North Coast Brother Thelonious

Dark brown pour with off white head. Fruity flavors with a heavy dose of malt. Raisins make sure they present themselves throughtout the generous pour. Good beer, but not great.

Pours dark and thick. Nose is thick with classic ’Belgian’ spice and alcohol. Attack is alcohol and dark bitter fruit. Finish is slow and spicy. Very nice brew!

A strong dark ale, caramel raisins with a big malt backbone ,spicy hops but a harsh finish,needs more monk funk please!

12 ozers. I gave this 3 tries. I always give North Coast the benefit of the doubt. This was simply rotten, but in the usual way. That is, there was that all-too-common stinging acidity which cut through this like poison, ruining some pretty decent malt flavors and a good palate. Why is this so common in American BSA?

I could probably be tough on this guy, because its basis of comparison for me are the trappists, Unibroues and St. Bernardus. But maybe that’s not fair. This beer has a lot going for it in every category, but too much metal in the aftertaste. It gets points because this style is my favorite. No BSA is a terrible BSA (so far anyway).

Labeled 9.4% abv. Aroma is pleasant with a light toasted sensation and moderate piney hops. There was also pear, nutmeg and cinnamon in the aroma. Appearance was nice. Average sized frothy off-white head that played the disappearing act. Color was a very dark amber or brown. The flavor was a bit of a disappointment, salty and sour at first followed by a very strong copper aftertaste. Good attempt at a Belgian strong, but I know that North Coast can do better. According to my dad this is a very good attempt at a common Belgian street ale. I have another bottle that I am going to age for a while.

Fresh 12 oz bottle.

Pours brown with red highlights, completely clear. Filtered? Good-sized foamy head. Sweet prune and molassas, belgian yeast and overripe banana in the aroma. The flavor is certainly on the sweet side, medicinal like herbal honey cough drops. Spicy, dry close. Larger, coarser carbonation in the mouthfeel.

This is relatively authentic in flavor and aroma, but I’m left underwhelmed. There’s a lot going on here, but no depth. The flavors don’t meld (yes, it’s young; I’ll try the older one some time) and they don’t harmonize. I’m sure mood plays a part in it, but I didn’t finish the 12oz glass and instead turned to single malt to finish off the night.

another really good beer from North Coast. I was expecting a bit more from a BSA but this is a solid beer nonetheless.