The Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale pours with a hazy coloration and a good amount of whitish head. One can easily taste rthe different sides of Blue Moon’s latest seasonal; the hazy hefeweizen-esque notes of the Blue Moon poke through while the cinnamon notes are much more strongly noticed. There is a bit of creaminess that puts the beer more in line with a nitro mouthfeel.
This makes Blue Moon’s Cinnamon Horchata Ale into a beer that is considerably more complex than the base effort. The beer attempts to hit a lot of notes and struggles at points with giving imbibers a cogent experience. The cinnamon may be a little strong, while the fruit esters present in Blue Moon are hidden a little too well. Blue Moon’s Cinnamon Horchata would do well paired with salty fare (pretzels, chips) with which to play off of, but the cloying sweetness of the beer needs to be moderated with a greater amount of hop presence or a slightly higher ABV.
Establishing a bevy of varietals is precisely what Blue Moon needs to do to continue to grow their market share and combat an ever-increasing amount of microbreweries gaining shelf space, but the Cinnamon Horchata Ale is a little bit muddied. The base element – Blue Moon, creaminess, and cinnamon – could be revisited with the inclusion of cloves and other spices, given a little additional toasty body through the inclusion of malt, and re-branded as a holiday/Christmas ale. Check out our other coverage of Blue Moon beers; their 20th Anniversary Tripel was fantastic, while the novelty of the company’s White IPA made for an enjoyable effort.
Rating: 7.0/10
Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale / 5.50% ABV / https://twitter.com/BlueMoonBrewCo / http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/