Magnificat - Bourbon
Monkish Brewing Company in Torrance, California, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Strong Ale Regular|
Score
7.17
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Very good. The beer is dark brown with a smallish tan head. The bubbles recede fairly quickly. The liquid seems hazy but the color is somewhat too dark to tell easily. The aroma is rich and sweet. Big on toffee and caramel, lots of toasty malt flavors. Some very mild raisiny fruitiness, which I’m normally critical of but it works quite well here. The barrel pops up with some vanilla, mild oak and a touch of booze. It smells like a warm toffee shortbread biscuit with hints of sweet bourbon. The taste is even better. Big on that cookie sweetness, which is emphasized by a smooth and soft mouthfeel. It’s sugar cookies and caramel and deeper, nuttier malt sweetness. Lots of vanilla. Wonderful Christmas spiciness that adds to the overall flavor without taking center stage at all. That rich treacle and molasses base is the dominant flavor. It’s as dark as it gets without getting into chocolate or roast. Surprisingly easy to drink. This is in the Fremont BBomb sphere of velvety toasted mark goodness.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Capped, waxed 750 from Monument in Concord, CA. Pours dark brown with a slight tan head. Aroma has lots of cocoa, a fair amount of bourbon, and maybe figs. Some spice as well. Full bodied or nearly. Flavor starts with alcohol, but that works here. There is a lot of Xmas spice, with chocolate, wood, treacle and bourbon. Drinks pretty good. Maybe a bit heavy on spice for spring, but timing isn’t everything? I don’t think heat is a problem, but my tongue is burning a bit along the edges. Very nice winter ale.