beer blah blog

68 / 100

North Coast Brewing declares:

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.

I was very excited to try this beer. As you can see the label is brilliant as was the manifesto.

It poured a muddy brown with virtually no head into my tulip glass. The aroma was somewhat sweet: dark cherry, some clove with some malt character. The taste waws subdued, far more than expected. The fruitiness was there, raisin and roasted malts came through. There was a hint of chardonnay too, which caught me off guard. I kept hoping more flavor would come through, the taste was pleasant but somewhat watery.

By the time I reached the bottom of the 750 mL, I was well ready to move on. I wasn't drinking it terrobly slowly, but it seemed to drastically lose carbonation.

Worth buying for a try and the beautiful label, but not much more than that.