Bridge to the Land of Malt and Hops

Once again, I'm not writing this today in order to indoctrinate many of my craft beer brethren into thinking that Blue Moon is the greatest thing in existence even though at an earlier age it was for me. That being said, It's still a rarity to see me go on rants about the big American brewers as some are prone to doing. I've always said that if a brewer makes a good product, I'll give them credit regardless of who they are.

So, when I came across this article mentioning that Blue Moon might have acted as a bridge for some of us as we ventured to other areas of beer I agreed completely. I certainly remember being at the crappy college bar and it being one of the only decent beers on tap. Then upon looking at everyone else's crappy beer I felt a step higher than them. That's because I didn't know that there was even anything other than Blue Moon.

Granted I can't stand the taste of Blue Moon anymore, but what it did was open my eyes to the possibility of getting better beer than the American ultra-light lagers. I'm not saying let's all compile Blue Moon shrines in our bedrooms. For those of us that fall into this category of "crossing that bridge," we need to just mentally acknowledge what Blue Moon did for us.

It doesn't even have to be Blue Moon. Hell, it could have been a different beer for many. Still, the same point can be made. And since we're talking about bridges...

Monday Rant: Blessed With Beer?

I'm a Catholic and certainly a terrible one at that. I've probably gone to mass voluntarily twice in the past calendar year. What brought me to church grounds this past weekend was the annual church festival. There I found myself drinking a beer on the very hillside in which I played games and completed activities when I was in preschool. For me, it was also ironic that I was drinking alcohol on church grounds as someone that's a very stubborn Catholic.

A lot of us craft beer folk wouldn't approve of the small selection that was at this festival. It consisted of Coors Light, George Killian's Irish Red and Blue Moon. It was quite hot on Saturday. So, I decided to pitch in and get a beer. After all I certainly wanted to consume a beer on church property! I decided that a Blue Moon was the  best choice (what an oxymoron) of the three, but the keg was kicked. Thus, I settle for the Irish Red.

While I was sitting on the hillside I naturally thought what would happen if there was a small craft selection available at the church festival. It seemed as if money was being made. One beer was already gone for the night. Then I looked around at the people that were attending this festival. Mostly middle-aged people that lived here in Munhall.

If it came to be one of these years, most of these people are so familiar with the concept of Blue Moon, etc being the new age of beer that they might not have any idea what the more exotic selections would be like. That means less sales. It's a sad thing to think about if you're among us that really enjoy the different brews. Like it or not, that's just reality.

Personally, I've accepted the fact that I might not ever see some of my favorite beers at a church festival. At least the one at my parish. I won't lose sleep over it. Maybe it's one of those "society is broken" kind of things? I can't blame many middle-aged people that see well-done commercials like this Blue Moon one and assume that it's some of the best beer around. Especially if they don't do much outside of their local municipalities.

 

Lorraine, I'm Your Density

Back when I first turned 21-years-old I wasn't fully aware of what was available in terms of beer. At that point in time, great beer was Yuengling Traditional Lager, Guinness etc. I also remember walking into very generic bars and pubs to find mixed beers on special. These "mixed beers" included the likes of what I recall to be a Dark Side of the Moon (a combination of Guinness and Blue Moon) and Black Velvet (a combination of Guinness and hard cider). Still, I can't figure out whether or not Guinness is actually sought after anymore here in the states.

I've noticed this trend has taken a slight foothold in the craft world (Hoegaarden and Lindeman's Frambois), but that depends on whether or not you consider Hoegaarden craft. I've moved away from Guinness slightly, but I'm not in complete dismay if I have to have one. That and Yuengling are still considered to be among those first beer's I've had that ran the thought of amazing beer through my head for the first few times in my life. I'm forever thankful.

With the previous beer mixes I've mentioned, another popular one is shandy. I've had the Leinenkugel Summer Shandy. It's alright, but I'm kind of over it nowadays. That and the fact that a lot of people tend to shun it due to corporate aspects. I had a bottle of it recently (honestly was the best choice of the lot at the time) and had to force it down.

I've read in the past that mixing cider and beer is one of the tastier ways to go. Granted, I'd rather have a straight beer most of the time, but broadening one's horizons never hurt anyone. I'm interested in discovering which ciders go well with some craft beers. Why the hell not? I remember discussing that very subject a few months ago with my friend, Beer Snob Sr. I get the feeling that shandies contrived out of sheer experimentation are simply better than the commercially sold ones. To get back on the subject of Lenenkugel, wasn't its Lemon Berry concoction some form of a shandy? It tasted eerily similar to Robitussin.

Just watch this video from it's YouTube channel. Doesn't the story about the Summer Shandy just turn you off from it? it just doesn't feel that traditional to me. Someone wanted to conserve beer. So, he cut it with lemonade? For the second time this week, maybe I'm just nuts.

Beer Review: Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.2 percent

Appearance: Summer Honey Wheat is a lovely chroma of golden honey. I've never seen any other beer that was meant to resemble honey come anywhere near as close as this one does. The body has a severe unfiltered look to it as you can see just about anything through it. I feared initially that it would taste watered down. The beer's head is bubbly, yet very thin.

Smell: With any beer that features honey, you expect the aroma to be floral and that's exactly what I got with this one. With the floral scent comes the sweetness of the honey and the wheat comes right behind that. Extremely appetizing. I also got the slightest scent of oranges or orange peel.

Taste: I wasn't expecting to have a party on my taste buds like I did when I took a sip of Summer Honey Wheat. I could have sworn that I was drinking honey on a biscuit, in a glass. This beer had a heavenly taste. The sweetness of the honey and the wheatiness of the rest of the body rocked my world.

Overall Rating: 

I've been really hard on Coors/Blue Moon Brewing Co. over the years, but I'm a man that gives credit when it's due. This beer tastes and smelled amazing. The only thing I'd prefer to be different is some extra thickness to the beer's body. I'm used to be disappointed with Blue Moon's seasonal lineups, but this one was a knock out of the park.

The Death of the Blue Moon Phase: Hacker-Pschorr Weisse

Before I referred to myself as a beer snob, my favorite beer was Blue Moon. As this past summer went on, I drifted farther and farther away from my go-to beer. I think I shifted out of that phase because of this beer.