Bruges. It is cloudy with yeast and wheat-sourced protein, a hallmark of the category. The nose is brisk with coriander and a backing of sharp orange zest. A simple, uncomplicated aroma, but that's what I expect.
The first taste is the orange, followed swiftly by the spray of coriander, buoyed by a good base of malt underneath. The whole thing is tempered with the lightness that wheat brings to a beer. The finish cloys just a bit, but is not unpleasant.
Four things conspire to make this a good thirst-quenching summer beer. The citrus adds an evident sharp cut. The wheat, by the nature of how it behaves in the mash, strengthens this sharpness with a slightly acidic touch. The fizzy carbonation puts an edge on the beer. And the coriander cleans up the beer and lends a crisp top dressing overall. The only real complaint I have is that they don't do quite enough; the beer could be lighter and more quenching.
But I don't understand why people are surprised that this is a Coors product. Coors has a brewpub at Coors Field that has been brewing rather adventurous beers for five years or so. They certainly have the brewing skill to produce any kind of beer they would desire. And they have the skills to package it properly and get it to market. I'm not surprised, I'm pleased.
This is a good summer beer. I've grilled with this beer. Just shake a bottle up with your thumb over the opening, lightly spray the beer and foam over grilling chicken just before it's done, then close the lid for a minute. You'll get a lovely aroma and a delicate citrus-coriander flavor on the chicken. I've also used it as a marinade for chicken: put a bottle of BMBsW in a ziploc bag with parsley, dried onion, chives, and two tablespoons of fairly zippy mustard, add chicken and marinate in the fridge for two hours.
It's a great beer to drink with this, too, of course! I really like it with chicken, or as an aperitif, or just for fun, shoot-the-breeze drinking on the back deck with my wife. It's friendly enough that I'd recommend it to anyone.
You'll enjoy it so much, you'll forget it's made by Coors.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beerfly
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Member: Lew Bryson
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 79 members
About Me:
One bourbon, one Scotch, one beer, eh? I'll take Kentucky Spirit, Scapa, and HopDevil.
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