Brewsters Blue Monk Barley Wine

Brewed by Brewsters Brewing Co. - Alberta
Style: Barley Wine
Calgary, Canada

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

A cool bottle thanks to Presario. Pours a cloudy red/brown color with a small white head. The aroma is very sweet, some caramel, sweet fruits, malts, and a bit of alcohol. The flavor is also sweet, but not as sweet as some English BWs, some dark fruit, hops, and a lot of caramel. The malts and some alcohol warmth stand out too. Not bad at all. Sugary, but not too sweet. Nice.

In short: A messy, fruity and boozy yeasty big beer. Meh.
How: Bottle 500ml. Consumed approximately 12 months after bottling.
The look: Cloudy dark amber body with A LOT of particles and topped by a small persistent beige head
In long: Nose shows a typical fruity caramel with some alcohol fumes. Taste has oily caramelized malts but overall the body felt a bit juicy-thin. This barley wine is yeasty and fruity as hell, like a cross between a Barley Wine and a Strong Belgian Golden Ale. Taste has plenty of apples, some apricots. Also boiled cabbage, dirty sweaty socks and rotting food. With the yeast and fruity flavors, the sweetness sensation feels more like drinking the sweet juice from canned fruits more than caramelized malts. Body is kind of lifeless. Alcohol is very much present, too much so for a 10% beer. All in all, this was very lame. Brewsters is really a lame brewery, I would never compare people working in a brewery like Brewsters to the people running White Birch Brewery, that would be just too mean and insulting, so I’ll just say that the quality insurance people at Brewsters are simply as despicable as fanatic Hitlerians.

Single bottle purchased from Brewsters Brew Pub on 11th Ave. SW in Calgary, AB on 02/24/2012. Colour: Medium brown. White head that arose over time after the pour. Nose: Sweet caramel and maple malt. Sweet fruit hops are distant. Late summer soil is deeply hidden but released with swirling. A salty overtone appears too. Taste: Medium sweet, medium-light bitter, medium-light sour. Traditonal Brewsters Beer in that the sugar blast appears first but the balanced play of the hops and yeast add some stablility. The alcohol plays like black liquorice. Drinkable for sure.

Golden amber pour with small head. Aroma is fruity, grapefruit and hay. Taste is slightly malty with grapefruit and honey and a bitter hop finish. Carbonation is low. Not bad.

Blue Monk pours a very dark blue. Just kidding – it pours a dark rusty brown that looks more orangish when held to the light. A solid one finger off-white head developed in the tulip glass with extended retention. Average lacing occurred on the glass and the head receded into a thin collar. The aroma is less potent than I had anticipated but it is loaded with malts. I can pick out caramel and the distinct smell of alcohol. This aroma truly reminded me of wine more than the typical beer. I can get a bit of raisin and hops in the aroma once the beer has warmed a few degress. The malts are dictating the taste of this one bringing some strong bready notes paired with a very powerful caramel. There is a touch of sweetness with the caramel but the finish is on the bitter side and tastes of pine and hops. The beer is full bodied with low to moderate carbonation. There is a very nice warming sensation from this beer and as you breath after every sip you get the alcohol sensation down your throat. Overall this was a very nice beer for the winter weather. I found it to be rather one dimensional and the alcohol influence to be a little more prominent than I would like. Compared to other beers of this strength it had low complexity. Constructive feedback aside, the things this beer does it does quite well.

Gift from hoser. Pours a reddish golden brown with a small head. The aroma is full and fruity. Honey, brown sugar, red berries, vanilla, caramel and spice. The flavor is a little disapointing. Almost flat. The alcohol is in your face. Given this bottle is more than a year old I’m a little surprised.

Great aroma soo complex. Very hopy tones of fruity and deep malt notes. Excelent colour. Great head. Nice mouth feel Strong sweet malts dominate. Delicate hops.. bitterness in the finish giving way to More sweetness. Slightly boozy but thos is a great barley wine.

Bottle, with thanks to hobbersr. 2009 bottle. Pours murky tawny/orange, thin off-white head, solid lacing. Nose is very promising - rich malt, marmalade, caramel, toffee, cherries, brandy. Flavours are not so great, still boozy, some bready notes, brandy, caramel apples, figs, treacle toast... Nice.

Thanks to Vertical Bacon Strips for this one. Pours a dirty brown with some floating yeasties. No carbonation. Aroma is fig, date and molasses. Taste is a bit thin and watery to start but the flavours follow quickly. Lots of malt and fig comes at you fast with raisin. Although it doesn’t last it is a nice sipper.

Seasonal favorite - I make sure to ask whenever I’m at Brewsters whether they have any, even if I know it’s off-season. Medium sweetness with fruity notes, strong hoppy flavor with a smooth mouthfeel. Finishes with residual sweetness and a hint of alcohol. Minimal head, lacing, and carbonation, which I like. Really a pleasure to drink - whenever I get the Brewsters beer sampler, I save this one for last.

Enjoyed on tap at the brewpub downtown. Cloudy grapefruit with an off- white head, and lace. Funky aroma. A smooth, creamy mouthfeel that is above average. A hoppy beer, with the English malt and barley in the secondary. A lot of ideas, and none of them conlficting with each other.