What Beer Is Similar To Blue Moon? (Same Flavor Profile or Style)

It’s easy to always order the same beer or pick up the same six-pack at the store, and with a beer as tasty as Blue Moon, it’s a no-brainer. But what if a Blue Moon enthusiast wants to try something a little new? 

There are many beers for a Blue Moon drinker to try that are similar to Blue Moon, a popular Belgian-style witbier. This includes other witbiers/wheat beers and different styles such as Hefeweizens, Blonde ales, and New England IPAs. Blue Moon drinkers are likely to enjoy a light-to-medium-bodied beer with pronounced citrus notes and a lightly creamy mouthfeel.

Keep reading for our recommendations of other wheat beers and beer styles for a Blue Moon drinker to try, as well as the defining characteristics of Blue Moon.

What type of beer is a Blue Moon?

Blue Moon is a Belgian-style wheat beer (also called witbier) that has been brewed with Valencia orange and coriander for a refreshing citrus twist. Wheat beers/witbiers are ales made with barley and/or wheat. This kind of beer, most popularly brewed in Belgium and the Netherlands, appears hazy due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins. 

Blue Moon is not made in Belgium – it’s brewed in the US and Canada – thus the ‘Belgian-style’ distinction. It is available in bottles, cans, and kegs, and clocks in at 5.4% ABV.

Launched in 1995 at the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field in Denver, Blue Moon was originally called Bellyslide Belgian White. Legend has it the name change was inspired by a happy fan’s declaration that “beer this good only comes around once in a blue moon”. 

Today, Blue Moon also produces a handful of seasonal beers, such as the Harvest Pumpkin Wheat in addition to specialty brews available year-round, like the Moon Haze Juicy IPA.

Flavor profile and tasting notes

Blue Moon is a classic representation of witbiers. The beer is made of malted barley, white wheat, oats, Valencia orange, and coriander. These ingredients are right in line with most witbiers.

Blue Moon is a bright, wheat-forward, slightly juicy beer with refreshing citrus notes and a creamy palate. The oats provide a slight sweetness, and the coriander brings a little spice to complement the wheat and orange flavors. To enhance the citrus notes, it’s popular to garnish Blue Moon with an orange wheel. 

For a more in-depth exploration of Blue Moon’s tasting notes, ingredients, and history, check out this article we have already posted all about Blue Moon.

Other Belgian-style wheat ales (witbiers) similar to Blue Moon

If you enjoy Blue Moon but want to branch out, we’ve got you covered.

Here are the best witbiers to try if you like Blue Moon:

  • Blue Moon Light Sky
  • Allagash White
  • Shock Top Belgian White
  • Bell’s Brewery Bright White
  • Unibroue Blanche de Chambly
  • New Belgium Fat Tire Belgian White
  • Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit

Blue Moon Light Sky

If you’re not ready to venture out of the Blue Moon wheelhouse, they have a delicious, lighter version of their signature beer. The Light Sky is brewed with tangerines rather than oranges, and only has 95 calories. It also has a lighter ABV, at only 4.0%. 

Blue Moon Light Sky is available year-round in most bottle shops and grocery stores. It is not frequently stocked in bars and restaurants. 

Allagash White

Because of their hazy, almost white appearance when they’re cold, witbiers are also often called whites, as is the case with Allagash White.

Allagash White is the flagship beer of Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. It’s brewed with both white and red wheat, oats, coriander, and Curacao orange peel. It is crisp with juicy orange and appealing spiciness. Allagash White is a 5.2% ABV beer with a complex and refreshing full body. 

You can find Allagash White anywhere craft beers are stocked, including bars and restaurants. It’s available all year in cans of various sizes, bottles, and kegs.

Shock Top Belgian White

Like Blue Moon, Shock Top Belgian White is highly associated with oranges – so much so, the label features an orange wedge with a rocker persona.

