Midnight Sun Monks Mistress Dark Strong Ale (Cabernet)

Big thanks to hopdog. Translucent mahogany hue with a silky beige head. Great aroma of sweet molasses, brown sugar, young port, and caramelized nuts. Flavor adds a nice dark cherry aspect and great wine barrel character. Sweet, decadent, and sublime.

Bottle shared by goldtwins, courtesy of DarkElf, many thanks!: Pours a very dark mahogany with a frothy, nicely-lacing tan head. Very complex, enticing, sweet dark Belgian malty aroma has good oaky cabernet notes with a hint of dates and bready yeast. Body starts with a nice sweet dark toffee maltiness and some Belgian yeast before the full cabernet oaky and dark fruit finish. Very complex, incredibly balanced, sweet and semi-tart body. An amazing beer. I sure hope Midnight Sun brews this again!

2005 bottle HUGE thankks to OldGrowth for the opportunity. Consumed on 1/22/2006.
Purple-magenta tinges throughout a garnet to mahogany brown. Head is off-white, medium in size, receding quickly to cover but retained there. No lacing. Quite clear, having settled out in the bottle nicely, with plenty of sediment on the bottom. Head is foamy/creamy and bottle conditioned. Smells right away, of intense cabernet notes. Very grape oriented and as it warms and breathes, the oak character emerges and dries it out. The beer characteristics are last to emerge, but once they do, they form a more complete picture. Prunes, raisins, and a touch of alcohol dryness, very elegantly apparent. Rich chocolate and toffee and sweet dates, with a light Belgian yeast apparency, though rather reserved in that aspect. As it warms and breathes further after 20 minutes, the aroma is soft and inviting. Plenty of dry grapes and wood, but yet tons of soft maltiness. Flavor is full of cab grapes turning to dry wood and gaining a yeast dirtiness, unfortunately. More vinous notes and some barley. Light bits of caramel, minor drying alcohol warmth but no alcohol flavor or sharpness. Finally, chocolate, raisins and prunes. Chewy toffee and yeast dryness combine to provide a balanced finish. Never gets very sweet, being very attenuated. Alcohol masterfully hidden. Carbonation is low, bottle conditioned and quite engaging. As with the regular maitresse, the texture is just a bit too lean, IMO. I think it would benefit from some chewier maltiness and a more supple texture. Though, to its credit, it is no where near over the top in sweetness, yeastiness, or alcohol (the barrel character is overdone, though). Quite drinkable on account of the lean body.

Having Cambridge’s wine-barrel aged Blunderbuss has made me rethink my rating, showing me that even young, the wine does not have to be as overpowering as it is here. It really is about 75% of the aroma, perhaps more, whereas the blunderbuss is incredibly subtle, yet still noticeable enough to add a very pleasant aroma and flavor.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks a ton for this one!). Poured a dark brown with a very small sized off white head. Aromas of oak, vanilla, almonds, some dark fruits and port. Vinous tasting with oak, almonds, dark fruits, vanilla and caramel. I really like this one. We opened it up the same night as the Great Lakes BA Blackout Stout and this one was overall better.

Thanks to hopdog for breaking this out... Appears a dark brown with a red hue. It leaves spotty lacing around the glass. Smell is of vanilla, oak, caramel, chocolate, vinous, along with a touch of something reminding me of nutty peanut butter. Taste is nutty, chocolatey, and vinous with some notes of dark fruit. Mouthfeel is just slightly thin with a nice nutty finish.

Thanks to hopdog. Pours a reddish orange amber with a smaller tan head. Aroma of oak, vanilla, vinuous, raisins, nuts and buttery toffee. Flavor of vinuous and slight tart.

Poured a dark plum color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla oak, raisins, caramel malts, chocolate, some nuts, tart cherries, and light alcohol as well. Taste of dried fruits, notably cherry skins, some more raisins, sweet caramel malt, and lots of vanilla oak. A nice vinuous character balances this brew out nicely.

Thanks to DarkElf for this one. Poured a dark brown with a red hue and small beige head. Aroma of bold red wine, wood, dark fruit, raisins and sweet malt. All aromas were big but nicely balanced. Terrific complexity. Flavor has a malty start. Fruity with some choc0late mixed in. Vinous finish. Semi-dry. Finish had a wine like tannin finish. Medium to full body with a smooth mouthfeel. Very tasty.