Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

Seasonal beers are my favorite. Well crafted seasonals do precisely what their names suggest, they embody the spirit of the season for which they were made to represent. Blue Moon's Winter Abbey Ale is no exception. It takes a very unique beer to make you feel like you're sitting next a warm fire even when it's served ice cold.

Image from The Beer Taster

Full disclosure, this warm feeling might have less to do with the Winter Abbey and more to do with the five more that followed it. Regardless, this is one tasty brew.

My expectations for this beer were colored by past Blue Moon experiences. When I say colored, I mean that literally. All of the other Blue Moon brews that I've tried are lighter, wheat-ier beers. To say that I was surprised when the bar tender handed me a beer almost the color of Guinness is an understatement.


In actuality, it is not quite as dark as a stout. Blue Moon describes the beer as  a "chestnut brown-colored ale," and I think this is a fairly accurate representation. It has a great mix off coffee, chocolate and caramel flavorings, with just a mild bitterness. But you didn't really come here expecting me to regurgitate information from Blue Moon's website. All that "important" stuff (aroma, mouth feel, taste, finish) is described in other places by people (slightly) more qualified that me. No, I would like to use this post to talk about Blue Moon's Winter Abbey Ale in the context of this blog's goals: drink like an adult.

The real take away here is that after college, it's OK to spend more than $2.00 on you beer!

I know, pretty radical stuff. Don't get me wrong, I've got as much student debt as the next guy, so I keeping my bar tab manageable is certainly in the back of my mind (somewhere, way back). But, unless you're willing to shell out an extra few bucks, you might miss out on gems like this one.

(It also helps when you're seeing your Dad's band play that night, so he offers to pay for your drinks!)