Brooklyn Monster Ale

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Brooklyn, New York USA

2006 12 oz. bottle from Premier Gourmet - Pours a light brown color with a one finger thick off white head. Light lacing. Aroma is toasted malt, esters, and slightly vinous. Flavor is toasted malt and alcohol. There is very little hop presence left in the flavor or aroma. Medium body. I would like to try a fresh one. An OK BW.

Aroma of dried dark fruits, and alcohol. I imagined it to smell much more strongly, but wasn’t overwhelming which was welcome. Dark copper body with a very thin head. Laces well. A much milder flavor than I imagined, and wasn’t overly sweet. Very balanced and enjoyable. Malt, fruit. Not too thick, but still not the most enjoyable palate. Good carbonation. Good barley wine. My favorite that I’ve had in a style I don’t really love. A good beer for someone not too versed in barley wines.

On tap at the Big Pour in Mesa AZ. Pours a copper color with a small white head. Aroma of yeast, malt, hops. Flavor is malt fruits, caramel, citrus, sugars. Decent Barlewyine.

Bottle. Pours light brown with thick soft head, Smells very hoppy, like grass, pine, and citrus, and like thick malted cereal. Tastes strong, very bitter and sweet, tons of citrus, pine, and very thick tasting malts and fruits, even carmel, as the flavor stay with you for a while. Warms you up as it goes down and the flavor intensifies at it warms. Excellent beer!

2005 bottle. 3 years old. A thin off-white head sits beneath a clear copper body. The head disappears quickly and it looks like brandy. The aroma is phenomenal. Age has done wonders to this. Dig, date, raisin, bourbon, port, cherries and caramel. The taste is absolutely sublime. Sticky sweet port and bourbon notes meld with bittersweet chocolate, coffee, caramel, grapes, cherries, berries, plums, raisins, and a great spicy finish. AGE THIS BEER! 3 years in the bottle makes for a masterpiece.

By barley-wine standards, this beer struck me as little better than average. I liked the appearance and aroma, but flavor and mouthfeel disappointed a bit. This beer had a sparkling body with very minimal head. It smelled good; I noted what to me was a very pleasant cereal quality, and I am not big on cereal- or grainy-flavors. Flavor however was overly grainy, and without the the-mash-is-boiling-and-you’re-in-the-brewho notes that I got out of the aroma...more like a malted milk ball, which is not a flavor I am a fan of. Mouthfeel was pretty thin, particularly compared to some other barley-wines I’ve had lately, notably Old Crustacean and Curmudgeon. Not a terrific effort for this style. I’d only weakly recommend it.

2005 Bottle from Barley Wine, Copenhagen. Clear oragne/ruby with a vinous aroma, some peppery hop. It’s quite a well balanced, subdued, understated barley wine. Alcohol is well hidden. Some syrupy malts. Reminds me of Fullers Vintage ale. Good toffee and plum and rich fruit. Hops are peppery, white pepper, but balanced vs the malt.

Brewed in the USA !! (KSBF) Pours a nice copper color with a sm white head. The aroma is of sherry and fruits. The taste has a citrus, malts, and of course alcohol flavor. Finish has a bitterness to it, but pretty enjoyable.