Blue Moon Beverages is best known for its flagship beer, Blue Moon Belgian White, which is a wheat beer brewed by Coors Beverage Company. It is celebrated for its unique approach to brewing. The beer’s recipe is inspired by the Belgian wheat beer style, featuring a blend of ingredients such as orange peel and coriander, which contribute to its distinctive flavor profile. In fact, the signature orange slice garnish became a recognizable aspect of the beer’s presentation.
Meaning and History
Launched in 1995, Blue Moon was created by Keith Villa, a brewer who aimed to craft a Belgian-style white beer that would appeal to American beer drinkers. In its early years, Blue Moon struggled to find its footing in a competitive market dominated by light lagers. Over the years, the brand has expanded its offerings to include various seasonal and limited-edition beers. Blue Moon eventually became one of the flagship brands of MillerCoors (Molson Coors Beverage Company) after Coors acquired the rights to the beer when it bought the Celis Brewery in 2004. Today, Blue Moon is recognized as one of the country’s top-selling craft beers.
What is Blue Moon?
Blue Moon is a brand of Belgian-style wheat beer. It has positioned itself as a craft-style beer, appealing to consumers looking for something different from traditional lagers and ales.
1995 – 2001
The logo features a simple yet distinct design. It includes a hand-drawn blue moon depicted as a circular shape with a light blue hue. The moon is peeking from behind a yellow wavy ribbon that holds the name. The latter is printed using a bold, serif decorative font with all uppercase letters. It features a contrasting dark blue color.
2001 – 2016
The blue moon image, which is a literal interpretation of the name, is still part of the name. The designer kept the same color palette, changing the shades just a bit. The ribbon and font, though, got straighter, easier to read, and more modern. In the background, one can see a moonlit forest and tiny white snowflakes. The overall aesthetic is meant to evoke a sense of refreshment and connection to nature.
2016 – Today
The design has been barely altered. The ribbon with the name now runs across the blue moon. The font has been kept the same, although the strokes appear slightly bolder. The company was able to maintain a recognizable brand image while modernizing its logo.
Font and Color
From the very start, the company preserved the same color palette, changing the shades ever so slightly. These include dark and sky blue colors as well as light beige. The choice is easy to explain. The blue color is part of the brand’s name. The beige color not only looks good combined with the blue but also reminds of the wheat that is a large part of the beverage.
The company also kept the font without making any major changes to it. The original font is bold and features bracketed slab serifs. The characters have a sophisticated and impressive appearance. Over the years, the company made the serifs less obvious and strokes bolder, minimizing the stroke contrast seen in the earlier version. The closest match to the latest logo is Blackriver font or Beaufort Condensed Bold font.