Weyerbacher Merry Monks Ale

Brewed by Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Easton, Pennsylvania USA

Spices and overripe fruit, raisens, candi sugar, slightly tart. Very smooth, with a nice warming after glow.

Sweet, with tart approach, Spices are noticeable as an undertone. This is one you are not sure about but before you know it, you’re hooked!

This selection has a standard malty taste in the sense that it is sweet. Pleasantly spicy as it strikes the tongue. Pours a golden-amber hue and has a nice frothy head. Alcohol content is slamming. A good beer for the late summer-early fall.

Bottle. Quite yeasty and estery, with a definite citric acidity, and warming alcohol finish. So in many ways this is a typical tripel, but this seem sweeter and more raw than some of the other Belgian examples.

Pours with a hazy, orangish tinged, amber color and is topped by an initially two finger thick, light tan colored head that is fairly quick to disappear. As I pour this a characteristic earthy spiciness catches my nose. It makes me wonder if they used a Chimay derived yeast strain. As I go in deeper the earthy sort of spiciness still dominates; a sort of spicy yet earthy coriander note is joined by a soft pear like fruitiness, notes of dusty white pepper, some touches of citrus-like navel orange and lemon peel. The orange peel note seems to combine with a couple of other aromatic notes to form just a touch of orange-cream notes. I would even go so far as to say that this beer smells a touch tart. Quite the complex aromas waft from this glass, this is certainly a plus, but they don’t quite seem to mesh in the most harmonious of manners. This seems to be the problem with many beers made with this yeast strain.

The beer is quite a bit drier than I was expecting. In fact it actually does have a light tartness to it that almost seems like lactic acid. It is not so pronounced that I am sure that it is not just the yeast. Whatever, the tartness actually adds to the complexity and balance of this brew. That same earthy-spiciness that is in the aroma is here in the flavor, but it is actually balanced out quite a bit by the subtle sour notes. Flavors that pop into my head as I contemplate this brew; Notes of lemon, a bit of chalk, some green apple notes, perhaps a touch of celery root (that might be a stretch, but there is something here I am trying to describe), some star fruit, and even a touch of kiwi fruit. The finish has a hint of phenolic notes and hot higher alcohols character that almost serve the same function as hop bitterness. Both of these components are subtle enough to only add to the overall experience. This beer is quite drinkable, and surprisingly dry, I was expecting something much sweeter than this.

Bottle. Pale golden color. Slight haze. Large white head, dissipates quickly. Yeasty, Belgian smelling aroma. Distinctive Belgian flavor, fruity and sweet but not too sweet, fairly full bodied with a mild bite. Pretty drinkable ale.

Hazy golden yellow with a ring of cream white. Aroma is attractive for a triple. Fruity and slightly alcoholic at the begining. Whatever you do, don’t eat anything sweet. This sweet beer does not match up well with sweet food. I tried and all I tasted from the beer was alcohol. Not pleasurable.

12oz bottle tasted along side Prophecy at Zeno’s in State College, PA. Clear amber yellow color. Has the proper nose of a tripel, with sweet sugars and spicy, estery yeast notes. Crisp, fresh tasting, properly bitter and mildly dry. Very fizzy, full of the Weyerbacher yeast, which I really don’t care for, but otherwise and OK beer. Not one of the best.