Blue Moon Full Moon Winter Ale

Brewed by Coors Brewing Company (MillerCoors)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Golden, Colorado USA

Bottle - lol this was a dubbel? It was ok, but I thought it was just supposed to be some weird ale. Interesting to see what coors’ take was on it. The brown sugar was nice. I guess better than regular coors.

12 oz. bottle - $1.29 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia. As it is not yet March 08, 2009, I’ll assume that’s a ’best by’ date. Appearance: Pours a clear, dark, reddish-brown body with a medium-sized, off-white head. Smell: Faintly sugary, ever so roasted, nut-strewn malt nose with some fruit notes and, like the taste, some odd, distant metallic twang. Taste: Lightly roasty, lightly nutty malts with a meager dose of dark Belgian candi sugar for sweetness. A bit of apricot and apple fruitiness. Hint of yeast. There’s a curious, though light metallic kick coursing through this beer -- like smuggling out a rare coin in your mouth. Crisp, lightly roasty finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-thin. Medium-plus carbonation. Drinkability: It’s no dubbel, that’s for damn sure, but I guess you gotta shove it somewhere. However, it did pair well with the flick It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It does have that going for it.

Ok beer. Good for what it is. The appearance is a reddish brown, decent off-white head. Aroma was light, mainly malts and some molasses. The flavor was somewhat true to the style, with a sweetness imparted from candy sugar, malts, spices. Sweet finish tempered by a small amount of hops. Not bad. More a session beer than a true abbey dubbel in the tradition of ommegang and others.

This was...not a very good beer. Amber color, fizzy head. Five years ago I would have enjoyed this beer, but now it’s below-average.

Amber orange color with a average head. Sweet and malty but weak in taste and alcohol for an style. I love Belgian styles and this leaves me very much wanting something else.

bottle best before March 8, 2009. Pours a dark brown with a fizzy head. The aroma is kind of like cola with hints at figs and a blatant barley scent. The flavor is reasonable with a modicum of spice, a cola-like feel, and a fig finish. Not bad really.

Draught: This one poured a somewhat reddish-brown color. It was also fairly clear. Unfortunately, it was poured into a heavily frozen/frosted mug, so I can’t judge or lacing. The aroma was a bit light. Some sweet malts and spices. The taste was a little light. It was a little tasty, and certainly not offensive to anyone. Some sweet caramel malt and spices. Not bad, but it is a dumb-downed dubbel.

Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days before I was a beer snob when I would have thought this was a phenomenal brew. However, now my opinion is that it’s decent overall, but has a little too much of a (beer snob alert!) macro character. Pours a medium brown with a small white head. Aroma is sweet malt and some winter spices. Flavor is roasted malt, nuts, and spices. Fairly subdued. Medium on the palate. Not bad overall, but calling this a "dubbel" is a stretch.