Sunday, May 4, 2008

Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale





This week's Sunday Night Suds features one of my all time favorite beers - the Blue Moon Brewing Company's Summer offering known as Honey Moon Summer Ale.

As you may know, Blue Moon (a division of Coors) produces a Wheat Beer that they brew all year long called Blue Moon. It is an American Wheat and is cloudy in color and slightly sweet to the taste. They occasionally market it as best enjoyed with an orange, but the combination of the two has never really hit it for me. Blue Moon itself is a great beer, I specifically went looking for it in Chicago after Pesach 2007, so that I would be sure to really enjoy that first beer after Pesach.

In addition to the standard bearer, Blue Moon also brews a different seasonal beer - Winter Moon (reviewed by Kosher Beers here on Sunday March 2, 2008) ; Spring Moon (brewed with Lime); Honey Moon (brewed with a taste of honey and orange peel) and Harvest Moon (brewed with pumpkin and spice).

Last Summer I came across this beer by accident, I actually can't remember where I first tried it. When I had my first sip I immediately thought of my wife Sarah's carrot kugel muffins but fused with beer - mayein olah habah. I told myself that I would save a bottle to drink with the muffin to see if the flavors were as complimentary as I thought them to be. Of course, I finished the six pack during the week and needed to get another before I could try the combo. Needless to say, it was enjoyable finishing the beer with and without the muffins (although they did go quite well together).

My problem became that I got into this seasonal too late in the game. By mid-July I could not find any more left in my area. I kicked myself for getting on line at a Walmart in Norwich, New York at 11:45 Pm on a Saturday Night. By the time I got to the register at 12:05 AM the cashier would not sell me the beer under New York's blue laws, despite my protestations that I had gotten on line on Saturday Night and that it was not my fault that the line moved so slowly.

I did luck into finding a case on erev Sukkos at Binny's in Skokie, Illnois. I bought three sixers because I figured that since my father in law is a straight Heineken man, we would finish one six and I could bring the other two home in my luggage. Well, even though my in-laws are all Heineken drinkers, they still went through two sixers over three days of Yom Tov in the Sukkah. I still got to bring one six pack home, but it did not last very long.

Honey Moon is a wheat beer with some of the usual characteristics including the cloudiness that is normally associated with wheat beer and the flavor of the wheat. There also is a nice sweetness to the brew that is hinted at with the first sip and in the aftertaste, without beating you over the head like alcopop (see Smirnoff Twisted V) or even some other flavored beer. If you live anywhere outside of New York, pick some up and try it. If you live within thirty miles of my home, go try something else, I'm already stocking up.

Honey Moon (like all Coors products that I am aware of) is under the Kosher Supervision of the Orthodox Union. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Honey Moon, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/36692 .

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

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