Founders Blushing Monk
750 mL bottle poured into my Duvel tulip. Blushing Monk pours an impossibly deep plum. It's almost solid when held to light, with only very faint ruby highlights shining through. The first pour yielded barely two fingers of foam, while the second pour manages to churn up a full three fingers worth. Retention is alright, and there's a fair amount of lacing, but the color of the head is what really grabs attention. It's the offspring of lavender and a dark pink/light red shade, and it's much more vivid than the head from any other fruit beer I've ever seen. The nose is quite potent, and it screams raspberries, with just a little bit of sugary sweetness present as well. The flavor is just as one note as the aroma, and it really gets old as I make my way through the bottle. The flavor is exclusively of sugared up raspberries, and people referring to to the beer as alcoholic raspberry soda aren't off base at all. The body is a little flabby, especially for a Belgian brew, but the sparkling carbonation is perfectly suited to the beer. This is one that would be much better served by a smaller serving size, as the all out raspberry assault quickly gets old.