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North Coast Brother Thelonious

North Coast Brother Thelonious

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 Percentile 
90
overall
A Belgian Strong Ale brewed by
North Coast Brewing Company

Fort Bragg, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in  Advanced 
5753.61/5.03.61/5.0Special9%76.2 Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler P  Stats

Commercial Description:
With the developing interest in Belgian abbey ales and the monasteries that brew them, it’s time to remind the world that here in the U.S., we have a Monk of our own. Jazz icon Thelonious Monk is the inspiration for North Coast Brewing’s new Belgian-style abbey ale called, appropriately enough, Brother Thelonious. The beer is being released in conjunction with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (www.monkinstitute.org), and the brewery will make a contribution to the Institute for every case sold to support jazz education. Like a Belgian “Dark Strong Ale”, the beer is rich and robust with an ABV of 9%. The package is a 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish and features a label picturing the jazz master himself.

Most RecentTop RatersHighest Ratings Who's Rated This?
 marchcow (482), Coralville, Iowa, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/103/515/20

Apr 12, 2008  
Bottle. About 1 yr old. Dried fruit and dark roasted malt aroma, some yeast. Reddish brown colors with quickly diminishing off white head. Strong fig, rasin and malt flavors. Oak and woody flavors, some earthiness. Medium palate. Dryish finish and sweet through the middle. Good flavors. Slight metallic bite. Warmingly alcholic.

mgraider86 (1), Waterford, California, USA
does not count click to see why this rating of North Coast Brother Thelonious does not count
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Aug 20, 2008  
Stayed one night at Fort Bragg, of coarse had to have some North Coast! Poured from tap and made my belly tingle with delite! My wife, who is a dedicated red wine drinker actually liked it! Alcohol content didn’t overpower this tasty brew!


otakuden (54), Vero Beach, Florida, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/58/104/517/20
Aug 20, 2008  
Brother Thelonious from North Coast Brewing comes in a standard Belgian-style corked 750ml bottle. He popped nice and easy with a loud pronunciation of his presence. A dark abbey ale, Thelonious poured a rich, cloudy earthen brown. Immediately I get lots of yeasty sweetness and sourdough in the nose. I can tell right away this is going to be a faithful American production of a traditional Belgian dark abbey ale. Immediately the sourdough and chewy yeast embraces my palate. A very thick weighty body as a dark abbey should be. I also get hints of raisin and a bit of maple sweetness within the sourdough and ripe banana yeasts. Thankfully, not much in the way of carbonation, though it does have a nice effervescence to the body. Just enjoyably smooth, yeasty, and pleasantly weighty as Thelonious warms, finishing with a faint hint of lemon rind lingering behind the yeast.
Definitely one of the better Belgian-style abbey ales from an American craft brewery, I would put Brother Thelonious up there with the fine beers of Ommegang. A fine addition to anyone’s fridge because we all need a little jazz and a little monk in our life. It does a body and soul good, after all.


 BillKismet (1388), Seattle, Washington, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/56/104/514/20
Aug 17, 2008  
Lovely mahogany with firm cream top. Moderately hoppy aroma with easy malt and Belgian yeast influences. Similar flavor, with stronger presence of mildly phenolic Belgian yeast Well balanced so one would never guess that this approaches anything close to the stated 9%. Decent stuff, though I think it would benefit from aging.


 NoiZe (875), Zeist, Netherlands
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/514/20
Aug 17, 2008  
Tasted somewhere along my trip through the States.
Amber colored brew. Sweet, fruity aroma. Sweet flavor with some dark fruits, some hops.


 ditmier (176), Boise, Idaho, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/517/20
Aug 17, 2008  
Tap at the Red Feather - Dark copper ale with a small off white head, aroma of spice, yeast and malt, this was a damn good brew...tons of coriander, clove, dry fruit, molassas malt...alcohol is ever present but in a way that complements the other senses, like you are glad it isn’t hidden too far away...incredible surprise, will be coming back for more...




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