215. Blue Moon / Miller Coors – Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

Miller Coors Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin AleIt’s a nice fall friday evening and I took off work just a bit early to enjoy the afternoon. So, of course, when I got home, I grabbed a beer for my Oktoberfest Challenge out of the fridge. Although Halloween is just a couple of days away and I realized that I’ve only got 2 beers for my challenge to make it through the next 3 days… I need to find another beer to qualify for my challenge quickly. The label says, “This full flavored amber ale is crafted with all the flavors of fall, including vine ripened pumpkin, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg for a lightly spiced finish.” It also says that it is 5.7%.

When I poured it in the glass, it was very clear and was an amber-orange color. There was a very thin creamy head, which barely covered the top of the beer, although there was plenty of carbonation visible in it. The aroma was slightly sweet, with light caramel and spices detectable.

The body was light and crisp. There was only the slightest detectable flavor up front, as it was most carbonation crisp. In the middle it was a little malty, and it finished with a sweet vegetal and sweet cinnamon flavor in the finish. The aftertaste wasn’t too big, but it was a bit malty-caramelly.

This beer would go nicely with Thanksgiving dinner, as it was light, crisp, drinkable and not very filling – allowing room for turkey, stuffing, and the rest of the good stuff. The light pumpkin-vegetal, cinnamon, and caramel flavors would go nicely with that meal.

Among the pumpkin beers I’ve had, this was probably one of the lightest and most drinkable. While I’m usually skeptical of these types of beers from big breweries, I appreciated the complexity of flavors in this one – malty-caramel, cinnamon, pumpkin – yet it was still light, crisp, and refreshing enough to have a couple at a time. Overall, this is one I could recommend to both craft beer and light beer drinking friends.

My Rating: ★★★½☆

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Author: kkozlen

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