Brooklyn Monster Ale

What the hell is wrong with this beer? A complete disaster. First of all, the pour is disturbingly pale in color and way to clear for such a high gravity beer. I expect yeasty haze in my bareywine. Then, the head is weak as hell. Thin and fizzy, disappearing so fast it looks like the beer was artificially carbonated. Aroma of pretty much nothing but some unidentified chemical. The flavor at least touches on some correct notes. There’s a bit of caramel, brown sugar and molasses as well as touches of hops in the back. Some astringent bitterness to balance the sweetness that should be there but isn’t. At least the alcohol is at the proper level. The dominant flavor however, is metal. This is as metallic as a beer can get. Tastes like sucking on pennies. On top of all that, the mouthfeel is thin and with an obscene amount of carbonation for the style. Fizzy to the point where it almost stings the mouth. God this sucks.

Vintage 2004. Pours deep caramel into the glass, with a nicely-sized creamy head, minimal retention and lace. The bouquet on this one is vinous, caramel and sugary-astringent alcohol. In the flavor department, this is where the brew lets down a bit. For a barelywine, it’s a bit "underdone" in the caramel/toffee malt department, but the notes are certainly there. The finish is somewhat bland, and all the while alcohol effervescence is noted. It doesn’t feel quite as rich as a typical barleywine, and the palate suffers as such. For the style, this is purely the most mediocre brew I’ve had from the Brooklyn Brewery, a company that I’ve particularly enjoyed to sample. Maybe I’ve not let this one "set" long enough, but it has been over 2 years since born, and I was honestly hoping for a bit more. EDIT (Same session): I waited for a bit, letting the brew warm through the session. As others have noted, this does get better as it warms (although slightly). I am rerating accordingly.

Bottle. Dark golden in colour with a medium sized off-white head. Malty and sweet. The cascade hops dominate the alcohol laden nose. A roasted feel. A slight hoppyness. Notes of dark fruit.

This is truly one of my favorite barley wines. It is so very fruitful down to its very nature and being (as well with its taste). How could anyone ask for anything more satisfying? This is truly an all around beer with many complexities that lead one drinker, i.e. me, to be in astonishment. Double- Chocó is one thing on Brooklyn’s menu but watch out for the “Monster Ale- 2004." This is a high alcohol beer without the taste, of course, but it is original in character. Monster ale rates far higher than any other barely wine coming from the American land.

An intense mixture with a sweetness almost chewable. The sweetness is balanced with a distinct taste of copper and a high level of alcohol in both nose and taste. Still the nose and the taste is somewhat dominated by the alcohol, why its almost to masculine to be a really exelent brew.

’04 Bottle; poured a dark brown with no head. Aroma is mostly of alcohol and an aroma I can only describe as candy store (where they make sugar candies). The flavor is very alcohol forward, although it gets better as it warms, with a caramel flavor with a lot of bitterness in the end.

bottle. dark amber color. barly aroma. extremly alcohollic. a bit too much. more alcohol than taste. but ok.

2005 bottle. Pours a clear, deep, amber-orange with a quickly dissapating fizzy head. Somewhat restrained, faint aromas of dark caramel candy, malt, ripe fruits and dark wheat bread unfortunately dominated by a tad too much alcohol. Palate was smooth, full; somewhat sticky and oily but pleasant for the style. Flavors were sweet and fruity, but a slight medicinal/alcoholic background was a bit distracting. Otherwise some notes of raisin, brown sugar and caramel found their way through. Finish seems a bit astringent. Many other better English style Barley Wines available up in the Northeast.