You Call This Pumpkin Ale?

Warning, rant!
I bought some Harvest Moon pumpkin ale (Blue Moon) and was terribly disappointed. I almost felt ripped-off, kinda want my money back. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of good pumpkin ale (brewing one next week) but this was not up to par. The main thing is the spices were not balanced, sort of harsh/bitter, doesn't gel with the hop flavor. That's the most important part of pumpkin ale, after all it is a spice beer. Mabey it was just the 6 pack I bought, I hope so.
I heard that Blue Moon is owned by Coors, would that have something to do with it?

Iordz said:

Warning, rant!
I bought some Harvest Moon pumpkin ale (Blue Moon) and was terribly disappointed. I almost felt ripped-off, kinda want my money back. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of good pumpkin ale (brewing one next week) but this was not up to par. The main thing is the spices were not balanced, sort of harsh/bitter, doesn't gel with the hop flavor. That's the most important part of pumpkin ale, after all it is a spice beer. Mabey it was just the 6 pack I bought, I hope so.

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Yeah, I don't like it very much either, tastes are too muddled. SWMBO likes it though. I have heard others say they like it too, I guess it is just a personal taste issue.

Iordz said:

I heard that Blue Moon is owned by Coors, would that have something to do with it?

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No, I don't think so.

I agree, the flavor is too muddled, it's not easy getting the spices right. I bet it hasn't had time to mature but they had to ship it out.
It says brewed in Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Moon_(beer)

EDIT
You mean the fact that they are owned by Coors doesn't change the brewing process?

Iordz said:

I bet it hasn't had time to mature but they had to ship it out.

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Huh? Think we are mixing up wack beer recipes with other non existent variables.

Iordz said:

You mean the fact that they are owned by Coors doesn't change the brewing process?

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I don't think there is anything wrong with the process, probably just a bad recipe.

Yeah, you're probably right, Beerrific. I saw a discussion on another forum about the pumpkin ale, and people were saying it tasted way different two years ago. Many agreed that it was better, somehow the recipe has changed over the years.

I decided to give the beer another chance, so I just had one. To my surprise, it wasn't bad, actually enjoyable. I don't know what it was about the one I had yesterday, but this one was good. Very strange........

Iordz said:

I agree, the flavor is too muddled, it's not easy getting the spices right. I bet it hasn't had time to mature but they had to ship it out.
It says brewed in Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Moon_(beer)

EDIT
You mean the fact that they are owned by Coors doesn't change the brewing process?

Click to expand...

On the podcast from Basic Brewing Radio two Thursday's ago, the head brewer for The Sandlot Brewery (the on-site brewery at Coor's field here in Denver) stated that Blue Moon was born at The Sandlot, here in Colorado. It's very likely though the largescale brewing is done in Canada. Interesting....

Coors = Molson. They merged in 2004-05.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/01/31/daily21.html

Then they added a bunch of Blue Moon production capacity in Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2005/05/05/molson-050505.html

The Harvest Moon is probably produced there, given the "Made in Canada".