Monk's Blood
(has 1 batch)
21st Amendment Brewery in San Leandro, California, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Strong Ale Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.18
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Monk’s Blood pays homage to the monks of Belgium’s monasteries who have been
brewing some of the world’s great beer for centuries. During times of fasting, the monks
subsist solely on beer, which they refer to as “liquid bread”. Beer, quite literally, is in their
blood. The most sublime of the monk’s premium brews is dark like blood, rich and nourishing.
21st Amendment founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan traveled to Belgium to
develop the recipe for this special beer, visiting small, traditional breweries in the hop
fields of west Flanders, not far from the famous Trappist abbey of Westvleteren. Monk’s
Blood is designed to pair beautifully with rich winter stews, creamy cheeses, unctuous
desserts or just by itself, in a Belgian tulip glass, with a good book by the fire.
brewing some of the world’s great beer for centuries. During times of fasting, the monks
subsist solely on beer, which they refer to as “liquid bread”. Beer, quite literally, is in their
blood. The most sublime of the monk’s premium brews is dark like blood, rich and nourishing.
21st Amendment founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan traveled to Belgium to
develop the recipe for this special beer, visiting small, traditional breweries in the hop
fields of west Flanders, not far from the famous Trappist abbey of Westvleteren. Monk’s
Blood is designed to pair beautifully with rich winter stews, creamy cheeses, unctuous
desserts or just by itself, in a Belgian tulip glass, with a good book by the fire.
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7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Can (and there is something horrendously sacrilegious about a quad in a can). Pours nicely enough, though and the can is long forgotten by the time I sit down to enjoy (well... not really). Anyhow, body is a deep, dark copper and supports a dense, but thin, head. Aromas of brown sugar, caramel, light raisins and maybe cherries. Quite intriguing and fortunately I’m not picking up any aluminum. Flavor is luxurious... lots of sugary sweetness and dark fruits swirling around. Cherries seem to come through the strongest, but there is a pretty good alcohol kick, too, which is hard to miss. At a couple of points on the race to the bottom of the glass it seemed a little like cough syrup (which I detest), but those moments were ephemeral. It’s pretty sweet, though, and now I’m wondering how this will age.
Tried
from Can
on 10 Mar 2010
at 17:37
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
A dark reddish brown ale with thin light moka head. In aroma, pleasant dark fruits, caramel and alcohol, with notes of bubble gum, wine, and licorice. In mouth, a rather tart burned caramel, leading the way to molasses, wood extracts, herbal hops, a bit cloying and over the top to my liking. Still, rich and challenging in mouth. Can bought at Whole Foods, DC.
Tried
from Can
on 05 Mar 2010
at 15:26
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Courtesy of bvc. Can pours ruby blood red with light tan head. The aroma is mildly roasted malts and winter like spices. I can’t put my finger on some of this aroma. It almost seems to have a brown sugar cinnamon encrusted graham cracker sense. The taste is smooth with malty sweetness, some cherry fruitiness, some spices as well as sugar stewed prunes and figs. Overall this is one smooth brew where the flavor notes blend together as to defy description.
Tried
from Can
on 03 Mar 2010
at 20:19
6.3/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
courtesy of ibrew2or3. pours brown, light tan head. aroma found this one to have plenty of dark fruit sweetness, candi sugar aroma leaning on the Belgian strong character. flavor, smooth, sugary, mild malts and dark fruits, caramel malts, Belgian yeast and grainy mouthfeel. The fruits made this one almost too sweet for my taste. Wouldn’t mind trying it again.
Tried
from Can
on 28 Feb 2010
at 10:20
5.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
12 ounce can from Whole Foods Market, Charlottesville, VA. Pours a dark, hazy bronzeish dark brown color with a medium brown head. Decent head retention and lacing. The aroma I find strange with some nondescript maltiness punctuated by vinous grape and berry notes. Some faint herbal and plastic notes as well. The taste is dark malts, toffee, berries, herbal notes. nuts, plastic. I had a sample of this earlier and found it odd and displeasing. Now that I’m having a full can I still find it odd and displeasing, though slightly less so. Full bodied. Weird beer.
Tried
from Can
on 25 Feb 2010
at 22:26
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12oz can @Suttree’s Nothing else to do TN Gathering. Thanks Suttree/Phil-pours a tan head and amber/red color. Aroma is medium/dark malt, barny, fruit, earthy. Taste is medium/dark malt, barny, fruit-prune, earthy. Oh yeah and I seemed to have picked up some beghelad:-)
Tried
from Can
on 24 Feb 2010
at 12:28
6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Smells of toejam, rad grapes, and pineapple. Ochre pour, with a medium tan head, decent lacing. It tastes of rust, must, sweaty feet, and elderberries. Finishes with red grapes. This was a very strange brew. Point for originality, but a point off for enjoyability. Not particularly well executed, but certainlt unique.
Tried
on 21 Feb 2010
at 08:51
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Beautifully deep ruby red with a medium head. Sweet, malty, dark and ripe fruits, plums, cherries, slightly tart aroma. Medium body. Real tasty, this one. Fruits, sweet malts, slight wood, and a bit of fruity tartness. Finish is drying. A real good drink; would like to pick up more of this one.
Tried
on 16 Feb 2010
at 04:02
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Location: 12 oz can from Gilly's, 1/19/10
Aroma: Dark fruits (cherry, raisin, maybe fig), some wood, caramel, and spice
Appearance: Pours a dark mahogany color with a fizzy tan colored head
Flavor: Fairly sweet from the dark fruits, with almost no bitterness to it at all
Palate: Soft, almost flat, carbonation, it really hides the alcohol well with really no burn
Overall Impression: This beer seems to have a lot of fruit flavor to it, particularly the cherry. I like it, but it could probably use a little balance. Seems to be a lot going on though. Pour a huge head, but I blinked and it was gone, leaving just a small ring around the glass. Still, I liked the color quite a bit, a nice looking beer. Something I'd probably not drink very often, but if you are looking for a sweet "change of pace" beer, this one is certainly suitable. The nose is probably the best component, but the rest is pretty solid as well. This one kind of grows on you, and it is probably a sipper more due to the sweetness then the booze, but if a sweet finish is an issue for you, I'd probably say stay away.
Aroma: Dark fruits (cherry, raisin, maybe fig), some wood, caramel, and spice
Appearance: Pours a dark mahogany color with a fizzy tan colored head
Flavor: Fairly sweet from the dark fruits, with almost no bitterness to it at all
Palate: Soft, almost flat, carbonation, it really hides the alcohol well with really no burn
Overall Impression: This beer seems to have a lot of fruit flavor to it, particularly the cherry. I like it, but it could probably use a little balance. Seems to be a lot going on though. Pour a huge head, but I blinked and it was gone, leaving just a small ring around the glass. Still, I liked the color quite a bit, a nice looking beer. Something I'd probably not drink very often, but if you are looking for a sweet "change of pace" beer, this one is certainly suitable. The nose is probably the best component, but the rest is pretty solid as well. This one kind of grows on you, and it is probably a sipper more due to the sweetness then the booze, but if a sweet finish is an issue for you, I'd probably say stay away.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Jan 2010
at 17:22