Blue Moon and the Belgian Canon

A word of caution: If you tell a group of beer snobs you like Blue Moon, they're likely to try and laugh, or at least smirk, you out of town. Blue Moon is a Belgian style beer made by brewing giant MillerCoors. It is consistently accused of attempting to masquerade as an independent craft brewery creation, however, because its bottles fail to state that it is a MillerCoors product. 

As high as Blue Moon's critics have their noses in the air, they are often confronted  with argument that its production is likely what influenced many craft breweries to put forth their own Belgian style beers.  And Belgian beers are a beautiful thing, making it little wonder that Blue Moon is so popular, particularly among those who would otherwise avoid the beer aisle altogether. Also, let's face it, beer geeks: Blue Moon was the gateway to discovering Belgian beer, if not craft beer in general, for many of us.

There are a great many types of Belgian beers, but what sets them apart from other beers in general is their abundance of sweetness and lack of bitterness. Belgian beers often exhibit fruity and spicy flavors, byproducts of fermentation using Belgan yeast. Blue Moon itself is a Belgian Witbier, a style known for its citrus taste. This quality continues to make Blue Moon unique among the big ne beers (that is, until Shock Top came along), but it doesn't quite compare to the great many Belgian ales now available from craft breweries. 

Belgian ales have a long and lofty history, but I won't delve too much into that now. What I will tell you, is that while craft breweries continue to create and disseminate excellent interpretations of the Belgian styles (Witbier is just one of many) there are a handful of classic Belgian ales which will continue to be regarded as masterpieces for the ages. I refer to them as "The Belgian Canon," and have listed a few below:

Duvel:

A style of beer called a  Belgian Golden Strong, Duvel (a Dutch word for "devil") is the flagship beer of the Moortgat brewery, which was founded in Belgium in 1871. It is considered to be the paradigm of Belgian Golden Strong Ales, complex and delectable combinations of pale malt, exotic spices, and light colored fruit (think apples and pears). Duvel, like the other beers within this "canon," is meant to be sipped and saviored, not chugged. Besides having a plethora of flavors and other sensations to enjoy, its ABV is over eight percent. In other words, guzzling this stuff will make you understand very quickly how it earned its name. 

Rochefort Trappistes 10:

A Quadrupel Ale, this is the strongest and most celebrated of a trilogy of beers produced by the Trappist brewery Brasserie de Rochefort, also founded in--you guessed it--Belgium. Rochefort is currently one of only ten breweries which bear the Trappist badge of honor. The term "Trappist," is not to be taken lightly: It is granted only to those beers brewed within a Trappist monastery using techniques which date back to the Middle Ages, during which these monasteries brewed beer to feed their communities. Rochefort 10's "prequels," if you will, are Rochefort 6 and Rochefort 8, and while all three are Belgian Dark Strong Ales, as a Quad, Rochefort 10 is the richest, as well as the most "wicked" of the three--its ABV is over eleven percent. Belgian Dark Strongs differ from Belgian Golden Strongs in that their fruit flavors are of the darker variety--plums, raisins, and black currants, for instance. Rochefort 10 has all of these, in addition to a viscous mouthfeel, notes of oak, cloves, caramel, and a complex combination of malts. 

Chimay Premiere: 

Another member of a trio of Trappist beers, Chimay Premiere, also referred to as "Chimay Red" for its red cap and label, is the oldest and most popular beer produced by Chimay Brewery in Scourmoubt Abbey, Belgium. It is a Dubbel style beer, and while its flavor profile is similar to that of Rochefort 10, it is crisper, less intense in terms of flavor and alcohol content, and also evokes characteristics of a few lighter fruits, such as apricots. The beer is certainly a classic: It was first brewed in 1862 (although the recipe was revised after World War I). 

Saison Dupont: Brewed by Brasserie Dupont, also located in Belgium (of course), this beer is considered the golden child of the Saison style. Since Saisons are also referred to as "Farmhouse Ales," it seems more than appropriate that the Dupont brewery is located on an eighteenth century farm. Like other Belgian beers, the Saison is a complex combination of fruit and spice, and yet, it is more fruity than spicy, and bears a zesty, citrusy taste. The style is different from orangey and lemony Witbiers such as Blue Moon, however, in that it is more tart than sweet, and has a marked dryness which gives it a sharper bite. Both "Saison" and "Farmhouse" refer to the style's brewing history--Saisons were first brewed in farms during the slower, cooler seasons, so that they could be enjoyed during the hot, fast-paced summer months.