After a long day of eating bonbons and polishing my toenails, there is nothing I want more than a smooth and flavorful beer, straight from the bottle. (Yes… I surpass the middle man. I am not a pansy who needs to pour it into a glass first!) Blue Moon’s original Belgian style wheat beer is just the ticket for such a grueling day. It is refreshing, light, and still full of flavor. The Blue Moon Website even suggests having a slice of orange with it. (Sorry, can’t get the slice through the bottle opening so I will have to take their word for it!) I recommend this one for a relaxing evening in the hot tub, or if you don’t have one, drink it in the shower… I don’t care.. just drink it! It is yummy!

As I sit here looking at the snow covering my lawn, I can’t help but think the beer in my hand is somewhat inappropriately named. Still, I have nothing but good things to say about Rising Moon, the “spring” offering by perennial favorite Blue Moon. It’s smooth, its tasty, and seems to absolutely lack any matter of aftertaste. Which is good, because too often beers that would otherwise be tasty, end up leaving a taste in my mouth like I just chewed on one of skylark’s socks.

It’s also got just a hint of lime in the initial flavor, which is kind of fun. Hopefully it’s enough lime to keep SwillJockey from drinking “Miller Chill” during the Super Bowl. Speaking of Super Bowl weekend, since the outcome of the game can only make me sad, SJ and I may use it to finally have the New Belgium vs. Blue Moon, supreme brewery showdown.  The more the patriots (lower case on purpose beeotches) score, the drunker I’ll need to be.

For those not familiar with the awkward use of semi-slang, I am in fact praising the concoction that is Full Moon. Brewed by Blue Moon Brewing, this yummy winter caught my eye as I wandered the aisle looking for something to drown out the rainy Oregon October. To date, Blue Moon has scored tops with every brew of theirs I’ve tried. Although it’s hard to assume anyone can have such a stellar record, I gave it a shot anyway.

And damn if they don’t kick the pants (again with pants!) off of Alaskan Winter Ale. With Full Moon, I can now tell what Alaskan was trying so miserably to do. Namely, brew a darker ale with some spice to it. But rather than brew it to taste like fermenting trees, Full Moon uses some manner of Dark sugar, which gives it a nice flavor without that extra dose of ass.

As a point of note, Blue Moon is currently aiming to smack down New Belgium as the best all around drunk worthy brewery. I sense a ‘Drunk Off’ brewing on the horizon.

* I would also like to disclose at this time that Blue Moon has a dirty little secret. Much like how Maverick Records is actually Warner Music, and how my happiness is subject to my wife’s whim, Blue Moon is owned by … Coors. Yes I know. It hurts a little to say so. But the guys who brew Blue Moon and its yummy variations are the same guys who started it (in the micro-brewery/pub at Coors field), just with the backing of a very nasty large corporation to mass produce. Can we forgive them? Well, with a 4 for 4 beer kickassness record, I say yes.

My backlog of beer reviews is growing due to “work” and “family” stuff (I know, I know… I need to get my priorities straight). I’ve been trying lots of new brews as I’ve traveled around for my job. I had a Belgian Wheat from Blue Moon ($1 at Tsunami in Charleston, SC) with an orange wedge garnish that was cheap if not pleasing. I also had a Palmetto Pale Ale in while at Slightly North of Broad (or S.N.O.B.) as it is known) which wasn’t bad but may have been good because of the insanely good shrimp & grits I was having. While in Virginia, I went to the Icehouse Bar & Grill in Herndon. I had their New York Strip & Crab Cakes special with their own Ice House IPA. It wasn’t bad, not up to NW standards but it was good to see those East Coast boys trying.

A lot of people (especially those from the East Coast) get offended when you say something like, “The East Coast doesn’t know what real beer is.” They bring up something about Sam Adams “inventing” micro-brewing. Whatever. I’ll give you Sam Adams but that is pretty much the only contribution worth mentioning. They may have started it, but we Northwesters have taken it to the next level. Thats right, and I’ll kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.

Anywhoo, my last trip to NYC led me to believe that the other coast was completely devoid of good beer. I’ve heard that DC has some good beers too. Who knows, maybe 20 years from now some East Coast dude will be hatin’ on Northwest beer like its old news.

So why three bottles in the picture for this review? Because that’s how many the missus and I went through before I realized we were getting drunk and hadn’t done a review yet. In a word: “Yum”. Super Yum even. I give it a 5 because when I got home after losing our basketball game, I downed two. And when I came home after winning the next one, I downed two again.

Pity not my liver, for the six pack has run out. But if you see this stuff in the store pick some up. Both Arty Rex and I agree that it’s the official summer beer of 2007. Awesome for “being manly at the grill”, drowning sorrows (& celebrating victories), and despite what Arty says, it goes great with grilled asparagus.