Beer Review 66 - Brother Thelonious

A Belgian Style Abbey Ale from North Coast Brewing in CA. It was only a matter of time before I picked up this one, as I've been eyeing this one since I started this blog. The bottle has a great drawing of Thelonious Sphere Monk holding a frothy glassful, his head surrounded by a keyboard halo. This is a beautiful ruby red colored ale, with dense off-white head and fine lacing. Fruity smell and quite fruity flavor. Alcohol is up front at 9.4. this is a tasty butt-kicking brew.

Beer Review 65 - Matilda

Strong dark pale ale from Goose Island Brewery in Chicago. Iced-tea color and slightly off-white, thin head. Strong ale with dark fruit flavor. Not as strong as a dubbel, but bold enough. Mild alcohol presence intensifies near bottom of glass, assuming a whiskey-like character. Nice.

Beer Review 64 - Allagash White

Another witbier, this one from Maine. Dense, cloudy, lemony yellow. Thin, white head with decent lacing. Nice, fresh, spicy smell. Great spicy fruit flavor, with just a slight bitterness to balance. Fizzy. Cool, crisp and refreshing! This is top-notch!

Beer Review 63 - Pulaner Salvator

A doppelbock from germany, this is an amber beer with a slightly off-white thinnish head and nice dark aroma. Thin mouthfeel, but spicy caramel sweet flavor. High ABV, and it shows! Not bad, but probably won't jump at it in the future.

Beer Review 62 - Hoegaarden

This is a Belgian Witbier. Cloudy yellow with white, tight-bubbled lacy head. Not much nose. Refreshing fizzy flavor, although not as bold as one would like. Subtle. Quite drinkable.

Beer Review 61 - Pranqster

A Belgian Golden Ale from the fine folks at North coast Brewing in Ft. Bragg, CA. Prerequisite cloudy gold color with a light, small-bubbled lacy white head. Good carbo and nice clean aroma. Slight soapy taste but proves to be quite tasty. Clean finish.

Beer Review 60 - Don de Dieu

The last of the 4 from Quebec's Unibroue is a tripel wheat ale. And naturally it is a cloudy gold. Thick, white, lacy head. A light, fruity taste, the acohol hides well. There is a slight bitterness, but overall pretty tasty.

Beer Review 59 - Trois Pistoles

A strong dark ale from Unibroue, this brew is nearly solid black. It has a thin, off-white head and a sweet fruit aroma. Great dark fruit taste - the best Unibroue brew yet. Nice carbonation and a strong acohol presence make this a complex beer.

Beer Review 58 - La Fin du Monde

The second offering from Unibroue, this tripel is a cloudy apricot color with a thick soapy white head and fresh, fruity smell. Malty and hoppy, nicely balanced. High ABV is not noticeable. A good tripel indeed.

Beer Review 57 - Maudite

Whilst at Trader Joe's I picked up a 4-pack of brews from Unibroue in Quebec. I'd seen these beers before in larger servings, but jumped at the chance to get 12 oz bottles of these brews. The first one is Maudite, a Belgioan strong dark ale. It is yellow/copper in color, with a white lacy head and good carbonation. It has a strong and complex taste, with a malty flavor and slight hop bitterness, which keeps this beer earthbound.

Beer Review 56 - Three Philosophers

I bought this one with the Ommegang Abbey, and this is from the same Cooperstown brewer. This one is a quadrupel, so it's a tad more intense than the Ommy Abbey. This one is a cloudy dark red with an off-white, dense, lacy head. The nose is fruity and the taste is intense. Dark fruit dominates; great mouthfeel. The alcohol presence is strong, but the finish is smooth. This is definitely a grow-up beer. Superb.

Beer Review 55 - Ommegang Abbey Ale

This is a nice Dubbel from the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. Pours ruby red with an off-white, thick froth. There is a subtle fruit aroma and a sweet dark fruit taste. The 8.5% ABV hides surprisingly well. Nice carbonation, too. A good pickup.