Brooklyn Brand Brewing Monster Ale

The Monster Ale, Barleywine Style beer, from Brooklyn Brand Brewing is a beer I've been anxious to try. Though they've never been quite at the top of my list, I've never had a bad beer from Brooklyn Brewing. From their East India Pale Ale, the Lager, or their Local Series, they are always producing solid, well-made brews.

I've enjoyed several barleywine brews this year already, and I'm curious about the Brooklyn Monster Ale. It comes in twelve-ounce bottles, in four-packs, which has become pretty normal for a stronger beer like this. The Monster Ale is listed at 10% abv, which is about normal for this style.

Once poured, the color is a nice, rich mahogany-brown. There is a fair about of foam, but it fades pretty quickly. At ten percent alcohol, I'm a little surprised there was even that much head.

I put my nose in the glass, and the aromas are awesome! I can barely smell the alcohol; the nose is dominated by caramel, toffee, and molasses, with just a touch of hops. This smells like the kind of beer I love: rich, thick, and just a bit on the sweet side.

Take a sip of the Monster Ale, and I'm caught a little off guard! The rich, sweet malts that I was smelling are over-powered by rough hops in the back of the palate. The brew is only a little sweet on the tongue, and is now reminding me much more of a dark ipa than anything else. I'm a little confused, and definitely a little disappointed.

I'm generally not a fan of very hoppy beers, and when opening the Monster Ale, I was really looking for that signature Barleywine style. The beer is good, just not what I was looking for here. Sorry Brooklyn, it fell a little short for me.

Brooklyn Brand Brewing
Monster Ale
T.C.S.H. Rating - 5/10
Aka - I've had better
Sent from a BlackBerry, please excuse the typos.