Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale - Coors Brewing Company

Burdman

Ohio

4.68/5  rDev +53.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was a very enjoyable beer to say the least. My buddy picked up a few and immediatly, because he does not like many beers, I thought it was going to be either exceptional or well below par. I was however pleasantly surprised with the taste of familiar winter flavors in it that I did not expect and a smell that that was equally pleasant. I would suggest this a beer to appreciate and enjoy but I couldn't have more than two at a time because I felt as though I was being selfish or spoiling myself. Bottom line though: if given the chance definatly partake in this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2006 21:54:52 | More by Burdman

kevinbradley

Illinois

4.65/5  rDev +52.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

i was very pleased to find this new winter ale at the liquor store. smells rich with various flavors, caramel predominately.

taste is the best out of all of the blue moon family i have ever had. extremely lavish with caramel flavor amongst vanilla and almost a nutty taste. finishing up each sip leaves me anticipating the next.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2006 00:20:04 | More by kevinbradley

thornside

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +43.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I tried this beer on tap at Sky in Sudbury, MA. I was surprised at how much I liked this beer. The head was creamy and the mouthfeel was full. It has a gingerbread aftertaste that I liked. It reminded me of Anderson Valley's Winter Solstice of several years ago. I hope this is available in 1/6ths!

Serving type: on-tap

11-03-2006 02:43:20 | More by thornside

bfelper

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +42%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer has GREAT drinkability Get an A

It goes down EZ

No bitter after taste

It is a little sweet, but they claim they use belgium sugar

Would recommend and would like if this was available all year round, instead of a seasonal beer. The best of the "blue moon" group

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2009 21:01:08 | More by bfelper

FreshmanPour77

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +42%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed 1-24-10
Reviewed cold from a bottle to a glass

A - Dark brown with 2 fingers of foam and after it settled with a thin layer of lacing

S - Roasted coffee with a sweat caramel smell, hints of citrus but over shadowed by the coffee/caramel aroma

T - Smooth caramel and coffee taste, couldn't pick out any citrus taste. Light aftertaste but nothing that turned me way

M/D - A real drinkable medium bodied brew. Very smooth tasting seasonal from Coors or Miller/Coors or whatever their name is now. I well done seasonal that should be tried. Easy for me to have a couple in an evening

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2010 19:41:15 | More by FreshmanPour77

BluBeers

Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +40.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Its a good transition beer from cheap bud light type beer towards a craft beer. Has a spicey flavor, but has no after taste which is something i liked about it cause no other beers ive tried have done that. Also if you arnt a fan of christmas ales dont try this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 21:32:54 | More by BluBeers

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +38.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - a dark orange amber with a thin off-white layer of bubbles. Light but decent lacing.

Aroma - a nose of sugar cookies and vanilla. Mmmmm...

Taste - toasty malts with a sweet mild Madagascar vanilla flavor. Some very light hops on the swallow, ending with a mellow vanilla finale. A bit of a one-trick pony, but it's good if you like vanilla in this form.

Mouthfeel - medium body, crisply carbonated and good smoothness as well.

Drinkability - for me, a very easy beer to drink. The vanilla flavor doesn't come off as syrupy or cloying to me, keeping this 'beery' enough for session consumption.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2007 20:45:48 | More by brewdlyhooked13

hockeyhead

Colorado

4.22/5  rDev +38.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

poured into woodchuck pint glass
A: pours very dark brown with a honey ruby color body and a tan cream colored head
S: smells of heavy malt sweetness and some what of spice notes but mostly bready like sweetness
T: very sweet beer right up front overwhelming sweetness and touch of spice not real hop flavor i can detect maybe the drying effect at the end of the drink
M: medium to full body with lots of carbination not to good for a dubbel but i think it taste pretty good
D: i can slam alot of these fast good for a winter beer that u wanna pound some but still have flavor but no where near a dubbel

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 23:18:24 | More by hockeyhead

larsee01

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +37%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A--Deep, reddish-brown pour. Not cloudy. Relatively aggressive pour yields a nice frothy head. Not aggressively carbonated, and minimal lacing.

S--Dark Belgian sugar as advertised. Notably sweet, brown sugar-ish with nice caramel malt and a touch of yeasty twang. Mild but very nice.

T--Sweet at the tip of the tounge. Malty for sure, super-minimal hop for balance. Quite mild. A well-balanced but tame beer. Just enough roasted malt taste for some substance. Mild yeast sourness...adjunct grains detected?

M--Medium bodied...definitely not full-bodied. Pleasant. Not sticky, oily, dry. Just right.

