A Roll in the Clover Patch with HoneyMoon

I enjoy Blue Moon. I wanted to get that out of the way up front because Blue Moon seems to be a bit of a sticking point with the beer drinkers I know. It's decent, not great, but its popularity has driven prices up to a higher bracket it deserves. Still, I'm hard pressed to find a better beer on most tap selections, and if I'm looking at $2.50 for a Miller Lite or $3.50 for a Blue Moon, well, it's worth it. That being said, I was excited to spot a seasonal offering from the Blue Moon brewery, their summer ale "HoneyMoon."

After 1: No clever naming here - the taste is very similar to the usual Blue Moon wheat ale, but with a pleasant honey sweetness provided by real clover honey. This blends nicely with the orange accents and really rounds out the flavor, which is balanced by delicious malts, both pale and white wheat according to the label, for plenty of character. Despite being sweet, it is a very refreshing beer. The 5.2% APV is modest, this is not a strong beer, but it is by no means a sissy. It also goes down easily, so don't plan on having just one. The twist-off cap adds to this beer's candidacty as an outdoor, warm-weather selection.

After 6: This is not my first extended HoneyMoon session, and each time I've gone through a sixpack or so I seem to get a disproportionate case of the sleepies. Not sure if this is just coincidence, as a lot of times I find myself drinking these outdoors in the sun, or if the honey has something to do with it. I mean, it is real clover honey - Madhava clover honey from Lyons, CO (thank you, bluemoonbrewingcompany.com). Click that for more than you ever wanted to know about honey. After six it's easy to keep on going, but be warned - have a pillow ready. Maybe two pillows if you're really into softness.

After many: UNEXPECTED DANGER OF HONEY-BASED BEER: BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ

The Next Day: Wow, HoneyMoon, that sure was fun. You're taste like sweet candy, and those bees weren't so bad after you got to know them. Too bad I can't say the same for those bears that showed up at the end of the night. They were furry jerks. No matter, I'll definitely be buying you again. Although I wish the $33/case price tag would come down just a little. You'd be a great buy at $25, but in your current range there are a lot of other beers I might go to first. But if I see you on draft, well, you're just too sweet to stay away.