Rico! I need options.

Smile and wave boys...

One of the many less-enlightened people that I spread the good news of craftiness to on a daily basis asked me a question the other day: “If Blue Moon is crappy beer, what SHOULD I be drinking instead?” That is an excellent question (I told him), and it is an excellent opportunity for a blog post on the subject of finding alternatives to crap.

First, some background information to set the scene. My friend, who I’ll refer to as Walter for the remainder of this story, is younger (26 or so) and in his defense has never really been exposed to the light. He has been trapped in a world of Bud Light, Milwaukee’s Beast Light, Busch, and Miller High Life for the duration of his (so far short) adult life.

Not a finga!

Walter is also an artist when it comes to hyperbole. He uses exaggeration the way Vincent van Gogh used oils, or Ralphie’s dad used profanity. A true master craftsman if you will. This has led to those of us who are trying to convert him to good beer to take everything he says with a canister of salt.  But Walter said something to me that surprised me a bit when he said, “I actually do like good beer – I drink Blue Moon all the time.”

Walter was not expecting the reaction he got, as me and a few other beer nerds in the room scoffed with haughty derision at the premise of Blue Moon being good. As you no doubt know by now, Blue Moon is owned by Pete Coors and the Coors Brewing Co. It was created as an attempt to trick craft beer seekers into thinking they were enjoying a proper Belgian Witbier, when actually, Blue Moon is made with the same cost-cutting, corn-substituting, yellow practices that Pete Coors uses when making Coors Light. In other words, its crap.

The enemy is clever

Of course, Walter was not happy to learn of this, as I truly believe he actually does like Blue Moon. He then asked me, as I alluded to at the beginning of this post, what he should drink instead of Blue Moon, if we insist he go craft. Well Walter, I hope you’re reading this, because here you go:

Quick Style Note: Belgian Witbiers (or White Ales) are pale and cloudy in appearance due to being unfiltered with high levels of wheat, and sometimes oats, which are used in the mash. They are always spiced, generally with coriander, orange peel and other oddball spices or herbs in the back ground, as a throwback to the old days when the beer was made with a spicy substance called gruit instead of hops. The crispness and slight twang of witbier comes from the wheat and the lively level of carbonation. They are sometimes served with a lemon, but if you truly want to enjoy the untainted subtleties of this style you'll ask for yours without one.

Belgian and delicious

Perhaps the most globally iconic Belgian Witbier is Hoegaarden’s Original White Ale, made by the Brouwerij van Hoegaarden. It is widely distributed to the four corners of the United States and is crispy and delicious. But if you want to drink American, as I always advocate, here are the ones you want to look for:

·        Allagash White by the Allagash Brewing Co in Portland Maine

·        Ommegang Witte by the Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York

·        White Rascal by the Avery Brewing Co in Boulder, Colorado

·        Red and White by the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware

·        Bell’s Winter White Ale by the Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan

·        Whirlwind Witbier by the Victory Brewing Co in Downingtown, Pennsylvania

·        Great Lakes Holy Moses by the Great Lakes Brewing Co in Cleveland, Ohio

·        Namaste by the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware

·        Great White by the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, California

·        UFO White by the Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts

·        Optimal Wit by the Port City Brewing Co in Alexandria, Virginia

·        Sam Adams Imperial White by the Boston Brewing Co in Boston, Massachusetts

American craftiness
meets Belgian spicyness

There are, of course, legions of other options that aren’t on this list. Witbier is a very popular style of beer and is brewed by just about every brewer out there. I tried to name some of the ones that I’ve seen for sale in the Northern Virginia/DC/Maryland area as that is where Walter and I live. The best advice I can give is to go to the craft beer section of your local beer purchasing location and look for “witbier” or “white ale” on the labels of the different beers they have. And when looking for craft beer, stay away from Blue Moon and Shock Top, and any other trick that big beer is trying to pull off.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!