Blue Moon Grand Cru

Brewed By: Coors Brewing Company (MillerCoors) in Golden, Colorado

Purchased: Over-priced bomber (25.4oz/750ml/1 pint, 9.4oz) from Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Witbier/Belgian Strong Ale, 8.2%

I debated reviewing this beer for Shitty Beer Tuesday, but I am going to show some restraint and maturity. Recently, the major beer giants have seen declining sales as a result of an increasing craft beer industry. As a result, companies like Coors and Anheuser-Busch are increasing their "craft arm." Blue Moon is of course owned by MillerCoors, but you might think it is just another craft beer company without doing any research. The bottle states the beer is owned by the "Blue Moon Brewing Company." 

If you go to the Blue Moon website you can learn absolutely nothing. According to the website, Blue Moon was first brewed at a sandlot in Denver Colorado back in 1995. They made a movie about a sandlot, and it was a lot cooler than Coors.

Wikipedia airs out some of the dirty laundry. Blue Moon was originally called Bellyslide Belgian White, and was created by Keith Villa, a brewer at Coors. It's no wonder the name did not stick. In Canada, the beer is marketed as Rickard's White. I'm not sure what the significance of that is; blame Canada. Anyway, Coors does not advertise the fact that Blue Moon is owned by Coors, so as not to alienate people who dislike Coors. So the only "craft" in Blue Moon comes from Coors' crafty advertising.  

Today's beer cost me 9 dollars. I've heard reports that this beer goes up to 11 dollars a bottle. That is a lot of moola to part with for a Coors-owned beer. It is not uncommon to see a bomber of high-alcohol beer sell for these prices. A bomber of Duvel will run you 9 or 10 bucks. I wonder how much price is influenced by the alcohol laws, or by Coors themselves. Ratebeer has categorized this beer as a Belgian Strong Ale. BeerAdvocate is describing this beer as a Witbier. The BJCP recognizes Blue Moon's Belgian White as a Witbier. (The BJCP formerly recognized Blue Moon as a stylistic example of a Wit, but no longer does; this is sort of tangential for me to bring up anyway, as this beer is not Blue Moon). The bottle of the Grand Cru states that this beer is a "bolder, more robust expression of our classic Belgian White Belgian-Style Wheat Ale." So basically, this is a supped up version of the Blue Moon Belgian White. The bottle says this will have familiar flavors like orange peel, coriander, wheat, oats, and barley malts. This is a bottle conditioned beer and uses fancy "brewer yeast." I'm ready to try this fancy version of the Blue Moon. Let's see if the price or hype is worth it.

The pour on this beer is pretty disappointing. There is some smoke when you pop the bottle, and there is a lot of carbonation with the pour. But for a wheat beer or a beer loaded with Belgian yeast, there is very little head or head retention on this beer. I got about 2-fingers worth of white head that quickly dissolved into nothing. What you're left with is a murky, pale, orange-yellow liquid that looks quite a bit like the standard Blue Moon Belgian White. There is a lot of carbonation, but no lacing or head. 

Blue Moon Grand Cru

The aroma on this is quite reminiscent of Blue Moon's Belgian White. This review is timely, because while out to eat last night I ordered Blue Moon Belgian White. There is a lot of grainy orange on the nose: waves of candied orange, regular orange, and that Fresca soda orange. You get hints of coriander, grass and lemon. I'm also smelling a fuck-ton of the trademark "Fruity Pebbles" smell you get off of Blue Moon. I'm also picking up hints of metallic astringency, and some alcohol. 

This tastes a lot like Blue Moon Belgian White, with an additional alcohol-grain punch in the middle and back. This has a strange body, with the bulk of flavor coming from the middle. The front is flat carbonation, Fruity Pebbles, orange. I'm tasting Fruity Pebbles, white sugar, grain, orange Fresca, metallic astringency, lemon and grass, wheat, and jagged and vicious booziness.

The mouthfeel and palate depth are a disaster for this beer. The carbonation is flat and off, and the palate depth is concentrated around the middle palate with a strange drop off. The finish is very dry and vicious. And, in fact, the whole mouthfeel goes from flat carbonation, to a wonky and vicious middle, to that viscous boozy finish. This is unrefined and off. The front is wheat, white sugar, Fruity Pebbles, flirtations with vanilla; the middle is overpowering, vicious, orange, cereal, metallic astringency; the back is grain, vicious alcohol. Not complex, not enjoyable.

Rating: Sewage (WTF did I just drink?)

Score: 20%

Seriously, fuck this beer. There is something way off with this beer. From the carbonation which is completely wrong for a Witbier or Belgian Ale, to the absolutely vicious and uneven body of the beer. This beer tastes exactly like the Blue Moon Belgian White, only with vicious alcohol, unrefined carbonation, and metallic astringency. Bleh. 

I cannot believe this beer commands a price of 9 to 11 dollars a bottle. Grand Cru my ass. Considering how much this beer tastes like regular Blue Moon, you are better off using your 9 dollars to buy a six-pack of Blue Moon Belgian White. I actually like the Blue Moon Belgian White quite a bit, and I enjoy the Blue Moon seasonal offerings. The Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin and Winter Abbey Ale are both nice beers. Maybe Blue Moon should stick to standard ales and stay away from fancy Belgian styles.

I'm really disappointed with this beer. I was actually expecting something worthy or elevated considering the huge price this commands. Do yourself a favor and stick with the regular Blue Moon Belgian White, or branch out and buy something like Duvel.