11.2 fl oz bottle (Monk’s Cafe Sour) purchased at MDL in Overland Park, Kansas. Served in a tulip. Pour is a slight haze brown ruby with a one inch off white head that falls quick. Aroma of lactic sour vinegar and black cherry (skin and fruit), acetic and woody. Interesting and full nose. Taste is the wood, along with the black cherry (again, both skin and fruit) and followed by a soft and mild acetic vinegar. Gently sour, particularly as it opens up, blended nicely with the black cherry fruit. Nice integration, classy. Palate is higher carbonation, medium bodied, and long soft finish. Nice.

11.2oz bottle, Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale
Appearance: Pours a dark amber with a red tint, small white head and no lacing
Aroma: Sour fruits, sweet malts
Taste: Tart fruits balanced with some sweet malts. Finishes with a metallic taste in the back of the throat.
This is a good step towards a sour. I don’t care for real sour beers, this has just the right amount of sourness for my palate.

Under the name: "Monks Café Flemish Sour Red Ale"...
Location: 11.2 oz bottle from State Line, 11/15/09

Aroma: The nose is a mix of red wine, vinegar, sour grapes, and sour cherries, accompanied by wet oak trees
Appearance: It pours a medium brown with hints of orange and red, and a lasting sheet of bubbly tan head
Flavor: The flavor is much sweeter then the nose, fruity flavors of cherry and grape, with light woody tones
Palate: This beer has a somewhat light body with a fizzy mouthfeel and a decently long duration
Overall Impression: My first thought was to describe this as being almost like a combination of a beer and a wine. This beer looks nice upon being poured into the glass, and while it does have some wine characteristics in appearance, the nose is where the real wine-like comparison can be made. There was something a touch off in the nose that I couldn’t quite but my finger on, but kept the score from being higher for me. The flavor was a surprise following the impression from the nose, it is much sweeter and less sour then I would have guessed. An interesting beer, perhaps not perfectly put together, and perhaps a little too sweet, but it isn’t bad.

(Bottle, Stockholm Beer Festival, 26 Sep 2009) Dark ruby colour with frothy, beige head. Fruity, sourish nose with red berries, cherries and a touch of vinegar. Fruity, sourish taste with notes of cherries, red berries, ripe fruit and a bittersweet finish. Slightly more than medium body, sweet and sour. A solid and well made sour red ale, but there are better.

On tap at flying saucer. Pours a dark ruby with a small frothy light tan head with good stocky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a sour fruit and tart. Thin mouthfeel with a sour apple taste. Easy to drink. A very good sour ale from Monks.

On tap at Hop Leaf. Poured dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma was quite tart with an odd note of caramel. Flavor was full of sour apples, kind of like a cider with a bit of caramel.

As "Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Red Ale". Dark, ruddy brown colour. It’s only moderately sour. Hints of red berries and a fair amount of aramel sweetness.

330 mL bottle as Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour. Pours brown with a large, pillowy light tan head. Aroma is sour apple with caramel, dark fruits, and banana. Sour and sweet flavor with apple, cherry, caramel, raisin, red wine, and some cloves. Very syrupy, at times a little too syrupy. Pretty nice.

On tap at Monks Cafe. Pours a ruby brown with a thin but dense head. Aromas are of tart cherries with a little bit of a damp basement edge to them. Flavor much sweeter than I expected, especially up front and in the finish. There is a brief sour cherry interlude in the middle, but otherwise this is just a bit too sweet for my needs.