Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

(2006 Birth): Having a hard time getting a handle on this one. The flavor is a little mellow, with a slight hops presence in the end. Smooth mouthfeel. While the alcohol shows its flair here it is not the major player and does not overpower the other flavors and aromas of the beer. Great brew, but I tend to enjoy the more arrogantly and unapologeticly flavored and hopped American styles. If you like the traditional English style barleywines than this is for you.

12oz. bottle. Pours a clear, dark amber color with a thin, white head that dissipates rather quickly. Heavy aromas of hops, tropical fruits, and spice with a faint alcohol hint. Flavor is rather sweet when hitting the mouth, and has a bitter, hoppy finish with hints of sweet fruit and spice as well. Has a very soft, velvety mouthfeel, and the 10.8% is hidden rather well for the most part. Enjoyable brew.

This is an ager for sure. 2007 vintage. Have a few of the 2006 bottles aging and, from what I remember, those were much sweeter than the current vintage. I think this batch is already much more drinkable. Very well balanced for such a young barley wine. Everything is there, sweetness, toffee aroma/flavor, SLIGHT bitterness from the hops, leather, velvet mouthfeel....etc. There is a brown sugar twang and slight sour note in the finish that’s just subtle enough to notice. Glad I waited to rate this: As I said before, I think last year’s release was much sweeter and very harsh, needing a few years to just calm down. I think the current vintage tastes great now and will continue to mature for a couple years. Am I talking out my ass? We’ll see....

Hazy amber with tiny short lasting head. Aroma is sweet with malty and hoppy notes. Flavor is fruity with malt and hops being the most dominant players here. Ends bitter.

Pours an off-red color with a limited amount of head. Aroma is strong fruits and yeast, almost over powering. Flavor is surprisingly strong (although not so surprising when you consider the aroma) with notes of fruit, yeast, amber malts and alcohol. I think that a little of the complexity of this might have been lost to the cold as it came across slightly muddied.

2007 bottle. Poure d adeep ruby red color with a tiny white head. The aroma was of dark fruits, caramel, sweet malts, candy sugar, and some hops. The flavor is pretty sweet with the malts and caramel blended in with citrus fruit and some vanilla. A nice alcohol warmth quickly makes it presence felt with some hoppy bitterness to go with it. This one has a lot of complexity to it. Has a nice medium body with a smooth mouthfeel that goes down warm with a slight bitterness. A nice barley wine, but seems a little young at this time. I’ll revisit this one once it has had time to sit for a bit.

This beer is hard to describe, as nothing jumps out at me. Reddish-brown with an off-white head that doesn’t last. I get some vague spiciness in the aroma and taste. Fruit is there, but the alcohol is a tad overpowering. Admittedly, this is too fresh for a barleywine.

2007 bottle. Pours a scary looking clear mahogany color with a small off-white head. Aroma is strong fruits, leaves, a little bit of alcohol and some candy. Taste is fruity with a sharp bite of cloying, sweet candy and a slightly alcoholic finish. This is not enjoyable at this point though I don’t think it’s entirely fair to judge it at this point because a beer like this needs to be aged. Perhaps in the future I will revisit this but fresh bottles are not for me.