Midnight Sun Monk’s Mistress (Cabernet)

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottled shared (and hauled all the way back to Houston from Alaska) by maltomeal at the July Houston RB tasting-thanks Bill. Black with a white head. Nose is very vinuous and sharp. Taste is sweet, with a bit of chocolate, barrel and a strong winey presence. Chewy but fluffy. I don’t get the Belgian part of this at all though. Good beer though!

Bottle from MaltOMeal.
Pours a raisin brown with a nose of zesty sour wine and oak, with hints of lime soaked in cherry wood. Flavor is a buttery oak and wine with a dash of raisin and sweet bread. Chewy mouthfeel. Great beer.

Dark brown with a thin off white head. Chocolate, dark fruits, grape, and wine aroma. Tastes of chocolate, red wine, and vanilla with some nutty notes and hints of oak. Finishes with a bitter chocolate taste. Quite good.

From an old rating. I remember pouring this one cold and thinking wow this has gone downhill. As it warmed it got progressively better. As I finished the bottle I was enjoying it alot. I did get alot of wine notes out of this one which blended quite well with the base beer. Enjoyable on many levels.

Bomber shared by Willblake. Bootopia 2006. Pours a nice deep ruby mostly clear on first pours- and a medium foamy lasting beige head- some lace. Aroma is really nice- fruity, wine-like, grapeskin, tannic, lots of oak and vanilla mixing in and tons of nice fruity and big sweet malts. More wood fruit and big malts, toffee, caramel, molasses, light phenolics- mostly big fruity esters, dried candied fruits, dates, figs, etc, and subtle wine character- and moderate vanilla oak barrels. Really nice overall. One of the top beers of the night along with HW Golden Idol, Uncle Bobs Bog Weisse, and Shed Hellspawn DIPA.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a dark brown with a light tan head. Sweet malty and roasted aroma. Nice hints of brown sugar, and oak that has come from aging in these cabernet barrels.

Vintage 2005 as reviewed on 6/29/2008. This version of the Monk’s Mistress was aged in Cabernet oak casks. 9.5% abv. Pours dark mahogany with amber edging. A small head of almost a quarter-inch was short lived. A few errant lines of lacing above a mostly placid surface. Aromatics lead off with a myriad of complexities. Plump raisins, musty grapes, chocolate drizzeled apples and cherries, and oaky tannins. As the brew warms and breaths a large Port quality steps forward. Alcohol is warming, and there’s a ton of vineousity. Medium bodied, but chewy, tacky, and lush. A light tartness drys out the mouthfeel on the back of the tongue. Rich malt, dark chocolate, and red wine start the pallet. Ripe cherries, red grapes, and port-soaked raisins step forward. The intense vineousity rolls out, and the melange of cocoa, fruit, and wine become quite balanced as it lingers. Quite dry and lightly tart. Finishes with an almost boozy alcohol, plenty of Cabernet essense, ripe fruit, and a shadow of Oak. Wowza, what an intense beer. The Cabernet aging adds an incredible depth of character. The oak is pretty subdued, but drys out the beer nicely. This would be a great beer to have with a juicy, thick Porterhouse.

Name: Monks Mistress Dark Strong Ale
Date: 07/16/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark amber, fine whispy tan head, oaky aroma, big woody flavor, nice bitter finish, the oak dominates the profile, otherwise the malt backbone does not add anything

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4