The Beer List is back this week at The No Seatbelt Blog with a review of a beer that I had for the first time a couple short weeks ago. The beer in question, that I spotted at my local liquor store, is Victory Brewing’s Moon Glow, which I had never seen before. The Victory catalog has done me well thus far, so their name alone holds quite a bit of currency when it comes to my incredibly indecisive nature when it comes to picking out a new beer to try. 

The fact that Moon Glow is a weizenbock factored into my decision to grab a six-pack of this, as it is a hybrid of two very different styles of brewing. Bocks are typically darker, maltier beers that are mildly hopped, while the weizen is a wheat beer that is lighter in color and in mouthfeel, concentrates more on wheat than on malt in the brewing process, and lends itself to fruit flavors. This was an interesting combination, so let’s dive in, shall we?

Despite what you see in the picture above (the sunlight streaming through the window where I took the picture certainly lightened the color), Moon Glow is a bit dark, but still somewhat transparent to the sight. Upon the pour, the beer had very little head, and left no discernible lacing on the inside of the glass (if you care…I really don’t). For me the smell is of malt and even more so of banana. However, the taste of banana is non-existent to me, and is taken over wholly by the sharp taste of apple on the forefront. Are you ready for the kicker? While Victory Brewing states that you may get the essence of apple and banana from this brew, they actually used neither in the brewing process, but those tastes are rather created by the specialty yeasts they use. The flavor spectrum is rounded out by clove and other spices.

What’s even stranger is that I had never seen or heard of this fall seasonal beer when I picked it up during the first week of March, with quite a bit of it in stock while spring and summer beers are starting to take over the shelves. While Moon Glow has a substantial 8.7% alcohol-by-volume level, it is not terribly heavy and is quite fine to enjoy whenever you’d like. As a matter of fact, I’m having one as I write this, on an obnoxiously cold and windy first day of spring in New Jersey. Victory’s page for Moon Glow suggests pairing it with beef stew, or bbq or grilled sausages, which sounds quite right. You may be able to disregard the stated availability for this beer, as March is a long way from the fall and I found it in considerable quantities (that may have to do with the Pennsylvania brewery’s proximity to where I live, but who knows?). I’m certainly not complaining- this was a good catch. Give it a shot if you can find it.