Blue Moon
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with orange peel and a faint coriander spice, backed by a soft, bready wheat base. On the palate it's mildly sweet with a gentle citrus tang and subtle herbal notes from the spicing. The body is medium-light with a hazy, slightly creamy texture. The finish is short and clean, with the wheat and citrus fading together without much lingering bitterness.
About the Brewery
Blue Moon Brewing Company was founded in 1995 by Keith Villa at the Coors Field ballpark brewery in Denver, Colorado, and is now owned by Molson Coors. The brand is essentially a single-beer phenomenon built around its Belgian-style wheat ale, which became one of the best-selling craft-style beers in the United States. Despite its mass-market distribution and corporate backing, it introduced a large mainstream audience to the witbier style. Their broader lineup of seasonal and specialty offerings has had minimal cultural footprint compared to the flagship.
Food Pairings
The beer's citrus and coriander character works well with fish tacos, where the spice and acid echo the lime and seasoning in the dish. A classic pairing is mussels steamed in white wine, since the wheat and citrus notes complement the briny, delicate shellfish without overwhelming them. A simple roast chicken seasoned with herbs shares the beer's mild herbal warmth. The gentle sweetness also makes it a reasonable match for mild, fresh cheeses like Havarti or young goat cheese, where neither the food nor the beer muscles the other out.
Style Guide
Belgian witbier is a wheat-based ale brewed with unmalted wheat and traditionally spiced with coriander and dried orange peel — a combination that sets it apart from German hefeweizens, which rely on yeast character alone for their fruitiness. The style originated in Belgium, most famously revived by Pierre Celis in Hoegaarden in the 1960s after nearly dying out. It typically falls in the 4.5–5.5% ABV range and pours hazy pale straw due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins. The flavor profile leans toward mild citrus, soft spice, and gentle tartness rather than the banana and clove notes that define its German wheat ale cousins.