Bruz Collaborations
MOONDANCE
Blue Moon and Bruz Collaborate on Zeal
In early 2021, our friends at Blue Moon Rino District in Denver were looking to
experiment with dry hopping a Belgian-style Tripel or Strong Golden ale. As Bruz Beers
is the premiere Belgian-style brewery in Denver, they reached out to see if we would be
interested in working with them. Of course, we were, as the project sounded right up our
alley.
We decided to brew the beer at Bruz, since our smaller brewing system best suited a
project of this scope. Head Brewer Dave Olson at Bruz sat down with Abby Lundien and
Brian Leppla from Blue Moon’s Rino brewpub. They put together a game plan that
involved using a modified recipe for Bruz Diablo Colorado strong golden ale with dry
hops from New Zealand.
The beer used all Colorado ingredients, except for the New Zealand hops. We started with Root Shoot Genie malt and for kettle hops, we used Colorado-grown CTZ and Crystal hops from Highwire Hops on the Western Slope. Blue Moon provided Nectaron and Wakatu hops from New Zealand. Both varieties yielded great tropical fruit aromas, but the Nectaron hops added a totally unique dimension to the beer, which is called Zeal.
Zeal is a deep, translucent gold with a dense white head with a perfumy aroma of orange, lime, pineapple and guava. It is a beautifully balanced beer with the right level of bitterness, fruit, complexity and well-hidden alcohol (9.5%).
With a medium-full body, soft carbonation and long, dry, fruity finish, it is a superb example of a modern strong golden beer.
Zeal is a deep, translucent gold with a dense white head with a perfumy aroma of
orange, lime, pineapple and guava. It is a beautifully balanced beer with the right level
of bitterness, fruit, complexity and well-hidden alcohol (9.5%). With a medium-full body,
soft carbonation and long, dry, fruity finish, it is a superb example of a modern strong
golden beer.
