Blue Moon White IPA

People encounter Blue Moon and think of just one kind of beer. I have encountered many different versions, and they range pretty wildly. Naming this one White IPA instead of the Belgian White that most people think of when they think of Blue Moon likely leads to no end of confusion, and they may want to re-think their marketing strategy.

The hazy straw-colored beer has a fairly sticky and patchy head that lets the aroma of hops right on through. I'm not sure what makes this a "white" IPA as opposed to another style or color, but it gives the impression of pretty much being exactly what I expect an IPA to be.

First sip is a fairly nice IPA. It has hops all front and center, and the mix is mostly citrus, a bit of floral, and maybe even some pine. While it is heavy on the hops, it isn't heavy on the bitterness that usually accompanies it. Instead, the grainy, wheat-like malt and the yeast temper it very nicely, and the effect is of a well balanced sip. But, a sip is only a sip, isn't it?

Tip-in is citrus hops and light carbonation tingle with a crusty malt holding back that bitterness right from the start. The middle ramps up the burn, and the hops join the crescendo by scraping the top of the mouth going all the way to the back of the throat. The effect is unceremonious and not particularly pleasing - this does, however, reduce significantly as the beer turns from cold to cool. The finish is a dropping of the harshness in favor of increased citrus - lemon, orange, even some other things like maybe passionfruit start to lurk.

Bottom Line: Not the best IPA, but certainly worth trying out.

2.75/5