Midnight Sun La Mâitresse du Moine

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Thank you to Drew for this one!!!! 22 oz bottle: Light beige tight creamy lasting head w/ a chestnut brown body. Lighty roasty, raisiny, & dried cherry dark fruit aroma @ first. Hints of chocolate & alcohol. Bready malt, light peppery yeast w/ toffee aromas & wisps of toasted coconut. Well balanced w/ a chocolate & toasted malt flavor. Moderate caramel & light peppery clove & alcohol. Dry roasty finish & coffee flavored aftertaste. A bit of herbal hop flavor in the aftertaste as well. Some plum & raisin fruitiness with a hint of lingering bitterness in the aftertaste as well. Highly carbonated m/f, medium body w/ a warming alcohol. Also a bit dry. Overall a pretty good beer!!! But the lingering bitterness could be less IMHO. I really like the aromatics and initial flavor of this beer!!!

Présentation absolument impeccable, digne d’une grande bière belge. Couleur brune foncée, apparence opaque muni d’une énorme mousse beige et crémeuse, pleinement persistante. Arômes de réglisse rouge, raisins noirs, de café et de sucre candi sous une empreinte légèrement acide telle la pulpe de raisins verts. Dense en bouche, impressionnante épaisseur, caractère malté à en boire et à en mastiquer, chocolat amère, discrète fumée, et sucre initial se métamorphosant graduellement vers l’acidité. Un mordant d’alcool devient de plus en plus apparent et nous réchauffe sûrement. Texture crémeuse et soyeuse, carbonatation piquante et vigoureuse, longue finale exposant de douces levures typiquement belges. Une bonne raison d’être moine!

Chalky and strong (yet smooth), this dubbel is highly drinkable for its relatively lofty 9% abv. A bit sweet and maybe earthy? Vegetably? Interesting taste all around.

Rich, beety, creamy, sweet vegetably aroma. Deep, deep brown with super-thick head (a bit too much), and a nice, thick body to go along with it. Flavor was malty rich, almost barley-wine like, with a hint of chocolate and lots of mild spices and grainy malty flavors. A wonderful surprise found in my time in Alaska. Will be bringing a couple bottles of this home for sure.

06.25.05 22oz bottle thanks to footbalm. Label claims bottled in second week of July, but no year mentioned (probably 2004). Truly dirty dark brown pour with a naughty khaki head that insists on making me wait to smell and taste the brew. Damn is it ever worth it! Rich is the word of the day with deep prune, rum, vanilla, nougat, and cocoa aromas. On top of that, and behind it, I smell burnt bananas, bourbon soaked cherries, cookie dough, and 5:AM in a bakery. Damn, I didn’t expect it to be this good. Flavor is full of veggies and old fruit. But the one flavor/aroma I can’t shake is some kind of candy I’ve had--I’m not sure what it is, maybe Charleston chew, maybe Three Musketeers, maybe Almond Joy (there’s certianly a hint of coconut if I think about it). Whatever, it’s outstanding. I can only imagine Chimay aspiring to be a sweet, balanced, tasty, and smooth as this Alaskan concoction. Kudos! I had no idea what to expect with this brew and had not indulged in reading any of the reviews before sampling, but I’m not too surprised to see that the main cirticism was sweetness while I tend to love sweeter beers when they have good balance. My only complaint is that there’s more carbonation than it needs, but smaller sips and higher temps seem to elude that ’problem’. Thanks a million to Eric for this surprise nectar!

Bottle. Pours out a deep brown color with no other noticeable colors, perhaps a bit opaque. Dense and creamy tan head forms and never really fades below 1/4". Dense foamy lacing is left everywhere. Very pleasant aroma of some plum-like fruit. Malt, molasses, chocolate and caramel seem to dominate. Medium bodied and very silky, carbonation level is high initially and slowly tones down. Flavor is highly malted with molasses and chocolate notes prevailing. A slight yeasty presence is noted, presenting like a hint of dough-like flavor. Very pleasant beer!

Bottle: Courtesy of wolhfs. Nice aroma of caramel and chocolate with a light tart fruitiness. Pours a very deep and dark mahogany with very little transparency. Tan head with excellent retention. Nice lacing. Fruity with only a light caramel and chocolate. A reversal of roles in flavor compared to aroma. Alcohol is covered up very well, although it is noticeable if you look for it. Light yeastiness in the background. Very nice beer.

An unclear brownred beer with a fizzy light brown head. Nice and full sweet aroma of malt, caramel and fruit. Rather sharp in the flavor, chocolaty and malty with fruity notes. Good one, but not a 4+ IMO.