North Coast Brother Thelonious

North Coast Brewing Co.   Fort Bragg, CA

Notes:

Belgian Abbey Ale

12oz Bottle

9.4% ABV

From their website:

North Coast Brewing Co. is proud to partner with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in support of Jazz education. The Brewery makes a donation to the Institute for every bottle of Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale sold.

Appearance:  Pours a deep copper/amber/mahogany color…some very light khaki colored head formed and settled to a thin layer…with a couple swirls, it livens up nicely leaving touches of foam along the glass…a nice looking brew…(4/5)

Smell:  Very aromatic, I could smell the sweetness as soon as I started pouring…when I stick my nose in there, (no surprise) I’m getting tons of dark cherry/strawberry candy sweetness, raisin, fig, bready malts, caramelized sugar/brown sugar, a touch of earthiness, mild citrus hops and a dash of alcohol heat…there’s also some noticeable yeast funk…it’s a bit mouth watering I have to say…(4.5/5)

Taste:  Yum, very much a traditional abbey ale…there’s flavors of dark fruit (figs and raisin) sweetness, dark cherry candy, clove, banana, earthiness, caramel…it’s very malt driven…there’s definitely a touch of yeast funky/mustiness…this is approaching a brandy flavor with it's alcohol tinge…(4/5)

Mouthfeel:  Medium body with medium carbonation…this thing fluffs up nicely bringing sweet/dark fruit sweetness and caramel sugar flavor all over the palate…wet, mildly chewy, smooth and sweet…(4.25/5)

Overall:  This is one of my favorite brews...I don’t normally fall in love with Belgian style beers, but this one is an exception…the sweet, caramel malts combined with spice and yeast bring a very drinkable brew that should be sipped on and appreciated…with it’s higher ABV (and fantastic taste) it’s not a beer to be filling up the beer pong cups with, this should be enjoyed in a circle of friends or by a fire with a loved one…if I had four of these, I could drink four of them, but as it is, I will enjoy just this one…I will definitely be getting this again for future pleasure…yum!  (4/5)

Score:

(4.17)