About this beer: Boulevard is a regional craft brewery located in Kansas City, Missouri. They were virtually unknown to me until this year’s American Craft Beer Fest. I didn’t get a chance to try the quad and was incredibly excited to get my hands on it. It clocks in at a healthy 10.5% ABV and is supposed to have hints of dates with a “sweet malt smell.”
Beer of the Week: Boulevard Sixth Glass Quadrupel
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011Beer of The Week: White Birch Brewing Tripel
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
About The Beer: White Birch Brewing based out of Hooksett, NH is a small batch brewery concentrating on small batch beer. Their tripel is easily one of my favorites in the market. Tripels are a curious beer, high abv (White Birch’s clocks in at around 9.5%) without a huge alcohol bite it lends to aging nicely as well.
Beer of the Week: Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
About The Beer: This brew from the famed Stone Brewery takes their classic IPA and mixes it up by brewing it with Belgian yeast rather than the typical American strain. The result is a hybrid IPA that draws in equal parts of old Belgian tradition and new American experimentation.
Beer of The Week: Bosteels Pauwel Kwak
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
About The Beer: Kwak is a classic Belgian beer best known for the unusual teardrop shaped glass it’s often served in. Although actually named after its inventor there’s an old story of the name coming from the sound of the beer rushing down the long stem of the glass. There was a time when all Belgian breweries created unique glassware for their beers. This was done for marketing purposes but also to ensure that the brew was showcased in a manner that highlighted its strengths.
Style Profile: Trappist Ale
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Although beer making is mostly done commercially today, there was a time when it was a strictly domestic affair. Almost every sizable household brewed its own beer. Back then beer wasn’t consumed out of pleasure but necessity; it was much cleaner and safer to drink than water so everyone drank it, including monks.
Blue Moon: The Most Controversial Beer in America?
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Since its introduction in 1995 Blue Moon Belgian White has steadily grown in popularity, becoming one of the most popular Belgian style beers in America. Despite its popularity the beer also has many detractors who are weary of its corporate ownership and misleading labels.
Many don’t realize that although it says “Blue Moon Brewing Company” on the label, Blue Moon is actually made by Molson Coors, one of the biggest beer companies in the world. Because of this there are many in the craft beer community who are apprehensive about the beer’s popularity. They see it as an attempt by corporate America to infiltrate the craft beer scene under false pretenses and steal the profits from small, independently owned breweries. They fear that big beer corporations like Molson Coors might one day even be able to drive these small craft breweries out of business thanks to their size and strength from a business stand point, forever damaging the craft beer scene.
At the same time there are many who see the surprising popularity of Blue Moon as nothing but a good thing. Thanks to the massive reach and distribution channels of Molson Coors, Blue Moon is available throughout the US and has introduced countless casual beer drinkers to a Belgian style beer who might otherwise have never tried anything but light lagers like Coors and Budweiser. As a result many more are taking an interest in quality craft beer, helping the craft beer movement a great deal. These folks argue that a beer should be judged on taste, not who brews it, and to do otherwise is nothing but petty snobbery.
Personally I have mixed feelings on the beer. While I too am suspicious of a big corporation like Molson Coors, there is no question it has helped spark an interest in craft beer among many who previously couldn’t have cared less. When people new to craft beer ask me to recommend something for them the number one comment I hear is “I like Blue Moon, what else should I drink?” I usually tell these folks to give other Belgian whites a try. Hoegaarden is perhaps the second most popular in the US of this style. While the Hoegaarden Brewery has been around since the 15th century, it’s currently owned by Anheisher-Busch, which makes it similar to Blue Moon’s current ownership status. Hoegaarden’s corporate ties aren’t as well known as the Coors/Blue Moon connection so it tends to elicit less of a reaction among craft beer enthusiasts.
There are however some great craft wits out there, including the Ommegang Witte, Allagash White and Blanche De Chambly from Unibroue.
What do you think of Blue Moon? Has it helped or hurt the craft beer movement? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter.
