Brooklyn Monster Ale

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

Born in 2006 as if it was human or something. Should I go for it? Another barley wine? IMO they are much too strong and average about a 1.7 on the cheapdark scale. If you want a quick buzz, go for it with a barley wine or should I say whine? 12 oz brown bottle upon popping has a sudden sour aroma. Once poured into my poor new coach steeler stein it clears to that old familiar strong alky indicating odor. The color is not unlike iced tea. The flavor is a smashing impact of whisky alky and alky. Does not hide its brutal-ness well. I think I may enjoy the flavor of a cheap malt liquor better. Thick alky viscous-ness and sweet syrupy feel that is tough to accept. Does not agree wit my girlie taste buds, may turn them into men. Those taste buds bow at every sip. Can’t feel much carbonation. Very difficult to drink as a beer. This is right down there with brown shuggah. SN Bigfoot 2007 is definitely better than this stuff. Will not venture again into another bottle of this. It is a very attractive label that got me to buy it but forget about it in the future. You gotta try this stuff at least once to get the effect that words here cannot describe. Finish is bitter lingering medicine that you will not soon forget. Very coarse. This monster come from chiller theater. Rerate on tap at the Bocktown on 5/15/07: Pour is like darker orange yellow brown (340) Has a creamy off white head. The aroma is perfumy or floral of sorts. First taste os pretty strong. Perhaps I do detect some fruitiness in there. Not as strong as other barleywines. Coats the inside of your mouth with an oily feelng. Medicinalbitter quality about it. Difficult to enjoy for a wheat beer lover. Back of the throat alky terribleness. Lingers for a while.

Bottle. Clear, dark amber colour, no bubbles. Average off-white head. Sweet, slightly hoppy apricot aroma. Salt malty flavour with a bitter finish. Full-bodied, low carbonation.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber with a creamy beige head. Malty aroma with not much seeetness at all, but with a strange hint of something (ground beef?) and with too much clearly pronounced alcohol. Finish is very bitter. A little rough, hopefylly my remaining bottles will age well in the cellar.

Bottle from Systembolaget. This monster was born in 2005, so was around a year in the bottle before I unleashed it. Has a distinctly meaty smell upon first pouring - like crumbled stock cubes mixed with alcohol. After a while some sweet malt tones poke through. Lots of rich caramel, apple, fig and sherry flavours, with a glowing spicey alcohol finish. I’m tempted to take away a point or two for the bottle label, which looks like it was designed by a fifth grade art student in the early 80s, but fortunately the beer inside the bottle is a hell of a lot more attractive.

On tap @ Brew Kettle: Deep amber color with an off white head. Aroma, caramel, some toffee, and an earthy/citrusy hop to it. Flavor, some alcohol, fruity, caramel, some mildly bitter hops come through on the finish. Solid beer.

This Monster Ale was born in 2004 and it was July 2005 I tasted it the first time. I have a stock of this vintage in my cellar. The color is dark and syruppy golden and the aroma is harmonic, very full and fruity. The flavour is complex and develops a long time after you swallowed. At first it has notes of hops and citrus, then a lot of fruit (I especially taste raisins and plums), caramel and spice. The alcohol isn’t present as anything else than a nice warmth. It’s one of the best BW’s I know at this point, complex and with a nice bitter finish!

Heavy hoppy aroma. Off-white head color. Fair lacing. Mostly diminishing longevity. Clear red body. Moderate sweet initial flavor. Medium palate.

Draft. Aroma: Rich, sweet maltiness with notes of raisins, brown sugar, toasted nuts, and some citrus hops. Appearance: Reddish amber in color and fairly clear. Light beige head was full and creamy with great retention for such a high abv beer. Good lacing. Flavor: Big malt sweetness with notes of caramel, dark fruits, citrus, toasted nuts, rye bread, pine, and earth. Hop flavors worked well with the maltiness. Medium bitterness was just enough to wash away some of the lingering sweetness. Well balanced. Palate: Full bodied. Moderate carbonation. Overall: A good barleywine that’s more in the English style. Malt was the star here with hops playing backup. Very nice.