Brooklyn Monster Ale

[Vintage 2001 sampled November 12, 2003] The aroma is sweet malty with notes of alcohol, and apples. A fantastic aroma. The color is dark amber and it has a beutiful though disappearing head. The flavor is slightly fruity and sweet malty in the beginning with good notes of slightly sour apples, bananas, and burnt caramel. In the middle a slight but undistingable alcohol runs over the tongue. It starts out gently but explodes in a cascade of flavor impressions in the end. A beer doesn't get much better than this. Great thanks to Garret Oliver for bringing this one to Denmark.

Bottled (2005 vintage, 10.8%). Clear amber, brief head. Aroma of rum, fruit annd lightly citric hops. The bodh is rather slim for a beer this size. Grainy malt combines with alcohol and fruit. Hops dries it the finish and provided a lastign salty bitterness. Less hoppy than most American barley wines, instead more balanced.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Vintage 2004 at 11% ABV. Vaguely hazy, amber golden with a creamy, yellowish head. Fat aroma of overripe fruit and alcohol. Very full body with a smooth mouthfeel, lots and lots of sweetish caramel and overripe fruit. Lightly oxidized because of age making this very mellow and soft on the palate, madeirasized and a bit low in carbonation. Also the hops have mellowed. This has aged gracefully without losing its potent alcohol. 150506

'02, aged 2 years: Cherry-chestnut colour. Aroma of alcohol, molasses, brown sugar. Relatively soft body. Palate shows light peach, cherry, rich pale malts. At this age, the beer has mellowed and the flavours, which I find a little intense when fresh, have really come together to produce a stylish brew. Not awesome, but definitely some fine style. Ar 8 Ap 4 F 7 P 4 O 14

'03, aged 1 year: Slightly darker than the '02 in colour (tasted side-by-side). The aroma is much more alcoholic - this is pretty harsh actually, but not out of line for the style. This is a little sweeter, tarter, and nowhere near as cohesive. That extra year makes a big difference. Ar 6 Ap 4 F 6 P 3 O 12

Fresh: Bronze barley wine, with an intensely malty, dark fruit aroma, and palate that is exceedingly rich and chewy with malt. You gotta love barley wine to get into this one!

Bottled. Orange colour with a small fast disappearing head. Sweet aroma with lots of sherry, plums, alcohol and with notes of hops. Sweet flavour with hops, plums and alcohol. Nice, but I prefer barley wines with less bitterness.