This doesn't look like the other
Monday Night beers that I've had. For one thing, it's a
brown ale. I've been known to say some disrespectful things about brown ales in the past, but I like to think that I have grown into accepting that different styles of beer are good for different styles of mood. The nuttiness of a brown ale, for example, can hit the sweet spot on a cold autumn day, and that just happens to be what the day is like as I'm writing this.
This is definitely a brown ale, but it's a lot darker than any brown ale I've ever had before. I would guess that that's coming from the
bourbon barrels, but it's entirely possible it's just a dark malt or something like that. The head is fairly significant straight out of the bottle, and that led to a little bit of spillage that you see in the picture. Eventually, it dies down and leaves more lacing on the sides then I would normally have expected. The tiny, light khaki bubbles can't grip the sides without help, but supported from below, they can reach almost a full inch above the top of the beer. The aroma is very complex, and wood with vanilla sticks out pretty soundly.
First sip is very sweet overall. Most of the brown ales that I've had have been particularly nutty, but this has nuts in the background with a sweetness right up front that doesn't let go through the whole sip. The wood and nuts are relegated to background noise with vanilla surging right at the end. It's actually a pretty decent sipping beer, and the noteworthy alcohol by volume of 13.5% would lead me to believe that sipping might be the right way to drink this. But, that's not the right way to taste it, is it?
Tip-in is smoked maple with sweetness and wood. The middle adds dark fruit, coffee, more wood, and vanilla; it's about as smooth as it can be while maintaining a significant number of ingredients vying for supremacy. The finish cranks up the coffee as bitterness settles in with light cocoa and a little more wood for the trail off.
Bottom Line: It's better to sip this beer, and it will be just fine when you do.
2.75/5
