Belgian School - Founder's Blushing Monk

12.3% ABV

Blushing Monk is the first release this year in Founder's Back Stage Series.  First released in 2007 it has been four years since anyone has seen this brew on store shelves.  I personally have never experienced this brew before but when I stumbled upon it I couldn't resist trying it.  Fruit beers aren't usually my cup of tea so I approaced this tasting with a bit of apprehension.  In addition to the Raspberry character this is supposed to be a belgian style ale.  This should fit in nicely with FatCat's Belgian School right?  Well let's find out.

The Raspberry aroma immediately leaps from the bottle after the cap is popped.  Alcoholic Capri Sun anyone?  The Monk pours a dark red with a bright red head posted on top of the brew.  The raspberry aroma that was abundant out of the bottle is just as dominant in the glass.  All your senses are indicating you are about to partake in the consumption of raspberry juice with the beer nerd part of your brain wondering if there is any beer in there at all.  The mouthfeel is fairly thick for a Belgian style ale with some residual malt sweetness in the background.  The taste starts with deep fruit raspberry character and ends with some sourness.  The fruit/raspberry character is clearly dominating the taste profile but is supported somewhat adequately by the malt profile.  This is a Belgian Style right?  Ok palate start earning your money where is the Belgian?  If you really concentrate on the taste the Belgian yeast character appears in the distant background.  It is not a dominant trait in the flavor profile but can be experienced if you hunt for it.  The sourness does subside a bit and some additional malt character begins poking through as the brew warms. 

This is another one of those brews that pushes the limits on what can actually be considered beer.  It is completely dominated by the raspberry character and is fairly absent of traditional beer characteristics

(yeast,hops, etc.).  With all of that being said, to my surprise I thouroughly enjoyed this brew. 

Previous Belgian School Lessons:

Doodle Dubble
Trappist Rochefort 10
Ommengang Abbey Ale

 

Belgian School - Doodle Dubble

The second lesson of Belgian School re-ignited my interest and confidence that I can enjoy Belgians.  Next in line for Belgian School is the local brew Doodle Dubbel.  Can it keep up the momentum and count itself as one of the best Belgians in the world?  Well we're about to find out. 

Doodle Brewing Company is operated out of Liberty, MO by Nick Vaughn.  The companies sole brew is the Doodle Dubbel and is offered on the Missouri side of the line.  I like to refer to this brew as the "Dood" and I will address it as such from here on out.  The Dood arrives on scene with moderate head,  it's not overly carbonated but persists nicely.  The nose is dominated by big yeast aroma giving way to some sweet malt smell.  The aromas incited a flashback of super yeasty brews that have been haunting my dreams.  I paused briefly to send a prayer to the beer gods asking them to spare me from another yeasty prune juice, amen.  With the beer gods blessings, I took a swig of the Dood and was pleasantly surprised.  It definatley had a significant yeast character but the yeast balanced nicely with the malt sweetness.  There were caramel notes with muted dark fruit character hiding in the background.  All the tastes were balanced well without any aspect overpowering the others.  The Dood finished dry and was very refreshing for a Belgian.  Overall I liked this brew much better than the Ommengang Abbey Ale (also a Dubbel).  I am pleased I liked this brew so much, not just because I found another Belgian I actually like, but because it's from a small local company.  As I mentioned in the Ommengang review, it's ranked number 5 on Beeradvocate so the Dood has taken down some high level competion.

As I posted this blog entry some guys grabbed me and threw me in the back of a car as I exclaimed, "Careful man there's a beverage here."  They began to interrogate me on how I could choose the Dood over the Ommnegang.  To that I said, "You're not privy to the new shit. So uh, you know, but that's what you pay me for."

Previous Belgian School Lessons:

Ommengang Abbey Ale

Trappist Rochefort 10

Cheers!

Belgian School - Trappist Rochefort 10

11.3% ABV

After my initial disappointment in the first lesson of Belgian School I had my doubts about these Belgians.  Had I finally met a style of craft brew that I didn't like?  Had I passed my craft beer climax (giggity) rendering my palate inoperable against new styles of craft?  I said my prayers to the beer gods begging for savior and popped open the Trappistes Rochefort 10.  The Rochefort 10 is ranked #22 on BeerAdvocates top 100 beers and is ranked the #2 Belgian Quad. 

It seems that my prayers have been answered because this is one righteous brew.  It pours with a quickly receding head that gives way to malt and caramel aroma.  The smell was awesome, begging you to dive into the goblet head first.  I obliged the invitation and dove in.  This brew was absolutely delicious with solid malt character and deep caramel notes.  The thin mouthfeel and sweet finish lend to dangerous drinkability.  It is very fitting that this brew is associated with monks because this has to be made with holy water.  I have thrown around the term "elixir of the gods" before but this is the real deal.  I have seen the light my friends and I'm back on the Belgian path to enlightenment. 

Go ahead dive in!

Previous Belgian School Lessons:

Ommegang Abbey Ale


Cheers!

Belgian School: Ommegang Abbey Ale

My interest has been rekindled in Belgian Style Ales as of late.  In my ongoing quest for ultimate beer knowledge I noticed all the Belgian Ales listed on Beer Advocates Top 100 Beers, all the talk of Belgians on forums, and all the enthusiasm on beer blogs for Belgians.  Admittedly I have little knowledge and/or experience in this style of beer.  One of my main gripes is many of them simply say "Belgian Style Ale" on the bottle.  So what does that mean?  Goose Island in particular has 149 different beers all dressed in plain labels and all with some catchy overly simplistic name.  And they are all Belgian Style Ales.  What the hell is that supposed to mean?  I had a brief run in with Chouffe, which I thoroughly enjoyed but never revisited.  I tried a Chimay which was weird and overly carbonated.  So I pretty much wrote off all "Belgian Style Ales" mainly due to inexperience and ignorance of the style.  I have rededicated myself to becoming a beer Yoda and found it necessary to see what everyone is raving about with these Belgians.  I'm going to dedicate a portion of the blog to Belgian School which represents my journey of Belgian enlightenment so stay tuned!

Ommegang Abbey Ale

8.5% ABV

This brew is a Belgian Dubbel and is ranked number 5 as a Dubbel and number 74 on Beer Advocates top 100 list.  The ale poured with a burnt caramel color and a large off white head.  Strong malt character dominated the nose with some alcohol and yeast cast in the supporting role.  This brew offers up a deep fruit taste with some spice from the yeast.  It finishes fairly dry and the aftertaste coats your whole mouth.  I'm not a fan of raisins or prunes which are some of the labels used to describe these Belgians.  I'm guessing this is what the reviewers are talking about because this has the deep bittersweet fruit taste like raisins.  Again I'm not a fan of this taste and therefore am not a fan of this brew.  First at bat and I struck out.  I'm a little disappointed but will venture on.

Cheers!