Brooklyn Monster Ale

12oz bottle 2005 vintage via trade with Dorwart! - Thanks Jason! Pours dark amber with a short offwhite head that fades very quickly to a ring and laces a touch from there.. Aromas of Caramel malts, some vinous notes, and citrus hops. Flavor is big caramel malts, definitely some vinous notes with good dark fruit in there and a slight citrus finish. Not much carbonation and full body. Alcohol is well covered... I wonder if this might be better with a little more age..

Bottle, 2004. dark amber color with a small white head. Sweet and malty notes with a medium to full body. Some bitterness and alcohol in the finish.

Bottle. Brooklyn, Brooklyn may you never be sold to Carlsberg for that would be a day of shame, what a beer.

Bottle at home. Clear deep red - white head. A lot of malts and hop. But not that interesting. Maybe after at couple of years in the basement ?!?!

Bottle. 2005. Clear dark amber colour with a small tan head. Sweet malty slightly hoppy aroma, with some hints of alcohol. Sweet malty flavor with some dark fruits, raisins, caramel and toffee. Dry bitter aftertaste with some toffee hints.

Bottle. Pours clear orange amber, white head. Aroma is malt, raisin, alcohol. Flavor is malt, wine, raisin, caramel, and alcohol.

This evening I had the opportunity to have a Brooklyn Monster Ale 2005 and right now I am working on the Brooklyn Monster Ale 2004. I will try to tell you about both but my rating may be biased to the 04 because in a few ways I liked it better than the 05. Appearance: They both looked about the same a dark amber color that is partly transparent; frothy brew for the duration of the beer. Smell: They were similar. The 05 was sweet with a hint of barley whereas the 04 seemed to be sweet with a hint of yeastiness. Both are very malty and wonderful. Taste: The 05 I got a bit of hop character to it the 04 was more syrupy no (bothersome) hops just plain sweet caramelized malts. They both had the certain ’Red-ness’ about them (if you know what I mean by red taste). They were both very caramel, syrup and sugar flavored. It is not the most unique or interesting taste I have encountered but it is easy to accept. It is so gentle on the palate that there is nothing about it that could be objectionable. Some people may call slightly boring what I call very easy drinking. Mouthfeel: The 05 felt sticky but with high carbonation whereas the 04 felt heavier smoother and very lightly carbonated. OH so smooth! What a dream! Drinkability: The 05 had a 4.0 drinkability and the 04 had a 4.5 drinkability primarily because of the intensity in the aftertaste (both are good). The 05 had a bit (just a bit) of dry bitterness in the aftertaste whereas the 04 was PERFECTLY smooth. It may be the extra year it had to age or the batches between 2004 and 2005 may have changed slightly. Either way they are booth very good drinks and if you can still find 04s on the shelf I’d snatch them up quick even if you want them for aging or taste comparisons. I highly recommend Monster. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!

Vintage 2001. This barley wine pours a deep amber color from a 12 oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is malty, caramel, apples and sweet with a touch of alcohol. A medium to full bodied barley wine. Malts are fruity and sweet, caramel and toffee. Lots of malt flavors without a lot of sweetness. Lots of different malt flavors. There is some sherry like flavors here as well. The 10.8% alcohol is somewhat noticeable from the middle to the finish. Its not a harsh taste, but sort of hints with a little hotness. This beer starts sweet and malty, the middle is some alcohol and finishes with some sweetness and wood. I can see where this beer would age very well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.