Style: English
barleywine
Twist: None
Strength: 10.1%
Notes: I had this beer in August of 2013, close to its
one-year birthday. Served in a Bavarian
Lodge snifter glass.
Monster Ale was formerly a seasonal (fall/winter) release
from Brooklyn, named after the brewery’s cat.
When the cat died last year they decided to retire the beer. After grudging and grimacing through one
bottle, I was amazed that it ever left Brooklyn’s quality control division---and
sympathetic to the cat, who probably deserved a better namesake beer. I also immediately regretted buying two packs
to make sure I got a last chance to try this.
Brooklyn Monster Ale is brighter than the norm for a
barleywine, bright red in hue with no opacity.
The slow, steady stream of fine bubbles can’t overcome the high alcohol
content and (likely) low hopping level. Head
formation and retention are both low.
Apart from being unusually bright and translucent,
Monster looks normal for a barleywine.
Unfortunately, everything from this point onward is downhill. No…that’s not really accurate. If it was downhill, it would be an easy
drink. “Falling off a building and
painfully impaling oneself, Saruman-style”
is more accurate.
The aroma is sharply redolent of both caramel and pure
ethanol, a staggering juxtaposition at once impressive and unwanted. Undercurrents of metal and nail polish
remover compound the problem. I very
much doubt that anyone in the history of beer drinking has ever said to themselves
“I want a beer that smells like caramel dipped in bad vodka and spiked with
Cutex,” which leaves me confused as to why a respectable brewer would try to make
one.
The dearth of deliciousness in the nose leads to a
cornucopia of failure on the tongue. In
the last year I’ve had a great number of beers stronger than Monster’s 10%
alcohol by volume, some considerably stronger (up to 16% alcohol). Examples include Samichlaus Helles,
Samichlaus Classic, Two Brothers 16, Schmaltz Sweet 16, and Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout. Monster
unquestionably integrates its alcohol worse than any of these, however. The ethanol burn far outshines any other
sensation, grating every corner of my now-grimacing mouth. There is a faint hint of caramel, which is the
only mercy Monster grants. I also picked
up a mineral note akin to hard water, which I am indifferent too.
The nail polish remover from the smell is blessedly gone
in the flavor, but the persistent presence of tin-like metallic flavors
convinces me Brooklyn fermented this way too hot. There’s clearly some other alcohol besides
ethanol in here. Unexpected and unwanted
hop bitterness doesn’t help, and neither does a style-defying dryness. Barleywines are supposed to be sweet. The combined effect of dryness and burning
alcohol made mincemeat of my nightlong efforts to wash the aftertaste away.
That Brooklyn deemed it necessary to release this
monstrosity is confusing. That they
named it after a beloved pet is inexcusable.
This is one retired beer I won’t miss.
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