Merry Monks' Ale
The beer pours a hazy, syrupy looking gold. Trails of quickly rising bubbles float up, feeding a thick, white froth that settles slowly into a short blanket of head. Good retention, keeping all the way through the glass, leaving sparse, patchy lace. The aroma is very nice, with a pleasant sweet& sour thing going on. Heavy pale maltiness, with some caramel. Candi sugar and estery fruit balance spicy yeast and some sourness. Hints of apple, banana and plum. Slight phenolic clove and band-aid. The flavor starts with heavy sweet caramel, mingling with candi sugar and estery fruit. Slightly phenolic towards the middle, with some band-aid medical flavor and thinner like esters through the sinuses. Hints of apple, pear and light banana. Some sourness in the finish, with a slightly vinous character pervading through. Some alcohol is apparent in the swallow, but it's strength is well masked. A slight sourness lingers in the aftertaste, see-sawing with sweet candi sugar. A pleasant balance. A bouyant, tingly mouthfeel, with small bubbled effervescence supporting the medium bodied brew. A pretty authentic tripel style. Nicely balanced, with an interesting interplay of sugary sweetness and sour flavors. I'll certainly get it again, although a six pack lasts me a long time. I'm not often in the mood for belgian style beer. These guys make a good product, of which this is not the least.