North Coast Brother Thelonious

Rich hazelnut brown with a thick tan head. Smells of caramel, baked plantains, raisin, earthy undertones. Flavor is dates, light cinnamon, sweet bread, light coco with warming alcohol. Body is medium and smooth. A well-crafted ale.

Bottle: The aroma consists of caramel, fruit, raisin, and faint chocolate. It pours a dark hazy (bordering on cloudy) amber with a quarter inch tightly bubbled head that fades to a thin ring around the edges of the glass within thirty seconds or so. The flavor starts with light caramel and a hint of chocolate. The finish becomes very fruity along with some light-moderate notes of raisin. A chocolate fruitiness lingers in the aftertaste. It’s medium bodied with lively and lightly prickly carbonation.

Pours a hazy brown, thin off-white head. Aroma consists of citrus with some yeast coming through. Flavor is sweet up front, with some burnt nuts coming through. Hints of fruit and alcohol, pretty complex taste. Too sweet for my taste. Not too bad.

Bottle. Reddish brown colour with an off-white head. Fruity, vinous, a bit phenolic, lightly spicy, sugar, some alcohol.

Bottle. Amber dark brown pour, frothy khaki-colored head. Smells like bittersweet dark fruits, some slight spices. Taste is similar, plus some caramel. Plums, dates...other sweet dark fruits, plus maybe even some cinnamon. Pretty good. I’d say it’s slightly better than the Ommegang Abbey Ale (tried to think of a comparable American beer quickly), although I know most will disagree.

Aroma was toasty grain. Appearance was dark amber with big off-white head with lacing that stayed even after I was done. Flavor lightly acidic start to finish.

Batch #1 some odd years ago. Poured dark amber brown with a light tannish head. Nose of raisins, malts and brown sugar. Medium body with notes from the nose with a slight yet carefully placed hop note towards the back. Slight spice accompanies the hop. Good Belgian replica!