Horchata, of course, is a Latin beverage that can be made from nuts or milk or rice with varying spices, but usually cinnamon. That was one of the things I was curious about, would the beer have the milky white consistency of many horchatas? As it turns out, it does not, though Blue Moon (part of Coors) uses rice to emulate that creaminess.
Blue Moon says of their Cinnamon Horchata Ale on their website:
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.
Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale has an alcohol content of 5.5% by volume with 10 IBUs. This is a spring/summer seasonal beer, and I paid $5 for a 20 ounce mug, with a free Blue Moon logo glass sweeting the deal.
Ingredients from the website:
Malts: 2-row pale malt and long grain rice Hops: Sterling Hops
Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale arrived a bright golden color with a light head formation and a little cinnamon and fruit in the nose. Taking a sip, there is a bit of malt in the body that is thinned slightly with rice. On the plus side, that allows the cinnamon to come through more fully, and I do love cinnamon. The finish is slightly sweet but the cinnamon spice dries enough to keep it from being too much so.
This is a beer that I for one would certainly buy again, but as I said, I do love cinnamon. To be fair, Blue Moon states fully and freely “This isn’t a classic beer style. We took a traditional Mexican non-alcoholic drink and made it into a refreshing beer.” Given the subtle creaminess from the rice and the tasty cinnamon, I think they’ve succeeded in what they set out to do, and given us a fine spiced ale in the process.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft