Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

Hazy amber with tiny short lasting head. Aroma is sweet with malty and hoppy notes. Flavor is fruity with malt and hops being the most dominant players here. Ends bitter.

Pours an off-red color with a limited amount of head. Aroma is strong fruits and yeast, almost over powering. Flavor is surprisingly strong (although not so surprising when you consider the aroma) with notes of fruit, yeast, amber malts and alcohol. I think that a little of the complexity of this might have been lost to the cold as it came across slightly muddied.

2007 bottle. Poure d adeep ruby red color with a tiny white head. The aroma was of dark fruits, caramel, sweet malts, candy sugar, and some hops. The flavor is pretty sweet with the malts and caramel blended in with citrus fruit and some vanilla. A nice alcohol warmth quickly makes it presence felt with some hoppy bitterness to go with it. This one has a lot of complexity to it. Has a nice medium body with a smooth mouthfeel that goes down warm with a slight bitterness. A nice barley wine, but seems a little young at this time. I’ll revisit this one once it has had time to sit for a bit.

This beer is hard to describe, as nothing jumps out at me. Reddish-brown with an off-white head that doesn’t last. I get some vague spiciness in the aroma and taste. Fruit is there, but the alcohol is a tad overpowering. Admittedly, this is too fresh for a barleywine.

2007 bottle. Pours a scary looking clear mahogany color with a small off-white head. Aroma is strong fruits, leaves, a little bit of alcohol and some candy. Taste is fruity with a sharp bite of cloying, sweet candy and a slightly alcoholic finish. This is not enjoyable at this point though I don’t think it’s entirely fair to judge it at this point because a beer like this needs to be aged. Perhaps in the future I will revisit this but fresh bottles are not for me.

Toffee and burnt malt aroma. Amazing deep red color. This is an extremely thick beer. Starts with carbonated kick and ends hoppy. Update 10/24/08: Cracked on 06’ vintage. Malt presence very evident. burnt sugar, bitterness evident on back of palate. Alcohol pretty well hidden. Much thinner now.

This is a hard beer to rate. It’s a barleywine to be sure, and strong. I don’t wish to comment much on the flavor and behavior, the above are averages. I’ve been drinking this since 2001 vintage, and every year it changes, as well as changing (duh) with age, (though less than with vintage). The 02 was probably the best year, though 01 and 04 were quite solid too.

12 oz. bottle, "was born in 2005," sampled in a snifter. L: Hazy reddish woody amber with a tight head of creamy foam that quickly dissipates into a thin sudsy lacing. Light amounts of splotchy lacing. S: Dried apricots and pears with cleaner solvent-like alcohol. At the edges is a soft spiciness and metallic silver tin scents. F&T: Smooth with a full bodied creaminess and a dry alcoholic sting in the back of the throat. Apricots, pears and light touches of tropical fruits mesh with the caramel malts to give this a sour sweetness. The alcohol is both spicy and metallic, grows stronger in strength and warmth as the taste progresses. Bare hints of herbal hops that turn quite citric juicy in the finish. A finale of grain bread, citrus and metallic flavored alcohol. If the alcohol was more tamed and balance in the taste, I think the drinkability would only increase, this starts to become harsh as you near the end. One bottle and I’m done for the evening.