Founders Blushing Monk (2011)

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Flute

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

750ml bottle from grape & gourmet split with LJ. pours a deep, dark red that sits almost burgandy in the glass with a thick, effervescent pink head with great retention that leaves sticky rings of lace. aroma is absolutely outstanding with huge notes of fresh picked raspberries, raspberry jam, and raspberry puree backed by subtle but elegant notes of rose petals, vanilla, and hibiscus with a touch of lemon zest and dusty funk. flavor is wonderful as well with the true essence of a belgian ale up front with funky yeast, wheat grass, lemon zest, and belgian spices backed by slightly sweet/slightly tart raspberries, red grapes, and light notes of cherry candy and finishing dry and sweet with just a tickle of tart berries. palate is medium bodied and perfectly carbonated and the balance of sweet and tart keeps it from being too syrupy. overall, and outstanding fruit beer that’s right up there with NG raspberry tart as the best i’ve had.

Reddish-brown colour. No head. Rich raspberry jam aroma. Lots of sugar. Jammy and fruity and light malts underneath. Well made, if not something I would drink all that often.

Draft. Hazy deep ruby purple color, scant head. Aroma of intense cherry liquer. Taste is rich cherries and malted milk balls. Very nice.

Bottle shared by r & f. Color and aroma natural the color of crushed raspberries, deep purply brown. Wonderful, jammy. High sugar content on the palate but it works here. Has a cocktail feel, skews to sweet and detracts from the complexity but is nice! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Ruby red pour with foamy pink head and lace. Aroma is huge raspberry. raspberru with a flat sweetness and a tart finish. Medium body with good carbonation.

bottle thanks to djd07 @ rbwg ’12. purple pour with a pink head. nose is raspberries, tart, and more raspberries. great on the palate, flavors are raspberry and wood.

Bottle from Capone’s. pours a pomergranite to purple burgandy color with nice head that lingers. nose is raspberries, slight acidic note. first sip is nice balance of malt with raspberries. Finish is clean with a fruity tartness. much better than last summer.

Pour is raspberry red, with a light pink head. Nose is of pure raspberries, nearly lambic like. Taste is similar, though a bit more full bodied as the alcohol content and style clearly denote. Not alcoholic at all, and very, very delicious.

Draught from a wine glass. Pretty dark black pour with nice ruby red on the sides. Aroma is intense raspberries. Taste is an absolute tart raspberry flavor that is incredibly fresh. Its as if there are actually fresh raspberries in the glass. Nice dark malts back it up. Beautiful fruit beer.

From notes. First reviewed 12/11/2011. 2011 750 mL bottle poured into a tulip. A great fluffy off-white sea foam froth rests on top of a full hazy raspberry or cherry colored beer. The aroma is a huge blast of sweet raspberries. A bit of the tart side of raspberry makes it way across my nose as well, but it is tough to find much else. Juicy, sweet raspberries come across my tongue right away, and wave after wave of raspberry comes throughout the whole sip. The flavor stops being entirely sweet toward the back, with a slightly acidic tartness providing a little balance. This also prevents it from becoming too cloying. Overall, a one dimensional, but delicious beer. Overall, this is a fairly sweet beer, and it does have a light syrupy quality. The tartness on the back end creates a bit of salivation and puckering of the lips. Light vinegar acidity. The carbonation is creamy and smooth, and the beer itself is creamy but a bit grainy as well. The body is on the full side, compared to other fruit beers I have had. I was intrigued by this beer from the moment I heard about it, so I was thrilled that they decided to remake it and bottle it. At this point, in terms of raspberry beers it only comes short of the great raspberry sours in my mind.

Bottle shared at the RBWG in Austin. Reddish pour with a pink head. Aroma is big berries. Taste is raspberries, tart, not too sweet.