The beer is brewed with orange, lemon, and lime peels, creating a fruity, citrusy witbier that is a little darker and heavier than Blue Moon. It has a 5.2% ABV and is available in bottles, cans, and kegs.

Shock Top Brewing Company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s available all year in grocery stores, bottle shops, bars, and restaurants. 

Bell’s Brewery Bright White

Bell’s Brewing of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is best known for their Bell’s Oberon, an American Wheat Ale. While it’s a great beer, their seasonal Bright White white ale is a delicious beer for a Blue Moon drinker to try.

Bright White is brewed to contrast all the heavy, dark beers of winter, providing relief with a light, refreshing brew made with a blend of barley and wheat malts. It tastes of spices, primarily clove, and orange marmalade with soft florals. ABV: 5%.

Bell’s Brewery Bright White is sold during the winter months in most places that carry craft beer. 

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

Hailing from Quebec, Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly is a year-round witbier with notes of dried orange peel, coriander, and yeasty bread. It’s medium-bodied with a slightly darker appearance than Blue Moon and 5% ABV. It has won dozens of international awards. 

You can find Unibroue Blanche de Chambly primarily in bottle shops and occasionally in beer-focused bars. 

New Belgium Fat Tire Belgian White

Using white wheat and oats, New Belgium created the Fat Tire Belgian White to be a refreshing, classic example of a Belgian white. It’s easy to drink with orange and lemon notes, subtle spice, and mild breadiness. Like most of the rest of these recommendations, it has a lower ABV than Blue Moon (but only just!) at 5.2%. 

Fat Tire is available all year in grocery stores, bottle shops, and occasionally in bars and restaurants. New Belgium has a brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, and another one in Asheville, North Carolina.

Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit

Found only in the Carolinas, Mother Earth Weeping Willow wit is a witbier to seek out if a Blue Moon lover finds themselves in North or South Carolina. Described as ‘sunny and refreshing’, the Weeping Willow wit has notes of coriander, orange peel, and a secret spice. It’s available all year in cans, bottles, and on draft with 5% ABV.

Unfortunately, Mother Earth only distributes throughout North Carolina and parts of South Carolina. 

Other beer styles you might like if you love Blue Moon

Looking to branch out even further, but maintain that light, spicy, refreshing quality of Blue Moon? There are many styles of beer outside of witbier/whites/wheat beers for a Blue Moon drinker to try.

Here are some beer styles you might like if you drink Blue Moon:

  • Blonde ales
  • Hefeweizens
  • American wheat beers
  • New England IPAs

Blonde Ales

An easy-drinking and approachable style, Blonde ales have spicy characteristics similar to Blue Moon with light-to-medium bodies and an ABV of less than 6% in the majority of cases. They’re often referred to as ‘golden ales’, as well. 

Blonde ales can frequently be found in bars during the summer months, at grocery stores, and bottle shops.

Hefeweizens

Hefeweizens are hazy like Blue Moon, with bright fruit and spice flavors. Rather than the pronounced orange notes of wheat beers, hefeweizens are known for their banana and clove characteristics. Most hefeweizens sit between 4.5 and 5.5% ABV. They’re easy to drink and popular among German beer enthusiasts.

American Wheat beers

American Wheat beers are usually hoppier than Belgian-style wheat beers, with the same unfiltered, hazy appearance. Like Blue Moon, they’re often citrusy with mild sweetness and a subtle malty backbone. 

New England IPAs

New England IPAs (you may also see NEIPA on a menu or packaging) are definitely going to have more hop characteristics than a Belgian-style wheat beer, but many have pronounced orange or citrusy flavors. It has become popular for New England IPAs to be juicy, hazy, and creamy, or ‘milkshake’ style.

For a Blue Moon drinker looking for something bursting with orange flavor and a creamy mouthfeel, NEIPAs could be a great choice. These can pack quite the punch compared to Blue Moon in terms of alcohol, with many ranging between 6 and 7.5% ABV. 

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