Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

"I also managed to get a decent sized tan crown out of the bottle and into my vintage Budweiser chalice (why does this chalice exist) and as all barley wines the crown reduces to a small ring around the edge. The body appears to be blood orange (thanks Nat for that new color name). First sniff is very woody with mild chocolaty notes, peachy hops, and alcohol round off the aroma. To much alcohol in the flavour for my liking, wow after the first couple of sips my stomach feels like its on fire. Lots of dark woody malts in the flavour, wow this is intense, loads of bitterness in the after taste. Way to much alcohol in this for me and its not hidden very well nor is it the kind that is tasty. For a beer this is dam tasty but for an English barley wine it’s kind of disappointing but my god after one 355ml bottle my head swimming.

Sample from bottle at CBF 09. Deep red body, small head. Wine-like beer with lots of dried fruits and berries in aroma and taste with underlying sweet, dark malts. Bone dry ending with some impacts from the alcohol. Full bodied. In danger of being a bit too sweet (17.05.2009).

In short: A basic by-the-book heavily caramelized American barley Wine. Good.
How: Bottle 12oz. Vintage 2007. Consumed when about 1.5 year old.
The look: Partly cloudy amber body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Pleasant strong nose of toffee and fruity-flavoured hard-candy. Taste is straightforward but effective. Sugary caramel, dry toasted bread, hard-candies. There is a weird but pleasant dryness in the finish that resembles roasted wood and it makes the beer more drinkable. Warm alcohol presence, not annoying but not well hidden either. Very drinkable but very ordinary for the style. If all monsters would that ordinary the Yeti and the Medusa would be gardening and mowing their lawn in a New-Jersey suburb.

Bottle. Clear amber body. Off white medium head. Sweet malty aroma with some dakr ripe fruit. Flavour is sweet malt, tobacco and raisins. Medium bodied. Ends up warm and alcoholic.

Not terribly impressed. Aroma of interesting caramel notes. Flavor was kind of bland though.

THOUGHTS: Really nice, but not the best barley wine. The alcohol was a little harsh, but not bad in this beer. Seemed a little more like an American strong ale than a barley wine. At first I first I liked the flavor more than the aroma, but halfway through my opinion switched. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, medium to dark, amber with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate caramel, light grain, light to moderate hops, light almost leathery yeast, brown sugar, sort of a maple syrup not, light alcohol (very light for the ABV), fruits, something like duck sauce and a little cream. The initial flavor was sweet and bitter just like the finish, which had an average to long duration. There was fruit, caramel, peach, pancake syrup, and metallic and piney hops. The medium to full body was a little syrupy with fizzy carbonation and a slightly metallic, moderately to heavily alcoholic (but not bad for the ABV) and sort of dry finish.

bottle, 2007 vintage, golden brown colored with fast disappearing foam, aroma of honey, brown sugar, some resiny hops, flavor is similar, honey, hoppish, slight metallic, alcohol is not prevalent

just rode 8 miles home from work in rough weather, hail, ass load of rain and win. cherry creek was flooded, but i rode through it. road bikes with slick tires and flooded creeks are a fun combination. got home soaked and coated with mud. it was a great time, except for the hail, that shit hurts. so i need a good pick me up, lets see what this beer is made of. 08 looks reddish brown as mauer just cranked one over the fence on the game that i’m watching. poured heady but settled quick. smells of raisin, figs, and something earthy with a nice hint of orange peel like notes. yeah, this is a nice englishbarley wine. warming, lots of dark fruit, cinnamon maybe? spicey alcohol bite. well turned double play. hops are still a bit dominant, but this is really working well for me.