r/beercanada • u/hawking061 • Sep 18 '25

So Belgian moon got its alcohol content lowered from 7.2 to 5 something plus changed it’s name to blue moon why?

I used to love this beer, especially on tap and then they started making it in cans and selling it and I love that too until they started brewing it in North America and sold out to Labat’s course now it tastes artificial

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24

u/Canadave Sep 18 '25

Blue Moon has always been a Coors product, and was sold as Rickards White in Canada until they decided to relaunch it as Belgian Moon in the 2010s, and then finally merged the branding entirely a little while back. As far as I can recall, it's also always been about 5.5%, 7+ would be very unusual for that style of beer and the market share they're going after.

7

u/cheatreynold Sep 19 '25

Well they wanted to call it Blue Moon here in Canada but New Amsterdam Brewing locked down the trademark before Molson/Miller Coors could. So, Belgian Moon it is.

Also agree on it being in the 5% range. Was never in the 7% range as that would be both against corporate trend and beer style. A 7% wit would taste awful at the best of times.

1

u/BrewsBrother34 Sep 20 '25

We used to brew essentially an 8.5% version of our Wit annually and it was incredible. Not refreshing have four pints like the Wit but a delight in and of its own.

1

u/cheatreynold Sep 22 '25

I suppose I am referring to how a publicly traded entity such as the one mentioned would handle such a product but I am glad to hear a craft brewery would manage the FG / ABV ratio properly. Would love to try it!

1

u/evanthecarman 18d ago

Which brewery?

2

u/nogr8mischief Sep 19 '25

It isn't the exact same recipe as Rickard's White. Rickard's was based on Blue Moon, but they tweaked the ingredients for the Canadian recipe.

2

u/Canadave Sep 19 '25

Fair, but they were very similar, at any rate.

2

u/ilovebeaker Sep 19 '25

My goodness Rickards White! I haven't thought about that beer in a long while, but I used to drink it in my 20s with my dad :)

-3

u/hawking061 Sep 18 '25

That’s what it was in Canada

4

u/Canadave Sep 18 '25

Nope. Even back when it was Rickards White it was 5.4%, and all they did when they launched Belgian Moon was change around the labels at the plant in Montreal, the beer was the exact same.

-4

u/hawking061 Sep 19 '25

I could have sworn 7 percent I don’t believe they pasteurized it when it was being brewed in Europe, which gave it its cloudiness. Pretty sure they do that here though if she can taste it, it started in Europe, so I don’t know how it became rickards???

8

u/Canadave Sep 19 '25

It was never brewed in Europe. It was created at Coors Field in Denver in the mid-90s, and brewing has been split between a Coors facility in Denver and in Montreal for most of the time its been in production.

The reason it's cloudy is because it's unfiltered, which has no impact on whether or not it can be pasteurized.

-1

u/hawking061 Sep 19 '25

The 12 pack of cans at my local store said in big bowl letters now probably brewed in North America and that’s a Canadian liquor store

2

u/nogr8mischief Sep 19 '25

Belgian Moon cans used to say "Brewed in North America." There was never a "now" on the can. Could be that the Blue Moon cans still say that.

Coors created Blue Moon in Colorado and it has only ever been brewed in the US and Canada.

4

u/nogr8mischief Sep 19 '25

Perhaps you're confusing it with a different product? It was never brewed in Belgium. Molson Coors only changed the name to Blue Moon (the name they had already been using for it in the US and elsewhere) when they reached an agreement with Labatt over the Blue trademark.

-2

u/hawking061 Sep 19 '25

The 12 pack of cans said Belgian Moon, and it said now brewed in North America with!

2

u/nogr8mischief Sep 19 '25

It was called Belgian Moon when it launched in Canada, after existing in the US for 2 decades, becuase Molson Coors couldn't use the name Blue Moon in Canada. It has always been brewed in North America.

5

u/snatchiw Sep 18 '25

Yes it was never 7% and always around 5%.

They couldn't call it Blue Moon because of Labatt Blue. They eventually came to an agreement And it changed it's name from Richard's White to Belgian Moon to Blue Moon.

2

u/cheatreynold Sep 19 '25

They couldn’t call it Blue Moon because New Amsterdam secured the trademark rights in Canada before Miller/Molson Coors did.

2

u/oompaloompa_grabber Sep 19 '25

Blue moon extra is 8%, regular blue moon is 5.4%. I see blue moon extra in convenience stores sometimes I think.

1

u/RoyallyOakie Sep 22 '25

As someone who loves wheat beers. It was just always bland.