MillerCoors has tabled plans to release a new summer seasonal ale after some wholesalers — including those on the company’s distributor council — criticized the new introduction.
The company will instead release “Blue Moon Belgian Table Belgian Pils,” it told distributors today.
Blue Moon Havana Summer Ale, first unveiled at MillerCoors’ annual distributor meeting held earlier this month in Las Vegas, will be replaced by the all-malt craft pils, which is brewed with two-row Moravian barley and a combination of Mandarina hops and mandarin orange peel.
“We listen to distributor feedback on various issues all the time and after hearing mixed reviews on this product at our meeting reception, we decided to go in a different direction,” company spokesman Jonathan Stern told Brewbound.
In a note to wholesales, MillerCoors described Blue Moon Belgian Table Pils as a “balanced, easy-drinking pilsner with hints of citrus.”
Blue Moon brewmaster Keith Villa and his brewing team had already created Belgian Pils, which checks in a t 4.2 percent ABV, the company said, but MillerCoors only planned to feature it in next year’s summer variety pack. That pack will still feature Belgian Pils and well as the original Blue Moon Belgian White, Blue Moon White IPA and the previous summer seasonal, Summer Honey Wheat.
Package configurations, ordering and retail schedules for Belgian Table Pils won’t change from the original plan for Havana Summer Ale, the company noted.