Founders Blushing Monk - Founders Brewing Company

WHOLEBEER

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

WOW
tried this at the 11th annual indian brewers festival (glad that the guys from grand rapids, michigan came out)

served in a 5oz sample cup
fresh raspberry aromas echoing from a bright ruby red brew (similar in appearance to Lindiman's framboise)
great mouthfeel with that refeshingly carbonated zest and the raspberry flavors zinging around
a slightly high ABV, but you really can't tell

a great desert beer
can't wait to try it over ice cream

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2006 18:28:26 | More by WHOLEBEER

Frozensoul327

Michigan

4.22/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Wow. Amazing brew. Poured out to a deep ruby color with medium low carbonation. Aroma of raspberries and malt. Very appealing. Flavors of complex berries, malt, a hint of grain and husk. Nice. Mouthfeel was thicker than most other fruit beers, but wasn't at all syrupy or overly dense. Drinkability is pretty good consitering the rather high ABV. This is what we'd get if Rübæus was put on steroids. Recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2006 17:27:05 | More by Frozensoul327

mcallister

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A thickly carbonated scarlet concoction of dense proportions. White head dissipates quickly, leaving spotty lacing.

Fresh pureed raspberries galore. With the smell of carbonation, and malty belgian yeast goodness.

What balance. Subdued liquified raspberries with a malty goodness. Like toast with raspberry jam. A slight alcohol burn in the chest. Very acidic. Almost like liquid candy.

Nice thick mouthfeel. The high acidity balances the sweetness of the raspberries perfectly. Could drink a good long time.

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2006 17:43:10 | More by mcallister

wingman14

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

WOW. This beer is amazing, it is like a rasberry lambic times 100. It pours a hazy redish pink with a large white bubbly head. Smells intensly of rasberrys and yummy sweetness. The taste is amazing, stronger than a lambic but so good. It has a somewhat sour or tart aftertaste, but the rasberry comes through the strongest. I could drink these all day long. The mouthfeel is carbonated and fresh, very light. This is a wonderful offering at Founders and should be tried by all! Enjoy.

Serving type: on-tap

06-18-2006 01:30:14 | More by wingman14

CortexBomb

Michigan

4.35/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Blushing Monk immediately drew my interest at Founders...I like fruit based beers, and this was supposed to be sterner stuff than Rubaeus. The Monk was poured into a snifter glass and had a stunnning, cranberry juice-like apperance in that snifter with a slight, pink head on top. Very approachable. The smell was extremely raspberry based, but it had some estery tones present as well and the overall effect was very inviting.

The taste...again, like the smell, dominated by raspberries, but not a lambic like way...not so much the kool-aid-ish fruity intensity as much as genuinely tart and fruity. The Belgian aspect of the beer manifested itself in the esters and malt backbone...which made the overall flavour of the beer very full. This is a fruity beer done right.

Mouthfeel...tingles in the right places, not light at all, good stuff. Drinkability, easy to put down, particularly given the 10% ABV .

The bottom line is that this stuff was easy to quaff and very tasty. I like the body and flavour, both of which are noticeable improvements on the standard lambic flavour in general and the Rubaeus offering from Founders in particular. I hope they start bottling this stuff soon!

Serving type: on-tap

05-14-2006 03:04:26 | More by CortexBomb

nflmvp

Wisconsin

4.43/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap at the Brewery on Staurday, 4/29.

Poured a dark(ish) ruby red with little to no head. Smell was sweet and TOTALLY raspberry.

Taste was also very sweet and raspberry but surprisingly, didn't have much of an alcohol bite, considering the high ABV.

Mouthfeel was mildly thick and it was HIGHLY drinkable.

This would be a seriously dangerous summer beer because it goes down SO easily.

Serving type: on-tap

05-01-2006 23:42:46 | More by nflmvp

nmyers

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer was a little expensive at $5.00 for an 8 ounce glass, but it was worth it. It had a nice ruby red color and a great aroma of raspberries. It had a nice pink foamy head. It had wine like characteristic, and is a great fruit beer. It reminded me of a raspberry Lambic, but a lot stronger.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2006 16:41:31 | More by nmyers

plaztikjezuz

Michigan

3.7/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

tasted this at the michigan brewers guild winter beer fest.
from my notes i was served a sample that was ruby in color with a fluffy pink head.
the aroma was rich with raspberries and candy sugar.
the flavor was raspberry, with a slight sourness to it, the malt was present but not really strong.
the mouthfeel was a little watery but that could be due to the big beer i drank at the fest

Serving type: on-tap

03-19-2006 03:21:55 | More by plaztikjezuz

nortmand

Virginia

4.78/5  rDev +13%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Look for "blushing monk" if you are at the brewpub.

Rich ruby red pour with a bit of pink foam.

Incredible raspberry aroma. Complex and winelike, with some sour notes.

Sweet raspberry dominates the flavor, a spreading tartness balances some of the sweet. A bit cloying, expesially after it warms a bit.

Velvety smooth and incredibly drinkable. Highly recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2006 01:21:49 | More by nortmand

granger10

Wisconsin

4.4/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I've had this three times now on tap at Founder's so I think its time to review it. It's pricy weighing in at $5.50 for 8 oz. but I think its worth it, atleast to try it once.

It comes from the snifter in this ultra bright, almost flourescent raspberry color, maybe a little darker than that actually with the hint of a creamy light red head.

Even at Founders, which is quite smoky at times, I get this great pungent raspberry aroma along with a Belgian yeasty note underneath.

Flavor is very pungent as well. Intense flavors of whole raspberries along with a slight earthy character underneath. Sweet upfront, the top brings the tartness in full effect, then a little alcohol kick towards the back with acidity to match. Finish lingers with raspberry skins and alcohol esters.

Mouthfeel is light but sturdy. Transition and smoothness of flavors is impecable. Nice effervescence as well. Drinkability is good too. Definitely a sipper and the alcohol will sneak up on you but the raspberry flavor never annoys unlike most fruit type beers.

Really well done. This has definite lambic qualities to it. In fact, if I didn't know better I'd call this one a lambic. I'd love to see what some oak aging would do for this guy.

Apparently it has four times the amount of raspberries that Rubeaus had in it and after trying it, you can definitely tell that is the truth.

Serving type: on-tap

09-15-2005 12:42:28 | More by granger10