Blue Moon Is Releasing A White IPA And You Can Taste It First

Blue Moon, like so many of its big beer competitors, has caught on that these days, people simply seem to prefer craft beer over big-brand domestics. Just look at the numbers, which show that craft beer is outselling Budweiser. Blue Moon has accepted that big brands must "join or die," and will be releasing its first-ever white IPA as part of its twentieth anniversary celebrations.

The beer will officially hit stores on April 1 (hopefully it's not a joke!), but you can hop in on the action earlier with Blue Moon's secret tasting parties being held in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, and Nashville. Blue Moon will release the GPS coordinates on social media, and once you get there, you'll be one of the first to try Blue Moon's first bottled foray into the craft scene. Don't take your time getting there, either, because the first 20 fans to arrive at the undisclosed locations will receive a map to an intimate future beer dinner with one of Blue Moon's brewmasters.

"When we decided to brew an IPA, we wanted to do something different," said Keith Villa, founder and head brewmaster of Blue Moon Brewing Company. "We ultimately wanted to brew a beer that captures the best of both styles: part American IPA and part Belgian-Style White. And since we had so much fun finding ingredients, we thought it would be fun to get our fans in on the search as well."

Here's the taste profile breakdown: the beer is "medium-bodied" with "hop citrus and orange peel citrus complementing the wheat and malts for a uniquely balanced IPA bitterness," and the finish is "crisp and surprisingly balanced."