What Does Blue Moon Taste Like? (Recipe, Flavors, And Tasting Notes)

Blue Moon Belgian White is also referred to as just Blue Moon. This is one of the most popular beers in all of America. It is seen in liquor stores and on tap all over the US.

It is loved for its wheat flavor and subtle citrus flavors and sweetness. There is just a slight hint of spice at the end due to the coriander which is used during the brewing process.

Blue Moon has a creamy body thanks to the oats, which makes this such a light beer to drink.

Keep reading to discover more about the flavor, ingredients, history, and recipe of Blue Moon.

All About Blue Moon

Flavors And Tasting Notes Of Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat

Blue Moon was created by Keith Villa to be the perfect beer that you want to be drinking during a hot summer’s day while watching baseball.

Therefore, he designed this beer to be more approachable and slightly sweeter than a lot of the traditional Belgian Wit biers.

This was also to help to appeal to the sweeter American taste.

Immediately, Blue Moon was a hit and the legacy of Blue Moon has begun.

The Taste

Blue Moon has its own flavor characteristic, but ultimately is seen as a classic wheat beer. The wheat flavor is balanced out with a juicy, yet fresh hint of spice.

This spice flavor is more of an after-taste.

There is a sweetness to this wheat beer that Americans love. This sweetness is only mild due to the natural sweetness provided by the ingredients used to create this beer.

Alongside that, the volume of oats that are used in this recipe, provide this beer with a creamy taste that compliments the citrus notes and wheat flavor.

The creaminess is also what gives body to the body and helps with the sweetness as well.

Flavor Profile Of Blue Moon With Orange

When you order a Blue Moon in a bar or restaurant, you will notice that it is served with a piece of orange.

This wedge or slice of fresh orange is always seen on the rim of the glass and really compliments the beer itself.

The reason Blue Moon is served with an orange slice garnish, is because the orange helps to enhance the citrus and fruity notes of the beer.

Without the slice of orange, you will still be able to find hints of the citrus flavors.

However, with a wedge of orange that is squeezed into the beer, this helps the citrus flavors to stand out even more and become much more noticeable.

Orange isn’t for everyone. You can still help enhance the citrus flavors by adding a slice of lemon instead.

Adding some orange or lemon to your beer is a tradition used on many European beers, including the Blue Moon.

Aroma

Blue Moon has a really pleasant balance of citrus notes and wheat. There can sometimes be the slight aroma of coriander as well.

Then, if the beer is garnished with a slice of orange or lemon, the fruit adds to the pleasant fruity aroma.

Appearance

The appearance of a Blue Moon is very different when compared to a lot of other popular beers in America. It has a cloudy appearance, which is quite common for these types of beers.

There is also a slight orange color in the beer, as this is due to the orange peel that is found in the recipe.

This is a naturally unfiltered beer which is a medium to thick head due to the creaminess of the bear.

However, the head will disappear quite quickly. As a result, there is no to minimal acting as there is very little head retention.

Mouthfeel

Blue Moon isn’t seen as a light beer, but it does feel quite light in your mouth.

There is also a cream-like feel to the beer, which is very common for Belgian wheat beers. However, this creaminess also adds a smoothness to the feel.

All of these help to make beer feel full, but not heavy. Therefore, the ideal beer to drink on a hot summer’s day.

Blue Moon Ingredients And Recipe

Blue Moon is known to be brewed by Miller Coors. However, the actual recipe that they use is a trade secret.

What I do know is that Blue Moon is defined by a couple of key ingredients.

These include:

• Oats,
• Coriander,
• Wheat,
• Orange Peel

For years, a lot of home brewers have been trying to reproduce Blue Moon at home.

The majority of recipes are quite simple, with large amounts of oats and wheat with coriander and orange peel.

There are extract and all-grain recipes available to use. Our recipe is an all-grain version.

Ingredients

• Wyeast 1056: American Ale Yeast
• 4.5 pounds of White Wheat Malt
• 5.5 pounds of Two-Row Brewers Malt
• 1 pounds of Flaked Oats
• 3 ounces of Sweet Valencia orange peel
• 5 ounces of corn sugar for priming
• 0.6 ounces of Hallertau hops
• 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground coriander

Method

• Step 1: Prepare the 2 liter yeast starter.
• Step 2: Using 1.5 qts of water for every pound of grain, mash at 154 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Step 3: Sprinkle with water to collect around 7.5 gallons of wort.
• Step 4: Add your hops and boil for an hour.
• Step 5: For the last 10 minutes, add your coriander and orange peel.
• Step 6: Chill the yeast starter and wort. Then ferment for 7 days at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, transfer to a secondary for another 2 weeks.
• Step 7: With priming sugar, bottle the beer and then condition for the final 2 weeks.

Style Of Blue Moon

The co-founder of Blue Moon, Keith Villa, is said to have been inspired when he was getting his PhD in brewing.

He was studying in Belgium, and it is common for bartenders to garnish a wheat beer with a slice of lemon.

Thus, Blue Moon is often seen as a Belgian style wheat beer which is garnished with a slice of orange, that is his own take on the twist of lemon.

However, Blue Moon is much sweeter than most Belgian wheat beers, which is why Americans enjoy it so much.

ABV And Blue Moon

Blue Moon was created to be the ideal beer that you can drink on a hot summer’s day, but is often drunk at a long dinner or on a Sunday afternoon.

This is a very sippable drink that has an ABV of 5.4%.

With only 9 IBUs, this beer has very little bitterness, and you can’t really taste much of the hops either.

Nutritional Value And Calories In Blue Moon

When it comes to the nutritional value and calories in Blue Moon, a 12 ounce bottle or can contain 170 calories. There are also around 14g of carbs.

As a result, Blue Moon has similar nutritional values to the majority of other beers, as it isn’t very light. Thus, it is great to be drunk now and then.

Best Way To Drink Blue Moon For Optimal Flavor

As we have established, you can drink Blue Moon almost anywhere and at any time. However, to get the most flavor out of this beer you want to think about the type of glass, temperature and garnish with this beer.

Garnish

When you order a Blue Moon, you will see that it is garnished with slices of orange. This slice of orange helps to boost the citrus flavors that are already present in the Blue Moon beer.

Also, this boost of citrus is really pleasing on a hot day or when this beer is drunk with a really salty dish. You don’t have to serve this beer with a slice of orange.

However, if you want to get the most out of the flavor profile, then you may want to consider some kind of fruit garnish with this beer.

Temperature

We would recommend that you serve your Blue Moon when it is cold. Ideally, it should be stored at temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is because when you open the beer, it will naturally begin to warm up. However, you want to start with the beer as cold as you can.

Draft, Bottle Or Can?

Everyone has their own idea whether a can, draft or bottled beer is the best way to enjoy a beer.

Draft Blue Moon is known to be absolutely delicious, but there are the options to enjoy this beer as a bottle or a can as well.

All the versions taste great and will give you the same enjoyment.

Although, it has to be said that draft Blue Moon tastes a lot fresher. This is because it has been exposed to much less oxidation and light.

However, the quality of the draft beer will depend on the cleaning and care of the tap system.

Type Of Glass

To get the best flavor out of your blue moon, you should serve it in a pilsner glass.

This is due to the shape of this glass. It is quite narrow and tall, but the top of the glass is slightly wider than the bottom of the glass.

This allows for the armies of the beer and the garnish to enhance and open up the flavor profile of the beer.

Also, like with a lot of beers, by pouring this beer into a glass you are improving the drinking experience.

This is because pouring the beer into a glass allows the aromas and flavors of the Blue Moon to breathe and open up. A bit of a head may develop, however, it will disappear very quickly.

Types Of Food To Pair With A Blue Moon

Blue Moon is a very versatile beer that you can pair with a wide range of dishes and foods.

However, as it does have a slightly delicate flavor, be careful not to pair this beer with foods that will overpower the beer.

Below are some dishes you may want to consider pairing the Blue Moon beer with.

Seafood: As Blue Moon has slight notes of spice, this works really well with seafood. Shrimp and clam dishes work really well with Blue Moon.

• Vegetarian Dishes: Blue Moon is a very fruity beer, and fruit and vegetables work so well together.
• Spicy Or Asian Dishes: Pad Thai curry is one of the Asian dishes that goes really well with a Blue Moon beer. This is because the spice from the chilies work well with the cooling nature of the citrus and cold beer. Even dishes like sesame peanut noodles and Blue Moon work great together, because the nutty flavors paired with Blue Moon’s fruit notes work well.

Blue Moon is seen as a refreshing accompaniment when paired with quite spicy food.

Conclusion

Blue Moon is a very popular beer that was created as the ideal beer to drink on a hot summer’s afternoon.

Filled with lots of citrus hots, this smooth beer has a complex yet enjoyable flavor profile.

We hope you now understand what the Blue Moon tastes like and how you could try to brew it yourself at home.

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Andrew Carr

Hi, I’m Andrew Carr and I find beer fascinating. Not just drinking it (although that is a plus!) but everything about it. There is so much to learn - the fermenting process, the best glasses for each type, recipes to make at home… The list goes on!

I have been making my own beer for almost a decade now and I pride myself on my home setup. I’ve made sours, pale IPAs, stouts - you name it, I’ve probably made it in the comfort of my own home.

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