Rogue Monk Madness

Head was a bit small, but lacing was nice. At first I was sensing the smell and taste of red berries, which then seemed more akin to red grapefruit. The bitterness is mellow, and the beer finishes pretty crisp. I must say I enjoy the taste much more than Arrogant Bastard’s since I feel its a bit more balanced.

Bottle quite malty in flavor and a lot of hops as well. Fairly good alcohol was fairly concealed. Good new years eve drink. big malty and hoppy, not as big as the Bastards but not too bad just a little wimpy.

Pours mahogany w/ a full semi creamy froth. Nice lacing. Aromas of malted grapefruit rind. Medium nectar w/ ample residual effers. Its really hoppy w/ a balanced malt backbone. Flavors of caramel and grapefruit rind dominate this brew. The aroma really misleads you into thinking its gonna be a hop freak fest but it’s actually quite mellow. Still, a hop heads delight. Finish is bittered appropiately. It’s a snappy lil’ brew.

Tap at Watefront Ale House, Brooklyn - given the name, I thought that this was supposed to be some sort of belgian ale - it, of course, tasted nothing like one, but I didn’t hold that against it - my first reaction was, "yup, that tastes like Rogue" - like much of their other beers, it tastes not all that distinct from much of their other products - imagine their bitter, with a bigger, sweeter malt profile, and then turn the hops down somewhat and add a nutmeg spiciness with a hint of herbal tea - the melonoidin malts are most prevalent, adding a little bit too much of a candy-like sweetness - not terrible, but not one I’ll be revisiting.

An amber apperance. Fuckin smelled like pine and apricots. It tasted like I fuckin took my tounge and licked sap. I guess Im trying to say its malty but hey its new years. Bitter aftertaste. Overall it was a good beer!

Amber appearance with moderate head. Aroma is chocolate, raisins, and caramel. A citrusy flavor with some chocolate, grapefruit, and toffee. This beer is a nice balance of bitter and sweet. A bitter aftertaste is present. Not what I expected based on the name. Nice beer!

Bottled. Beer is clear medium-dark scarlett brown. Head is initially largish, off-white, frothy. Mostly diminishes.<P> The aroma is alright, but there isn’t anything reminiscent of a Belgian brew here. Kind of tricky to look at the beer without holding it next to that "branding". Beer is malty with light notes of toasted grain, caramel, milk chocolate; Hoppy with a moderate note of resin/pine; Yeasty with a trace-to-light note of sharp cheese, light note of dough.<P> The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter with a long, warmish, lightly sweet, moderately bitter finish.<P> The body is medium, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white to light brown, mostly lasting. Body is dark amber. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain/bread), moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit), lightly yeasty (dough). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. The name is appropriate in the sense that a Belgian monk would be mad to be associated with a beer of this sort. Don’t be fooled; there is nothing Belgian or even Old World about this (despite a couple of Belgian ingredients)...it’s a brash, flagrant, rough-edged American hop-fest, like any other. Lots of raw, doughy yeast stink doesn’t help. Not terrible for what it is, certainly average, but it’s a misnomer to say the least.