Brooklyn Monster Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

2012 bottle. Dark copper pour with a creamy off-white head. Sweet aroma of toffee, caramel and earthy fruits. Similar taste but with a big alcohol punch. A little too sweet for my tastes that and I imagine the sweetness would intensify with age.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Nice to see a Barleywine in a smaller bottle. 10.3% ABV on front label. Pours a slightly hazy, darker amber colour with a light-beige bubbly head, average retention and a bit of lace. Aromas are quite sweet, with caramel malt, apple pie and mild hops. Thick-bodied, smooth and oily mouthfeel, with no burning at all, but a nice warming feeling. Not as sweet tasting as some, so goes down quite well. Lots of different dried fruits for flavours, burnt sugars, toffee, with mild bitterness from the hop. Finding this one very well-balanced to be not too sweet, not too hoppy and affordable in a great format at the LCBO.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Aroma is strong and fruity, mainly apple, with a bourbon-like overtone. It pours a clear coppery orange with a thick and rather persistent pale tan head. Fruity, malty flavor has a firm but not vicious alcohol bite and a touch of honey-like sweetness, as well as a bit of hoppy bitterness. Smooth texture has average body and some good fizz. A respectable, if not outstanding, barleywine - give it a try if this is your favorite style.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours a dark, brownish copper color with a small thick head that lingers for a couple minutes and leaves a nice, creamy lacing. The aroma is very sweet and malty, caramel, toffee, and alcohol. The taste is extremely sweet up front, like a wine/champagne sweetness mixed with strong alcohol with toffee, caramel, a lot of hops and malts, with an alcohol bite and has a strong bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Had this beer fresh and aged.Not much difference.Very sweet and fruity.Like the warmth of the alcohol.Just an average English style barley wine.To make my comment longer I would say try it yourself.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Good barleywine, a bit raw and young which gave it a harshness that I didn't enjoy but still tasty. Warmed up it didn't lose the edge at all, maybe some time in the cellar would do the trick?

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

My last 355ml bottle of a half dozen bought before Xmas. Pours a hazy beautiful reddish copper color with a decent puffy cap. Aroma is demure but distinct in cereals, spice and light earthy-fruity tones. Flavor big in malt amalgams, big crystal rush up front is met with ample hop balance…hop mix provides bitter, piney and spicy tones….great balance in such a big ale. Mid palate some complexity builds – fruits some smoke, raisins, treacle, spices….goes to a slightly dry bitter clean finish. Alcohol tastes well hidden but has a significant warming to it. This sample is a little better in complexity than the first younger samples I tasted, leading me to believe this will age well and as the ample hopping drops back more the subtle complexity will become more apparent. I like this barley wine as it is perhaps less complex and intense as other but it is really approachable and easy to have more than one in a sitting.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

10.3% ABV- Not one of the better barleywines out there. Still a good beer, just thought it would be a little better since it's in the Brooklyn family. This is a 2011 bottle and seemed pretty fresh, so thinking and hoping this will get better with age. Saving one to open a few years from now with some other barleywines like Old Stock, Barleycorn, etc. Alcohol seemed a little too overpowering, which I've had plenty of 10-12% beers that had beter drinkability. Appearance has more red tint and clearer than the average in this style. Not something I will get again, but curious to see how the single I'm saving will do with age.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

355ml bottle
10.3% ABV (as marked on the bottle)
2011 bottle
Queen's Quay LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
January 13, 2012
The beer poured a hazy golden-red with a thin tan head. The aroma was sweet malt, fruit, citrusy hops and some grains. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with medium carbonation. The alcohol was definitely noticeable in this beer. There was a sweet fruity note to the flavour along with a bitter citrusy finish....but again, the alcohol was the winner (or is that loser) in the flavour category.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

drinking a 2007 version. Dunno how I got it, actually... Sweet caramel aroma. Dark orange, almost amber colour, a touch of head for the first while. No lacing at all. Rich, smooth, comparable to a nice glass of port. A fading brown sugar sweetness, not overbearing. Some prune/plum, lots of malt, but not a lot of prominent hops after aging. Finish was smooth, and very pleasant. A hit around the room. Bear in mind, this was a five year aged bottle, but damn smooth for its abv.