Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

2005 bottle courtesy of boboski. Copper color with no head. Malt abounds, but an almost sweetish hop aroma makes it to the nose. Lingering soapy hop finish to the taste, but not sharp or aggressive. Things nicely melded as it warmed, but I still would’ve liked a greater hop presence in the taste. But overall a very good brew.

year 2000 12oz bottle. pours deep mahogony with small ring off white head. nose is sweet red fruits with slight soy and vegetable notes (perhaps slightly past it’s prime). flavor is also sorta vegetablely, sweet dark fruits, and caramel. flavors feel flat and dull. i had a bottle of this vintage a few months ago and it was much richer and vibriant. i’ll continue to re-rate this vintage.

Bottle: Red clear colour, nice white heade. Aroma is malt, citrus, vine, hops, flowery,a bit metalic too. Flavor is malt,citrus,vine.This is for me a typical barlywine.Lots of malt and alc bitternes, with a sweet mix and metalic. Medium to full body, medium finish.

Bottled (2005 vintage, 10.8%). Clear amber, brief head. Aroma of rum, fruit annd lightly citric hops. The bodh is rather slim for a beer this size. Grainy malt combines with alcohol and fruit. Hops dries it the finish and provided a lastign salty bitterness. Less hoppy than most American barley wines, instead more balanced.

Mettalic coppery pour with a slightly off-white head that lingers and laces well. The nose is rich sweet malt, citrus hops and alcohol. The flavor is malt forward...roasted caramel and toffee, oak, vanilla, and dried fruits. The citrus hops, prominent in the aroma, recede somewhat upon tasting, bowing to the big sweet maltiness. The palate is dominated by the malt bottom followed by a lingering citrus hop bite in the finish, all interspersed with an intermittantly very prominent ABV that plays peekaboo throughout!

butterscotch, banana, earthy, leaves, floral, hay, brown, cloudy, tan foam, heavy cloying sweetness, lightly bitter, medium sourness, medium body, long finish,

Bottle. "THIS MONSTER ALE WAS BORN IN 2006" as the terrible metallic Robocop label proclaimed. Snifter pour produced a clear garnet color with minimal if no head. Aroma of un-buttered toffee or bronzed rock candy (not quite brown sugar), infused with orange, zesty hops and some herbal and wood notes. Some slight alcohol vapor drifts up as well. Sweet but balanced toffee/caramel flavor with a bit of citrusy hops and woodiness in the back. Warming, though alcohol well subdued in the palate. Barleywines are generally not my thing, but I appreciate this for its "balance" --not too sweet nor too woody.

[rerated 7 Apr 2008] (2003 bottle) My coworker sprung this little surprise on me. (Thanks, Mike!) After half a decade in the bottle, things have changed. It looks about the same as it usually does: cloudy reddish orange and a sturdy little beige head. The aroma is completely changed. Hops aren’t really detectable-- it’s all esters. The aroma is sweet and fruity like a caramel apple. There are also pears, peaches, figs-- it doesn’t really smell like a beer. It’s actually pretty sparkling on the tongue with a dry finish. The flavor continues what the aroma started. Caramel apples and a fruit salad. Sherry, fruit wine and mead all wrapped up in one. Quite an experience! Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 4/5; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 5/5; Overall: 16/20; Total: 4.1 [rerated 27 Dec 2007] (2006 bottle) Brooklyn Monster Ale is a hazy vermillion brown ale with a blotchy beige head that clumps up with oily bubbles as it fades. It leaves great lacing. The hops are most prominent in the aroma: grass, hay and a bit of medicine. A sweet caramel smell lies beneath. There is a bit of a concrete or stone element. It’s not loud and the aroma is elusive. It is medium-full bodied, slick, soft and fluffy. The flavor elements are very fused. It’s sweet for a moment. It becomes a bit salty (like salty licorice) then a resiny semi-wooden flavor sweeps in and turns into a long finish. There is a fruitiness to it, like lime and maybe even mangoes. The malt is a bit like biscuits and waffles. The tongue is left smooth and slick and ringing of grapefruit peel and resin. The alcohol is well hidden. It’s intense, but in a mellow and mature fashion. Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 4/5; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 5/5; Overall: 16/20; Total: 4.0 [rated 2 Feb 2006] (2005 bottle) This beer pours a clear red-gold with a short-lasting off-white head with excellent lacing. the bubbles stay on the side of the glass indefinitely. The aroma is mostly a wallop of barley malt with a twinge of deep tangerine and vanilla, perhaps. The flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately bitter. The finish is long. It starts with apples and oranges and fades to tree bark. It has a rather full, syrupy yet dry (in an English way) texture with light carbonation and heavy alcohol in the finish. The black pepper flavor of the alcohol starts to pick up in the aftertaste. It’s quite drinkable-- more of a Strong Ale than a Barleywine. It seems a little light on body and a little heavy on alcohol. After a year in the bottle, the flavors are fused tightly. Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/5; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 3/5; Overall: 15/20; Total: 3.7