Dupont Monk’s Stout

Brewed by Brasserie Dupont
Style: Stout
Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium

Serve in English pint

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

2011 edition: Black with a chestnut fringe. Tall grayish cap of enduring foam. Signature Dupont aromas entice the nose with refined mint, sulfury phenolics, puttylike yeast and gum. Mellow well-balanced mixture of perfumey hops, chocolate mousse, taffy, anise, chicory and minerals. Expansive carbonation. Light-bodied. Opens with a dry surge airy roast which is swiftly enlivened by a sufur- and gum-laced phenolic punch. Deeply earthy and rustic, with loads of anise and chicory accompanying the curiously subdued roast. Malt is quite clean, though the core remains hollow due to the relative absence of supportive malt layers coupled with the high attenuation. Scarcely a dab of body-enhancing chocolate mousse exudes with just enough strength to beckon another sip. Persistent gum attempts to augment the body with a fluffy sweetness, which is tempered by metallic charcoal-tinged malt. Roast clips the palate with a bitter toasted-cocoa edge before yielding to a well-integrated yet shallow fusion of mint, earthy hop bitterness and black coffee acid. Well, the framework for this to be excellent is all here, as it’s quite clean and finely nuanced as one can expect from this brewery. Ultimately, the prevalent yeast derivatives, along with the high level of dryness, could be fine-tuned as they are disproportionate to the malt, rendering this somewhat stark and hollow. With all minor quibbles aside, this is an elegant stout.

Pours black with a finger of light tan head. Smell is very roasty, a bit of chocolate. Taste has an almost sour taste, fruity and roasty. Very good.

330ml bottle. Pours pitch black, with a brown head. Heavily roasted aroma, dark chocolate, coffee beans, malt, hops, licorice, smoke. Off-dry, medium body and bitterness, lively CO2. Roasted, malty taste, slightly phenolic, coffee, chocolate, spices, hops. (2012-02-28)

Draught. Thick Foam. Smell - hey, tobacco, roasted coffee beans. Earthy, dry. Light body and carbonation. Haunting bitter finish.

Bootle. Pours very dark brown to black with dense dark tan coloured head. Aromas are somewhat subtle and show a little espresso coffee and some milk chocolate. A little licorice and belgian yeast coming through as it warms slight. Flavours likewise are quite sublte with some roasted grain and a little sweetness. Medium to thin mouthfeel.

Bottle @ home. Black to brown pour, foamy off-white head. Aroma is roasty, bready, and with caramel and licorice. Flavor is bitter spices, quite roasty, huge carbonation and a decent body. A bit rough, but pretty nice.

Very dark colored with a small foam. Aroma is fruity but hints of roasted coffee beans. Same for the taste, surprised by the freshness the fruitiness gives.

Bottle@Home. Black chocolate aroma with some coffee. Black, light brown fizzy head, fair lace. Coffee, bitter, not much more, flavour is fast disappearing. Very dry and sparkling.

0.75 l - Good color and some lace but that’s it. No real palate. Really felt like a porter, especially in weight.

Bottle from Kris Wines. Looks great, jet black with big white head. Taste is smooth, with some mild burnt toast roastiness in a medium finish. A little thin and watery on the palate. Highly drinkable, pleasant without being particularly special.

Bottle - 330ml. Pours a black body with a thick beige foamy head. Well balanced malty/hoppy aroma with plummy and subtle woody, coffeeish hints. Taste is slightly dominated by hoppy flavors. It carries roasted cereals notes and ends with a dry, bitter/grainy finish. Enjoyable.