D--Big time. Certainly an entry-level beer if you are curious about climbing the "Belgian" ladder. At 5.6% ABV it is VERY sessionable, smooth and enjoyable. Not a challenging beer, but definitely knock some back watching Thanksgiving football!

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2008 01:30:11 | More by larsee01

drummstikk

California

4.18/5  rDev +37%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Brilliant ruby in the glass with medium foam and carbonation. Dark caramel blends in with a subtle clove spice to make a wonderful cooked-raisin Christmas taste. Fruit esters linger with just a hint of roasted malt and lingering sweetness. Bottle says this is an Abbey ale, which it is not. The yeast may be a much-cleaned up version of a Belgian strain, accounting for the "Abbey" designation, but no matter! -- This beer is average in alcohol and medium in body, so the light esters and phenols (whether they come from the yeast or added spices) bring out dark crystal malts beautifully. Drinkability is far above-average for a Christmas beer, making this a Session Winter Warmer. Predictably, users have under-rated this beer because of its monolithic parentage, not because of the quality of the beer itself.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2010 22:58:40 | More by drummstikk

CS1971

North Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +36.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I am a huge Blue Moon fan, and honestly this beer doesn't disappoint me one bit. I read the other reviews and felt I may not like it, but I was actually really impressed. I love the complexities of the beer, and think it's full of flavor. Thanks for another great offering Blue Moon!

Serving type: growler

12-03-2011 02:47:22 | More by CS1971

Gilly1980

North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +35.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - beautiful dark copper color. about a half inch of semi-persistent cream colored foam and little lacing.

S - rich and malty. very robust.

T - spicy and rich. lots of evident autumnal spices.

M - chewier than average. tingles on the tongue.

D - the drinkability of this beer is great. it tastes and feels like a beer with higher ABV but doesn't catch up with you like one.

Overall - appropriately flavorful winter ale. well above average. i will definately drink this one again.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2010 01:34:00 | More by Gilly1980

kdawg105

Georgia

4.08/5  rDev +33.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Caramel in color with a nice head! It has a small spice smell with a bit of sweet malts in there not impressed with smell, other than that the Taste is quite refreshing the mouthfeel was a little lighter that I had hoped but overall a good Winter Ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2011 23:27:58 | More by kdawg105

echoes

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +32.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a glass.

A: Pours a cloudy, heavily carbonated, mild head. A lot of action. Not much lacing left. Color is brownish-amber/copper.

S: Smells good. Can smell wheat, malts/hops, spices (and fruitiness?)

T: Wheat, roasted malts/hops, spiciness, toffee and possibly smoke flavors. Ever so slightly sweet. Not much bitterness to speak of. Flavors are blended quite well together.

M: Smooth, bubbly and medium bodied.

D: Quite good drinkability. Could definitely have another quite easily.

A good Dubbel in my opinion. Certainly unique and executed well. Flavors blend well with the mouthfeel. I would recommend this to others.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2010 05:52:39 | More by echoes

CheckMate

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz brown bottle obtained at Hannaford's Supermarket Derry, NH. Copper in color with a nice half inch of off white head that sadly dissipated too quickly. sweet smell of toffee, caramel, a lil bit of a brown sugaryness with a slight dark chocolate undertone. biscuity taste with caramel and toffee and brown sugar. light/moderate mouthfeel. this beer is very pallatable.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2009 00:11:34 | More by CheckMate

greengorilla

Ohio

4/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured this from a 12 ounce bottle into a goblet. It is a dark amber with good clarity and impressive light tan two finger head. There is minimal lacing.

Its smell is dominated by the malt, but the spices come through in the taste. It smells and tastes pretty good. It is allot bette than I was expecting.

It has a good carbonated mouthfeel, and it is very drinkable. Overall, I like this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2010 16:33:34 | More by greengorilla

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

When i poured this beer into my glass it had a nice 2" white head that sat on top of a nice dark brown body. The aroma is not much but a little maltiness. The taste is nice and malty with a caramel and toffee taste. This beer is nice and smooth, not much else to talk about here other then a nice mouth feel and i think it is drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 04:45:12 | More by chefhatt

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Semi-clear crimson-tinted body beneath a frothy head of tan. The head retention could be better, but it leaves nice sheets of spotty and craggy lace behind.

Aroma: Gently toasted malt. Mild fruitiness. Very little yeast character though.

Flavor: Some spicy/phenolic yeast characteristic enters with some clove and black pepper. More dark fruit. Finishes with an edge of sweet apple and some tannic dark fruit skin over soft malt notes. Towards the end I find a dollop of honey. Superbly balanced.

Mouthfeel: Crisp carbonation; medium body.

