Ding Points: 70.00

Pour: 70.00, Nose: 70.00, Palate: 70.00, Mouth: 70.00, Global: 70.00

Tasting Notes:

Yes, I am fully aware of what this is (and what it is not), but I’ll try anything once, and to be honest the description of this beer sounds like it might be something that I would (potentially) enjoy. I’ve heard some morons calling this a ‘Bine’, as in Wine/Beer – jeez.

Blue Moon, Proximity

750 mL bottle in a style that actually looks like it’s a 650 ml offering, with textured, vinyl-like labels front and back. The labels are interesting, and obviously very expensive packaging compared to most others, and no doubt add significantly to the cost. There is a plastic, ‘foil’ neck, and the beer is capped.

The ‘foil’ has the ‘Vintage Ale Collection’ logo of The Blue Moon Brewing Company. As expected, the packaging is stylish – the big boys have lavish marketing budgets. Dot-matrixed on the bottle is a bottling/freshness code: OCT2113, B10611635 – whatever that means.

Proximity in the glass

The rear label tells us that the ‘brewmaster’ was inspired by his love of winemaking, and that the name is derived from the way impressionist painters place colors side by side to ‘portray light radiating across landscape’. Ooooookkkkaaaayyyyy……

Pour offers very little sustainable head, no lace and a quite a pale, almost white gold colored body. Nose has some alcohol amongst the vinous character.

Label

The tastes definitely have a strong vinous element. It’s quite clean, and the beer has an interesting combination of sweet and dry character that meld together nicely. There’s some alcohol, but it seems quite in keeping, and it is not overpowering – not exactly subtle, but not too much, either.

Rear label

Strong grape elements initially, but strangely, over time, it seems to get a little more bland. Odd. However, the grapes DO take the edge off the alcohol, and induce a certain crispness. Some green apple elements, perhaps a hint of mint but altogether a wine-based flavor profile that works OK. It tires a touch on the palate at the end.

Look, this isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and I think that you have to be predisposed to a white wine based beer, but if you are, and you can put the Blue Moon angle to one side, then I think that you may enjoy. A step forward for the big boys (FWIW).

Other: American Pale Wheat Ale, 8.5% ABV.