Midnight Sun Monks Mistress Dark Strong Ale (Cabernet)

Formerly brewed at Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Transparent black with light head. Huge notes of chocolate, port and figs. Creamy mouthfeel, and light for 9.5. Not as rich as you would think from the nose, I think this was only missing a little more in the mid palate. Defiinatly one to finish a meal or toast an engagement! Wish it wasnt so hard to get.

22oz. bottle graciously shared by Willblake. Cloudy brown color with a small tan head. Chocolate malt aroma with lots of caramel, fresh baked bread and dark dried fruits. Flavor was like drinking a chocolate babka with rum soaked raisins in it and a nice warming finish. I really enjoy this brewery!

bottle, at Dickinsonbeer’s Pre-TAP gathering. big thanks to WillBlake for bringing this. brownish ruddy cloudy color. aroma is rummy raisin, sweet vermouth. flavor is like cognac and buttery chocolate liquor. snappy dryish finish.

Thanks to willblake for sharing this bottle at the Pre-Tap gathering. Poured a dark mahogany. Aroma is a mix of melted bittersweet chocolate and licorice. Taste is bitter sweet or baker’s chocolate, licorice, and butter with a dry finish. Fairly full body. The chocolate notes really dominated here and threw me off somewhat. A solid beer, but nowhere near what I expected.

Pre-TAP gathering at Dickinsonbeer’s house, bottle provided by somebody(sorry, Got it, WillBlake, thanks). Poured into large mouth glass. Color is dark brown, murky, can’t see through the beer. Smell is complex, numerous aromas come out. Very malty, very bready, and alcohol present. The taste is great, smooth, no bitteress. Again bready and malty, some chocolate, well balanced. Each sip stays with you for a while.

Clear brown pour with ruby highlights and a ring of light brown lace. Strong aroma of oak, toffee, chocolate, crème brulée and mild alcohol. Very good flavor of oak, toffee, brown sugar, chocolate and crème brulée with a sweet finish, well it’s mostly sweet all the way. This is excellent, I like it as much as the regular Maîtresse du Moine.

Alcohol, raisins, plums, chocolate, cherries, oak and nutty notes to the vinous, port-like aroma. Opaque brown body is topped by a swirl of tan head that sticks to the sides of the glass. Strong oak and vinous , boozey fruitiness with plenty of chocolate flavour. Somewhat low carbonation leaves this one feeling rather simple in the mouth. Can’t help but feeling that barrel-aging has not been a bonus for this particular beer. Bottle sampled with beerbuzzmontreal, Goldorak, MartinT, muzzlehatch, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Siroy.

Sampled at the "let’s piss off Clark" tasting

Not totally, but almost opaque, somewhere between really dark brown and black.
Very british, old ale aromas that forebode a very heavy brew. Cocoa and port, hazelnuts, and a lactic mix of sweet and sour, no doubt from the oak.
Decent roasted malt, I really didn’t pick up much vanilla, vinious or woody flavors I was expecting. Frankly the regular Maîtresse du Moine was fine enough as it is to make this barrel-bastardized version, which did nothing but stole part of the soul of an otherwise very good Beer, only to leave a less complete, less complex, more cloying shadow of it’s former self. It’s still allright, boasted a surprisingly subdued alcohol finish, but just another example that this barrel-aged craze is taking on way too much proportions.