Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

Dark amber/cider color; Medium creamy body; Aroma of sweet malt, hops, & fruit; Flavor of sweet malt, hops, dark fruit, caramel, and spice; Nicely balanced & complex; The alcohol was present in both the aroma & flavor; Overall, quite good.

Bottle. Pours a hazy golden color with a thin off white head. Aroma is grainy wih some sherry, fruit, and alcohol. Flavor is fresh fruits, sherry, caramel, citrus, and a bit of tanginess. Palate is full with light to medium carbonation.

2009 bottle from Binny’s Des Plaines. Pours hazy dark brown with decent sized tan head. Aromas of malt, caramel, dark fruits, hops, and some booze. Flavor of bitter hops, caramel, malts, dark fruits and finishes out with light alcohol burn. Lots of flavor and booze. Could use some more time to mellow out. Not to bad overall.

12 oz. bottle, pours a dark maroon with a thin beige head. Aroma of berries and other dark fruit, toffee and alcohol. Flavour of dark fruits, caramel, toffee and a powerful alcohol kick. Fantastic.

2007 bottle stored until today, 10.1% alc. listed (not 10.8%), has a clear deep red pour with an off-white, tan and faint yellow colored head, aromas of toasted malt, caramel, cookie, brown sugar, sweet cake, faint sherry alcohol and chocolate, light fragrances of dark fruit – raisin and cherry with a touch of earthiness, flavors of toasted malt and dry caramel with light hints of dark fruit, the finish had some bitterness but otherwise this is smooth and easy to drink, the nose on this ale was better than the palate, the alcohol was hidden well, a nice Barley Wine.

Born in 2007. Orange-brown with a thin tan head and ring lacing. Aroma of alcohol, cereal grains, pale malt, toffee, light fruit and mild hops. Taste of sweet malt, toffee, alcohol and light hops. Mild warming and light bitterness on the back end. Decent, but not great.

This monster was born in 2009. A - Caramel, cherry/berry fruity malt, earthy citrus hop astringency, along with booze. Smells good. A - Oily looking pour. Clear coppery brown into glass, with a tannish head. F - Quite hop-forward. Which is only good in my book, for barleywines, if the malt and body can back it up. Not very complex to me in this department. P - The 1-2 punch of earthy hops and rubbing alcohol on the palate is prickly. Off putting. Thin mouth. Big bite. Strangely enough, this is drinkable, due to the light body and hop character. O - Somewhat disappointed in this one. Don’t think I’ve ever had a full serving of Brooklyn beer before. And this was not a good first impression. Too hoppy for an English barleywine, yet, not malty enough for an American. Terrible rendition either way. Will not revisit. Sorry.

12 oz. bottle, 2009. Pours a ruby-orange with thin off white film, smells of butter, molasses, floral hops, banana bread, river. Taste is of nicely spiced buttered toast malts, sweet hop pine syrup, with a balanced finish. Mmm i love barleywine, and this one is good.