Midnight Sun Monks Mistress Dark Strong Ale (Cabernet)

A dark brown beer with a yellowish head. The aroma is sweet malty and very roasted, while the flavor is sweet malty and with an acidic note from the hard roasted malt.

2005 bottle. Dark reddish beer with a thin tan head. Nose of chocolate, wood and berries. Brown sugar sweetness, oak, and an acidic berry flavor that I figure came from the wine barrel. Nice complex brew.

Bottle from Sprinkle and shared with the middle-of-nowhere Ohio crew: Deep purple hue topped by a small ring of small bubbles and no lace. The aroma has notes of wood, bourbon, plum, starfruit, anise, cardamom, light bittersweet chocolate and a lactic sourness.

The initial taste is oaky and oxidized more towards a English Olde Ale than a Belgian. Followed closely with veins of chocolate and caramel malts and dash of candi sugar. Undertones of rich fruit (current and plum) dances about providing both acidity and sourness as well a bubblegum like sweetness. Nicely complex and develops more depth as it warmed. The mouth feel is ashy, tannic and oily.

A nice brew but I found myself wanting the regular non-barreled aged version after I was done. Too bad we did not have one to compare on the spot.

Sampled at RBSG 2006 grand tasting. in bottle. dark brown with beige head. Alcohol scent, perhaps of bourbon. a sour taste. smells like roasted peanuts and a small child crying in the rain in march.

Dark plum and burgundy colored body. Nose is heavy oak, dry, scorching wood and smoke, with some sand and earthy bark scents floating out of the glass, really great nose on this beer. Flavor is rich and sweet caramel, sour amaretto, sugar, plums, lactic notes even... very strange but not bad. Even has some cheese funk in the finish, but also has some more undesireable spoiled fruit flavors.

Bottle at RBSG 2006. Dark brown, opaque body. Nose is vanilla, wood, roasty notes, and dark fruits. Flavors is slightly tart, at first, but opens up revealing cocoa, dark fruits, chocolate, Belgian yeast, sweet maltiness, and a touch of yogurt or sour milk. SOme softer melon flavors in there as well. Body is medium with a full-on carbonation feel. Finishes with lots of fruit flavors, lighter lactic notes, Beglian yeast, and sweet malts.

22 oz bottle, my bottle, shared at 2006 RBSG Grand Tasting. Poured a clear dark brown with a reddish hue and a whispy beige head. Aroma is very sweet with alot of barrel character. Notes of caramel, toffee, raisins, dates, nutty malt, and port. Flavor is lightly tart with lots of oak tannins, sweet malts, syrupy toffee, and dark overripe fruits. Mouthfeel is fairly creamy with moderate carbonation and a slightly sticky finish. Overall, a nice beer, but really didn’t live up to my expectations.

04.28.06 Bomber, via trade with DarkElf, shared at Paul’s Pre-TAPNY. So much tobacco! This beer looks, smells, and tastes to me like a juicy and engrossing rich pipe tobacco. Also of note are flavors and aromas of creamy dark chocolate, dry woods chips. Dry and tannic finish which must be attributable to the barrel aging. The stuff is rich and massively complex, almost too much so, and tetering on the brink of perfection.