Barley Island Sinister Minister Belgian Black Ale

Brewed by Barley Island Brewing
Style: Traditional Ale
Noblesville, Indiana USA

2007 Bottle Date; Sampled January 2009
An average pour into my 25cl tulip glass leaves me with three-fingers of lightly browned, light tan colored head. The beer is quite a dark brown, almost black color that shows a brilliantly clear, rich ruby hue to it when held up to the light. The aroma has a fruitiness to it up front, but then has a meaty malt character to it that is a bit surprising to me. Aromas of toasted, roasted, almost smoky, dark malt a deep toasted nuttiness (almost like peanut butter). After a bit the nutty note in the finish seems like it has gone a little rancid. The aroma on this is not bad, but it is really interesting, I have never quite smelled a beer like this before.

Lightly sweet, again with a fruit note that reminds me of prunes and raisins. The beer picks up a hint of tartness in the middle that continues to accentuated the fruit flavors. This beer feels a little light as it first hits the tongue, but it picks up a viscousness as it rolls across the tongue and actually finishes with a fair amount of heft. That interesting, slightly rancid nuttiness of the aroma is much subdued in the flavor; there is a touch of it here that is almost more of an oral-nasal sense than anything. Dark malt notes tend to temper that dark fruit notes a bit and also provide a touch of burnt grain bitterness as well as a touch of burnt acidity and perhaps some tannic astringency. This could use some spiciness to it; it is somehow Belgian-style and some fermentation spiciness would provide a lot more balance to this beer. As the beer warms up the fruitiness begins to take on a cola like edge.

Other than the fact that the aroma is really starting to annoy me, this isn’t a bad beer; I keep on thinking I should be able to exactly identify this note in the aroma, but I can’t quite place my finger on it.

22 oz. bottle. Pours brown with garnet highlights and a medium sized beige head. The aroma has moderate sweetness, yeast, a mix of fruits, and lightly spicy. The flavor had bready malts, slightly fruity, dusty, yeast, but there seems to be something wrong. I wasn’t sure how old this was, but it appears as if this is in a downward spiral. Medium bodied. I should try this again when I know its fresher.

22. 2007. Thanks, Yem! Pours black with a wispy little white head. Big brown bread, roast, and toast nose. Nice! Creamy medium body, very light carb. Toast, roast, and brown bread go round again on the mid-palate, with a mild note of weak coffee crossing the palate at the finish. Solid, stable, well-made little beer.

22oz bottle from StFun. Thanks, Josh. Nice brown pour, with some glinting red in the appearance and a lively carbonation. The nose was rich and very fruity, and this more or less characterizes the taste as well. I was expecting something with more bitterness, and some roasted flavors. This actually comes across far more like a dubbel than anything else, though certainly an enjoyable one. Lively mouthfeel, tasty blend of ripe dark fruits and malts, long finish. Tasty beer.

Black ales and black lagers are elusive specimens, so I am very pleased to partake of a Belgian inspired black ale. Into her dark depths do I prepare to surrender my soul.
her sinisterly seductive liquid fills my glass a dark brown with slight light glinting through along the sides of the glass; a faint amber hue. Not too much head, but an almost immediate brussels lace trail sticks to the sides of my glass. Her nose is lightly sweet with yeast and fresh fall apples. A touch of spice adds to the mix. My first quaff is full of bready chewiness and a smooth, slightly oily body. Faint effervescence prevents Sinister Minister from being too thick and overly cloying, though she definitely has a full body and mouthfeel. a bit more of a sweet and sour twang in the palate as opposed to the nose, leaving an almost lingering sour yeast pucker in the finish. A touch of banana notes alongside the crisp fall apples and spice.
Overall, an intriguing brew. The Belgian style element really changes this black ale from something ordinarily extraordinary into something unusually extraordinary. A bit confused I think as I was left not quite sure the overall impression the Barley Island Sinister Minister Belgian Black Ale was going for, but I do know I enjoyed it. Good; could maybe use a wee bit of fine-tuning, but not much. I would drink it again.

Bottle... Post RBSG ’08 O-Town/Vero Beach Throwdown Chapter 8... Clear, deep, dark mahogany ale with a small, creamy, khaki head. Decent retention. The fruity, estery aroma provides notations of chocolate and banana. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. Perfectly balanced, but there’s just not much going on. Finishes bland and watery. It’s not my cup of tea, but thanks to SoLan for providing the bottle of beer!

Bomber courtesy of StFun. Pours a clear dark reddish brown with minimal head. Nose is light coffee, mild cocoa, roasted barley and smoke. Taste is pretty much like the aroma, except there’s a dark fruitiness right as you take a sip. Lighter, prickly mouth feel. Not bad – thanks Josh!

Dark amber color out of the bottle with a fizzy beige head that left quickly. Thin, watery sweet nose. Not a lot of character in here, but nothing really offensive. Thin caramel sweetness, some roasted grains and faint chocolate. Kind of boring.