United Nations of Beer

Great Lakes Holy Moses White ale

by Chris Perrin
(Beer Delegate, MO, USA)

Holy Moses White ale
Great Lakes Brewing Company

On a recent trip to the Detroit, Michigan area, I got the opportunity to kick back with some friends and sample the local brews.

Always on the lookout to try something new, I picked up a six pack of Great Lakes Brewing Co's Holy Moses White Ale which I selected from amongst the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and the Commodore Perry IPA.

While there is always a certain appeal to drinking beers named after a shipwreck or a war hero, I went with the Holy Moses because I have not had the chance, or so I thought, to drink many white ales.

All I can say is WOW. Apparently Moses knew more than just how to lead his people to freedom, because Holy Moses White Ale is a very flavorful beer that was both crisp and refreshing.

I definitely thought that I would be able to drink more than one sixer of the brew without feeling thirsty and the taste made want to try.

As far as the taste goes, this beer has a very complex flavor. It starts out tasting much like a traditional unfiltered wheat: smooth, but at the same time, more refined than I am used to. Almost immediately, the smooth flavor disappears and is replaced by a taste I am going to call fruity.

Holy Moses White ale is not a fruity beer like the 75th Street Royal Raspberry or Samuel Adam's Cherry Wheat, but it does carry a good tang from citrus peels. The flavor rounds out with the dark spice of coriander and then, of all things,


camomile.

The only problem I had with this beer is that it was a bit sweet. I personally did not mind the sweetness, especially with the coriander balancing out the sweet/savory balance, but I believe a lot of people will find the sweetness overpowering.

For those who traditionally find that they do not like sweet beers, I would still give Holy Moses a try, because the sweetness does not stick to the tongue. After all, it is an unfiltered wheat, so the taste washes away quickly and is replaced by a far less sweet aftertaste, which features coriander as the star.

When I got home, I checked the Great Lakes Brewing Company website and read more about Holy Moses White ale.

The website was very helpful, explaining that the beer is called a white ale because it is unfiltered, so I learned that I had drank a lot more white ales than I had thought.

I did, though, have to take one issue with the description. The beer was described as being good with "mild seafood, salads, or spiced/herbed dishes," but I would never serve a mild dish or salad with this beer because the sweetness would overpower any delicate flavors.

If anything, Holy Moses White ale would be perfect as a drink before the meal, perhaps served with spicy cocktail nuts or pretzels, as a palate cleanser, or as a beer to be drunk on its own.

All in all, I think it is a terrific offering that most should enjoy. If I can find a reliable source of the brew, I plan to add it to my regular selection.