Nimbus Old Monkeyshine

Brewed by Nimbus Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Tucson, Arizona USA

Pours a filtered amber color from the bottle with a fluffy off-white head. Much closer to a scotch ale than an english strong. Smells and tastes of barley, faint roast, caramel, and tomato paste. Thin.

On tap at the brewpub. Poured brown with little head. Aroma of molasses and brown sugar. Flavor was sugary, toffee, toasted malt. Hides the abv very well.

Bottle, thick pour and very small head that fades fast. Murky to muddy brown body with some orange highlights. Strong aroma with notes of brown sugar, spice, ginger and molasses. Light fruits, but it really reminds me of ginger-ale. Taste is malty and a bit husky with strong malts and dark fruits with a touch of cinnamon as well. Very malty beer. Light biting bubbles and smooth with a bit of alcohol poking through.

Bottle courtesy of rustychiles. Pours brown with a thin white head. Smells of molasses, caramel, spice, vegetal. Tastes of sweet malt, spice, brown sugar.

Nose of raisins and heavy malts. Well-carbonated. Roasted caramel and toffee flavors dominate, with some raisins in the background. Pretty good, one of my all time Tucson favorites.

Bottle. Pours a hazy brown with a half finger beige head and nice lacing. Nose is malt, molasses and light roasted chocolate. Taste is toffee, toasted barley, some brown sugar and light cocoa with a bitter finish. Medium creamy mouth feel. Not bad at all – easy drinker.

Sampled on tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Didn’t see the label and assumed it was a barleywine before drinking. Surprised that’s for sure. English brown ale it said in tiny font below the tap list. Clear bronze color with minimal head. Caramelized brown sugar, light molasses and a faint hop character in the aroma. Straightforward flavor of more brown sugar and caramel malts. A bit spicy on the palate. Quite drinkable, light body. Not too shabby.

The deep, violet colored body shines with dark crimson as the transparent liquid is backlit. A dense, spongy, mocha colored head shows good retention, while swaths of fine, sugary lace cling to the glass. The aroma shows barely scorched caramel, with a bevy of dark fruits (figs, dates, raisons) encrusted in baked-on brown sugar. Hazelnuts and pecans lend a roasted nuttiness, while a hefty dose of lactose offers a calming creaminess. I even pick up light hints of smoke, chocolate, and coffee. Flavors mimic the nose, caramelized fruits and nuts balancing between sweet and earthen. A nice dose of spicy hops show on the finish, though the lactic mocha cream is there to douse the heat. Smooth and silky in the mouth, with moderate to low carbonation, this drinks surprisingly easily for an 8% brew. This reminds me of a poor man’s Avery Old Jubilation. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I certainly think it is well under appreciated.