Looks:
Smell:
Taste:
Overall:
Description:
For this beer, our brewmaster reached back to his roots and found inspiration in the traditional agua de horchata. Our cinnamon-spiced ale is his interpretation of this delicious Latin beverage. It’s brewed with natural long-grain rice for a creamy texture to complement flavors of cinnamon, making it the perfect treat for a get-together with friends. (Description provided by company)
Brewer:
Beer Style:
ABV:
5.50% ABV
Availability Frequency:
Rotating
Containers Available:
bottle
Locations Where Available:
nationwide
Store/Serve Temperature:
45-54 degrees F
Comments
Some things just should not be
Blue Moon's Cinnamon Horchata ale pours an unappealing jaundiced yellow. There were also relatively large flecks of something floating in my glass. I told myself it was cinnamon. Cinnamon is the star of the show here, after all. It's way up front when you smell the beer. It's not unpleasant. Unfortunately what's underneath the cinnamon smell can really only be described (by this commenter anyway) as "light beer". "Essence of Keystone", if you will. Not exactly begging me to take a sip.
But sip I did. Any amount of carbonation in a beer with cinnamon is going to feel like too much carbonation, and that holds true here. It just feels acidic and unpleasant. The flavor doesn't really help either. It's a cinnamon party, with very little actual beer flavoring at all. I didn't really get rice in the taste either, despite the "horchata" in the name. Maybe that's what was floating around in my glass.
I applaud Blue Moon for going out on a limb, trying something new. But some things just should not be. The last time I was this disappointed by a beer was the Rogue/Voodoo Maple Bacon ale. Both beers share a common thread: they sound like they could, or even should, be delicious. But not everything belongs in a beer. Cinnamon and rice, at least in this configuration, can be added to that list.
I didn't even finish the drink.
Cinna-meh
Clear golden yellow, thin white head. Little lacing.
Nose is interesting, with fairly strong cinnamon aromas along with some very subtle malt aromas. The rice used gives it a very light beer-like aroma, which isn't the most appealing. But like I said, the cinnamon is pretty strong.
Taste is broadly similar to the nose, with strong cinnamon flavors competing with the some light lager-like flavors. Practically non-existant bitterness along with a very quick aftertaste. Aside from the cinnamon, there really isn't much flavor.
Light body and moderately high carbonation.
An interesting seasonal beer from Blue Moon, although likely not one that I'll be searching out again. A nice change of pace from the usual seasonal beers that are almost all pumpkin based this time of year.