Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale - Honeymoon Isn’t Quite Over, But On It’s Way
Written: Jun 01 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nice complex flavor for a light-bodied beer
Cons: it's from Coors, won't hold it's own with heavier foods
The Bottom Line: Not a bad summer beer, and I wouldn't turn one down, but I don't see me seeking it out to buy. It's just not that special.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale |
Okay, now that I got over my shock of learning this beer is actually brewed by the Coors Brewing Company (who’s beers I have sworn off forever due to political reasons), I can give this beer a fair review. Like many of the mega-breweries, Coors found its market share being cut into by the rise of small, independent breweries and craft brews. To combat this, Coors, along with many of the other big-name breweries, launched product lines with less auspicious names. The label often makes it seem like they are brewed by a smaller brewery, until you get to some of the smaller letters on the label. Well, it worked on me!
Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale is a light-bodied beer designed for the summer months. It’s brewed with clover honey, orange peel, pale malt and malted white wheat to give it a different flavor than many other brews while keeping with the light-body traditional for the hotter days of summertime.
The pour of Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale is nice as the hue is a beautiful golden brown in color, comparable to honey. The off-white head foams up quite a bit, but doesn’t go away fast. The faster a head dissipates, the more I usually believe the beer is infused with carbonation which is something I don’t like.
The aroma is sweet but not overbearing. I detected hints of fresh-cut grass and sweetness; possibly lemony with a touch of honey.
The first taste was tentative, and I was surprised. Unlike many other lighter-brewed beers in the summer, it had a decent flavor to it. I could definitely taste the honey and orange, but there were also hints of caramel and grain as well. There was no bitterness from hops to be found, so it went down fairly smooth without the usual final kick from the hops. The carbonation level was medium and didn’t have an artificial feel to it. I definitely tasted more citrus-like sweetness in the finish, leaning more toward the orange. It was a bit dry as well in the finish, but didn’t leave behind any real after-taste.
This is a good beer for the lighter fare of summer, going well with salads and a burger, hot dogs, or drumsticks. It would be great for a picnic. One afternoon I cracked one open with chips and one of the heavier creamy salsa dips, and the two just didn't go well at all. I could never see it standing up beside some of the heavier fare like stews and thick spicy soups I serve in the winter, but the lazy hazy days of summer are what it is designed for.
Overall, Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale is in league with what I expect from a beer from the Coors Brewing Company. Their beers normally seem on the light side to begin with, so something that’s a light-bodied beer is expected from them. It’s a great beer for just about anyone. It’s something I could have that wouldn’t intimidate those who usually down the mass-produced beers and don’t often try the craft brews. My personal opinion is that I’d rather pick up a Sam Adams Boston Lager any day of the week, but this wasn’t bad. Obviously, some people do care for it quite a bit as it won a gold medal in the Specialty Honey Lager or Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival 2006. Others in my household had no problems helping themselves to some of my bottles and did pronounce it “not bad” as well.
Personally, I don't believe I will be picking up another pack of it for a variety of reasons. The main one being that I can think of a lot of other beers that I can work up some enthusiasm for that don't come from the Coors Brewing Company.
© 2007 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
Price per six-pack ($US): $7.99
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AliventiAsylum
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
Reviews written: 1982
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