Midnight Sun La Mâitresse du Moine

Dark and fruity: flavors of figs, raisins and candi sugar. Thin mouthfeel but excellent flavor. Very tasty.

22oz from Liquid Solutions. Very lively and heavily carbonated, a bit of a surprise. But the thick creamy head and zesty dark body are quite attractive. Dark fruit aromas dominate from the start, and there’s quite a lot of raisin and fig in the initial taste. But as it warms, the beer gets considerably drier, with a nice hopping that suggests a cross between a dubbel and a Belgian black (sort of like MS’s Conspiracy, in a way). Another fine, fine brew from these folks.

Bottled August 2007; Sampled January 2008
Quite well carbonated, a very careful pour produces a fat, five finger thick, light brown colored head that grows above the top of my tulip glass. The beer is quite dark, with an opaque, deeply burnt brown color that shows some clear, ruby hued highlights around the edges when held up to the lightly. Earthy, concentrated notes of dark fruit is the most evident part of the aroma; aromas of roasted, slightly burnt raisins is definitely noticeable. Quite spicy as well with notes of white pepper, substantial clove, some allspice, touches of mace and a woody, slightly savory note similar to a cross between sarsaparilla, birch and a touch of cinnamon bark. Quite aromatic, one of those beers whose aroma jumps out of the glass. This seems like quite a decadent tipple based on the aroma. Even 5 minutes later I still have four fingers of head on this brew, that is why I love tulip glasses as I can still easily get a sip of the brew under all this foam. This does leave quite a few patches of sticky foam on the sides of my glass as I slowly work my way through the beer.

Sweet tasting and quite redolent of dark fruit; raisin puree, prunes, dried figs and perhaps a touch of dried cherry and dried cranberry. The beer finishes with a cola like spiciness as well as a dusty, browned malt note, notes of cocoa powder and a touch of hop bitterness. While fairly sweet the beer is actually some what light feeling, at least it is light feeling for a beer of this strength and sweetness as this is most definitely a sipping brew. It is thick enough that the slightly excessive carbonation is barely noticed. The carbonation does add a peppery, carbonic bit to this brew though. There is quite a bit of dark malt character here; from toasty grain notes, to touches of chocolate, a dusting of roast coffee, lots of brown sugar notes and darkly caramelized, sweet malt. The beer has a touch of tartness to it in the finish that seems a product of both the dark grain and some yeast by products.

As the beer warms up a bit and loses more of the carbonation, it actually seems to get a bit lighter on the palate, becomes a bit less sweet with more of a balance to the chocolate/cocoa dark malt notes. A hint of tamarind becomes noticeable as it couples with the soft tartness in the finish. This has a lot more dark malt character than one would typically get in a beer from Belgium, but I like that added dimension in this brew (after all this isn’t Belgian). The dark malt helps to balance the huge, dark fruit character. This is quite a good beer; it can be a bit sweet at first and perhaps a bit on the thin side after a while, but it is definitely enjoyable.

Purchased via mail order: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=837>Liquid Solutions

Another thanks out to xmarcnolanx for sharing this Midnight Sun treat. Pours very dark brown with a ruby red hue and dense small tan head. The aroma is milk chocolaty with dark toffee, milk, toasted caramel malt and smooth light Belgium yeast. Medium bodied with lots of carbonation. The flavor starts with dates and raisins, milk chocolate, effervescence and smooth Belgium yeast. The finish is crisper than normal for the style and has raisins, berry / red fruits and some sourness. A very solid version of a dubbel.

Slightly sour, phenolic, peppery, caramel, fizzy aromatics. Taste is caramel, coffee/chocolate, vanilla, phenols, fruit, somewhat tangy. Some alcohol, depth of phenolic fruity alcohol. Starting to get a little Belgian-y and phenolic and chocolate. Damn this is solid. Lots of caramel, and tons of depth.

Bottle. Sampled at YEHA. I’m happy I was finally able to try this beer. Dark brown body with thin head. Aroma is chocolate, hops, yeast. Flavor is chocolate, yeast, coffee, dried fruit. A very intresting dubbel. Very enjoyable.

Fairly clear, brownish pour. Aroma is belgian yeast and a nearly overdone roastiness. Plenty of chocolate and dark fruits as well. Flavor came across as a bit too burnt and I really wish they would have used a bit more caramel malt. Not nearly as good as I was hoping it to be. The appearance and palate were great, but the beer itself was a bit too roasty to truly enjoy.

Hazy brown pour, huge almond head. Aroma is slightly sour, chocolate, roasty and some light fruits. Flavor is the same medium sourness with more chocolate, roastiness and some coffee.