Drinkability: Easily accessible, but also somewhat restrained. It lacks a bit of complexity but there are Abbey style ales from Belgium that taste exactly like this (and there are some that are even lighter) so it's actually hard to fault. It's a really nice, easy drinking beer. It's tasty and charming. One note - allow it to warm a bit to display its full range of flavor.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 22:30:08 | More by NeroFiddled

rlshep

Ohio

4/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bottle Dated: 4/25/2011

Aroma: Spiciness, peppery, cloves. Lots of caramel malts. Prunish fruits and a hint of cherry.

Appearance: Pours thick tan head. Dissipates slowly. Good lacing. Deep amber chestnut color. Very clear.

Flavor: Dark fruits, prunes. Nice dark caramel flavor. Brown sugary taste. Pepper and spicy notes from aroma fall to the background.

Mouthfeel: A touch thin. Not really enough body to support thinning it out more with candi sugar. Crisp/dry finish with a light coating from residual caramel sweetness. Alcohol, barely noticeable.

Overall: I'll admit, I didn't think I would like this one and was secretely hoping I wouldn't, but this is a really nice beer. The only thing I would like to see is more body and perhaps a bigger overall beer. I would drink this anytime it was handed to me.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2011 02:21:15 | More by rlshep

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.98/5  rDev +30.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a pint glass, the Blue Moon Winter Ale pours a copper color with a good sized off-white head. Nice lacing too. It smells sweet, like caramel, brown sugar, vanilla and fresh baked cookies (yeah, I know that sounds weird). It has a nutty taste, along with caramel and vanilla. It does have a slight bitter/sour aftertaste (which gets less bitter/sour as the beer warms), but overall the taste is mostly sweet. The mouthfeel is light and a little bit creamy. The drinkability is good too, but I don't know if I could drink more than 2 or 3 at a time. This is a pleasant surprise, I really wasn't expecting too much from this but I think this is a decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2006 02:06:30 | More by bluejacket74

JamesS

Indiana

3.98/5  rDev +30.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light copper color, not as dark as usual, but not bad. Has a decent head and pretty good lacing. It does not have much of a scent, a light maltiness with almost no spiciness. You get a bit of a hint of spice in the taste, but just on the edge. For the most part you get a decently average ale, but as a winter warmer its barely average. Goes down all right, a bit too fizzy from the carbonation. Worth a try if it's the only winter warmer you can find, but so far the only above average Blue Moon I've had is their pumpkin.

2008 version update -- MUCH better. Nice head and some decent lacing, good crisp scent, nice hint of cherry and sugar in the taste. Goes down smooth. I really enjoyed it this year.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2007 23:22:25 | More by JamesS

dpsychoholic69

Mississippi

3.95/5  rDev +29.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked up a 6 pack at Kroger. Have had BM's Pale Ale before, liked it and thought I'd give this a try. This beer was called Winter Ale before and now is known as Full Moon.

A- Poured into a tall glass. Nice off-white head that stayed around for awhile, pretty good lacing. Color was a clear orange.

S- Smells of lightly roasted malts and an almost fruity aroma.

T- Kind of sweet taste, not unpleasant, not light but not heavy either. The roasted malts hit on the finish, slightly bitter but not bad.

M- I like the mouth feel of this beer, not as thick as a cream stout but a nice velvety feel. Very pleasing.

D- Very easy to drink. With an ABV of 5.6 a 6 pack is all I would need.

I must admit I almost didn't buy this beer. I was expecting a thin watery sweet beer with a nice wintery label. Although not my favorite overall this is a nice refreshing beer for a winter warmer, if you want to call it that. But this is a nice change from my thick stouts in the winter. I'll buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2008 04:07:34 | More by dpsychoholic69

chaunur

Kentucky

3.95/5  rDev +29.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured with very nice clear coppery hue, decent off-white head, some lacing. Clean crisp aroma with hints of vanilla. Smooth flavor, slighty sweet, some malts present and just a hint of bitterness. A little thin but a well balanced and very drinkable ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2011 18:11:54 | More by chaunur

richkrull

Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev +28.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Very dark reddish brown color. Nice creamy head on it.

S - Nice malt smell. Nothing really overpowering though.

T - Really rich malty flavor. Almost tastes like a hint of chocolate at the end.

M - Nice medium body, very smooth.

D - Really nice easy drinking beer. I wouldn't mind a few more of these. Great winter ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 04:01:12 | More by richkrull

CaptJackHarkness

New York

3.93/5  rDev +28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Twelve ounce bottle freshness dated to april 2012:

Pours copper colored body with beige head. Head lasted about thirty seconds and completely dissapears. No lacing whatsover. Aroma is slightly grainy. Flavour is sweet. Poorly carbonated and leaves an odd sweet aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 21:33:05 | More by CaptJackHarkness