Midnight Sun La Mâitresse du Moine

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Anchorage, Alaska USA

July ’02 dating, snifter. Mountainous light brown head that puts nitro cans to shame in form and persistence. A deep blood red to purple hue is visually enticing. More simply could not have been asked for in this respect. Sharp caramel, dark chocolate, and a hint of walnuts are the brunt of the malt aroma. Hops are light, but distinctly of a floral and herb aroma. Yeast comes across quite leathery. Other aromas include red grapes, plums, prunes, cassis, port and a touch of alcohol. The yeast profile keeps me from scoring this higher. Flavor does not deviate from the aroma in any significant manner. As expected, the beer starts off heavily sweet and then backs off a bit as a tinge of acidity and bitterness jump in. A bit of vodka-like alcohol sharpness is an unwelcome presence. Body is thinner than expected, albeit still moderately heavy, but in hindsight it seems that candi sugar might have been used quite liberally in this beer. Carbonation is average. Overall, a bit watery. The bottom line is: Looks good/smells good/tastes good/feels good…but, the yeast and the alcohol really hurt this beer. I’d be interested in seeing what older and younger bottles are like.

light brown color, tan head. dark malt and alcohol nose. fizzy mouthfeel. sweet dark malts flavor. slight dry sweet alcohol finish. thanks HopDog!

Dark brown color with a small tan head. Sweet chocolate malt aroma with hints of dark fruits, yeast and cloves. Nice roasted chocolate malt flavor with dark fruits and some toffee.

Poured a reddish, mahogany color with a small, tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Apicy aroma of dried fruits, some cherries, some yeast, chocolate, roast and a little alcohol. More dried fruits in the taste, sweet caramel malts, yeast, and alcohol. Rather tingly.

NIce, I like the way the bubbles of the head look on the side of the glass, looks like fish eggs. A dark, caramel color. Complex aroma and taste. Stinging alcohol, fresh bread, dark fruits, some candied sweets and belgian yeast. For $7.45/22oz this is a better deal than a Westy 12 or a Roq 10 and it is comparable.

Dark brown with good head. Very fruity and spicy. Good Belgian. I was surprised to see that it came from Alaska.

Pours a very dark brown that glows red in the light. Slightly murky. The head starts off as a large khaki foam and then settles into a soupy, light chocolate milk foam. The aroma is great. The Belgian yeast funk is all in this with tons of apple peel, stone fruits, clove and cinnamon. The flavor is nicely malty to back up the yeasty fruit and spice but the body is a tad thin. Extremely impressive take on a Belgian strong ale from this little brewery. Midnight Sun is definitely on my list to visit on my next trip to Alaska.

22oz bottle, bottled in July, probably 2003. Dark chocolate color. Big foaming tan head. Big chocolate sweet aroma with something of an hebal essence to it. Dark malt acidity in the finish. Earth. Dark chocolate again. somewhat roasty and raisiny. Bit smokey. In the finish figs start to come out, and in the nose too as it warms. I don’t know if there’s a place on earth much more removed from Belgium than ALaska, but this is a pretty decent approximation. Dark malt character is a little bit bigger in this one than some Belgians, but its a decent take. becomes leathery and alcoholic as it breathes, but maintains its shape well. This isn’t a complete rave, but a very good beer.