Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style

witbier Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German and Belgian ; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a ...

brewed by

Molson Coors Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Mo ...

under the name the Blue Moon Brewing Co. It was launched in 1995, and was originally brewed in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...

Background

Originally called Bellyslide Belgian White, the beer was created by Keith Villa, a

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

at the Sandlot Brewery at

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado (owned by the

Molson Coors Brewing Company Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American multinational drink and brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Molson of Canada, and Coors of the United States. In 2016, ...

), where it is still brewed as of 2024. Blue Moon is also brewed at the

Molson Brewery The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada, which can be sold in the US depending on location and supply from other manufacturing facilities, as well as be exported to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Blue Moon Brewing Co. is an entity of Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of

. The grain bill for Blue Moon includes

malted barley Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar ...

, white

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

and

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...

—and is usually served with a slice of orange, which its

brewmaster A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

s claim accentuates the flavor of the brew. Available in cans, bottles and

keg A keg is a small cask used for storing liquids. Wooden kegs made by a cooper were used to transport nails, gunpowder, and a variety of liquids. Nowadays a keg is normally constructed of stainless steel, although aluminium can be used if it is ...

s, Blue Moon has 5.4%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

. In

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, the alcohol content of all Blue Moon beers bought outside of bars or liquor stores is 3.2% alcohol by weight (approximately 4.0% alcohol by volume). Blue Moon Brews and seasonal brews sold outside of grocery and convenience stores are 5.4% by volume.

Variations of Blue Moon

In addition to their original Belgian White variety, Blue Moon Brewing Company offers Blue Moon Summer Ale, renamed Honey Moon in 2006. Honey Moon contains 5.2% alcohol by volume in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The beer was renamed "Summer Honey Wheat" in 2011, and is still sold under that name. In autumn, Blue Moon markets Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, renamed Harvest Moon in 2007. This variety contains the flavors of pumpkin and other seasonal spices. Harvest Moon is typically available in bottles from mid-September through December. It contains 5.7% alcohol by volume in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The beer was later renamed "Harvest Pumpkin Ale", a name it is still marketed under. Blue Moon offers Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale during the winter season. Its name was changed to Full Moon with the subtitle "Blue Moon Winter Ale" in 2007. It is brewed with natural flavor and a caramel color. Full Moon contains 5.6% alcohol in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The name was changed to "Mountain Abbey Ale" in 2012. In spring, Blue Moon provides Blue Moon Spring Blonde Ale, originally known as Rising Moon. In 2011 the recipe was changed removing the Makrut lime leaves. The new recipe focuses more on orange and lemon peel to add the citrus flavors. In 2013 the beer was changed to "Valencia Grove Amber", an amber ale brewed with Valencia orange peel, roasted malts and a touch of wheat. It addition to its seasonal brews, Blue Moon released a

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at th ...

called Pale Moon in 2008, with filings commenced to create a Pale Moon Light. Pale Moon is now marketed as "Rounder". Blue Moon released a revamped and renamed set of seasonal beers starting with the Winter Abbey Ale, in 2010. In Canada, Blue Moon was introduced in 2015 as "Belgian Moon", with packaging very similar to the Blue Moon labeling found in the United States. The name was changed to Blue Moon in 2022.

Controversies

Craft beer

In 2012, Blue Moon came under fire from the

Brewers Association The Brewers Association is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing. Two of th ...

for not stating on the bottle that the beer is made by MillerCoors. The Brewers Association says that this omission allows the Blue Moon Brewing Company to masquerade as an independent craft brewer. Some other independent craft brewers agreed with the assessment. In May 2015, a California man filed suit against MillerCoors for the "Craft Beer" labeling; however, the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in October.

Naming

In 1999, the Confédération des Brasseries de Belgique (The Confederation of Belgian Breweries) sued the then-named Coors Brewing Company over its use of the term "Belgian White". The CBB alleged Coors' advertising was misleading, and could confuse American consumers into believing Blue Moon was made in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Coors at first responded by adding "Made in USA" and "Belgian-style" in small print to the bottle labels, but refused to change its advertising or packaging. Coors eventually settled out of court with the CBB, agreeing to change the labeling to "Belgian-style Wheat Ale". Additionally, the CBB distributes the beer to conglomerates in European countries. The New Belgium Brewery, which makes Fat Tire Amber Ale, also complied with the CBB's request for name changes.Belgian brewers sue Coors
Realbeer.com, November 19, 1999

Awards

* 1995 World Beer Championship gold medalist, White Beer category * 1996 World Beer Championship silver medalist, White Beer category * 1997 World Beer Championship silver medalist, White Beer category * 2008 World Beer Cup gold medalist, Specialty Honey Lager or Ale category for Blue Moon's Honey Moon * 2008 World Beer Cup silver medalist, Fruit and Vegetable Beer category for Chardonnay Blonde * 2008 World Beer Cup Champion Brewery - Large Brewing Company *2012 World Beer Cup silver medalist - Blue Moon Vintage Blonde Ale, Fruit Wheat Beer Category *2016 World Beer Cup silver medalist - First Peach Ale, Fruit Wheat Beer Category

References

External links

Blue Moon Brewing Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Moon (Beer) Molson Coors brands Products introduced in 1995 American beer brands