The orange is just one twist in the history of Blue Moon Brewing Co.
It started 20 years ago when the brewery’s founder and head brewmaster garnished Blue Moon Belgian White with an orange slice.
It’s common for traditional Belgian witbiers to get a lemon garnish, but Keith Villa figured an orange would really bring out the sweet Valencia orange peel he uses to brew Blue Moon Belgian White. (Which is another twist because Belgian wits are typically made with tart Curaçao orange.)
Keith was right, and Blue Moon became the first American beer to call for an orange.
He did — and still does — a lot of pioneering work in beer (you’ll learn more when you take the quiz below).
But despite all that innovation and envelope-pushing, there were times when Blue Moon Brewing almost didn't make it. Its parent company (that's us) tried to pull the plug on the then-little brewery. More than once.
That would’ve been a cruel twist considering we couldn't imagine MillerCoors without Blue Moon today. In fact we’re opening a new Blue Moon pilot brewery and tasting room in Denver’s RiNo Art District next year.
So that's Blue Moon history, the short version. Now for the hard stuff. Ready to crush this quiz?