Brooklyn Monster Ale - Brooklyn Brewery

Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.

BA SCORE
84
good
-
1,490 Ratings

rAvg: 3.7
pDev: 13.24%
Reviews: 1021
Hads: 469

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Brooklyn Brewery

New York, United States

Style | ABV
English Barleywine | 10.10% ABV

Availability: Fall. bottle (975), on-tap (42), growler (3).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

ABV varies a bit year to year.

View: Beers (52) | Events (0)

Reviews

Sort by: Latest | High | Low | Top Reviewers |

Alström Bros | Show Hads:

« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | next › last »

Reviews by almychristopher:

almychristopher

New York

3.8/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

a very nice looking beer, deep crystal clear amber with a nice head that fades to a thin lace after several minutes... the aroma doesn't quite hold up to the appearance in this young barley wine... the fruity esters and the malty aromas waft up on a predominantly ethyl generated breeze. I'm sure it would be better with some aging. the taste brings another round of malts and sweet caramely something... but still rather drown out by the alcohol. the mouthfeel is definitely full but with adequate carbonation to round it out... i'd take a few more there barkeep.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2008 05:06:03 | More by almychristopher

More User Reviews:

Proclarush

Maryland

3.75/5 rDev +1.4%

06-16-2013 13:40:04 | More by Proclarush

jaxon53

Connecticut

3.25/5 rDev -12.2%

06-16-2013 13:23:34 | More by jaxon53

JohnBender

Texas

3/5 rDev -18.9%

06-13-2013 00:45:59 | More by JohnBender

raffy313

Texas

4/5 rDev +8.1%

06-12-2013 03:20:34 | More by raffy313

diehl07

Ohio

3.75/5 rDev +1.4%

06-11-2013 21:56:40 | More by diehl07

Mattco

Illinois

4/5 rDev +8.1%

06-11-2013 12:49:01 | More by Mattco

scotorum

Massachusetts

2.83/5 rDev -23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

A forum on BA discussed how this is being retired as a consequence of the death of the cat after which it was named. I found 2012 fourpacks for a good price.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a whiskey glass. Not much foam.

a. dark amber which looks like it deserves its name. Either that or it's really Scotch. Scotch with a thin head that leaves a lot of lacing.

s. Nope it's beer. Alcohol! Dark accompanying odor almost like dirty feet. Smells like it deserves its name.

t: Sharp alcohol bite. That smell is in the taste too. Not terribly appealing, but you know you are drinking 10% alcohol. Reminds me of a cheap malt liquor some wag flavored with dirty gym socks. Well, not that bad. But you almost wonder...

m: Smooth enough, with heavy alcohol bite, like yoiu were drinking a watered down whiskey that sort of tasted like beer soaked in dirty gym socks. Kidding again.

o. overall - maybe not so bad if you want to get high fast. Just not liking the taste particularly, although it is unique and strong. Maybe Monster the cat died drinking some. Possibly Brooklyn's worst offering and therefore worth retiring to avoid further embarrassment and damage to their reputation,. I still think their Brown Ale and Pilsner rock.

PS: finishing it, I'm liking it better. Either the 10.1% is kicking in, or...OMG No!
PS2: Had a second one from the fourpack a couple of nights later and the offending taste was more muted. But it still didn't have much to recommend it other than a quick high from the 10.1 ABV.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2013 04:42:14 | More by scotorum

MRsojourner

Massachusetts

4.33/5 rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2012 bottle: nice beautiful medium brown color that is fairly clear with an off white head.

aroma is of caramel and herbs

Taste is a wonderful blend of caramel rich malts and lots of melanoidins giving a clean stone fruit flavor along with herbal and earthy hops that bring in the bitterness. the bitterness sticks around on your palate but its not strong like an American BW. the alcohol shows itself a bit as it warms up and feels like it comes through in your nose as you drink it.

mouthfeel is medium and finishes the same. it feels right to me making this high abv beer very easy to drink

overall I love this beer. not sure why the scores are so low but its a shame they wont be made anymore. R.I.P

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2013 01:15:57 | More by MRsojourner

IanSpindler

Alberta (Canada)

4/5 rDev +8.1%

06-08-2013 03:36:31 | More by IanSpindler

Greywulfken

New York

3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: deep amber brown with an orange hue, light film of ivory head in a snifter; some lace motes

S: malts and hops produce a vague fruity/sherry aroma

T: herbal/medicinal tones, softer malts add toffee sweetness

M: thin, slick, no palpable carbonation, some astringence - less in an aged beer

O: not the best of barleywines, but a decent foray into the style

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 02:46:13 | More by Greywulfken

Hanselpb

Ohio

3/5 rDev -18.9%

06-07-2013 22:47:29 | More by Hanselpb

KForlino

North Carolina

3.03/5 rDev -18.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

'07 vintage

Poured into a tulip glass. The appearance of this was pretty intimidating. Not a fan. While there was nothing floating around, there beer in it's entirety was extremely cloudy. I mean, it looked like someone had mixed an over steeped iced tea and lake water together, shook it quite vigorously, and dumped it in the glass. Smells like prunes. Tastes like prunes, and just the slightest bit sour on the end. Not much heat and very faint carb, as this one has been sitting for 6 years. Despite the appearance, it's actually got a decent feel. Definitely not a favorite for me, wouldn't go for it again.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 01:34:48 | More by KForlino

aztraz

Sweden

3.5/5 rDev -5.4%

06-02-2013 18:49:37 | More by aztraz

jucifer1818

Florida

4/5 rDev +8.1%

06-02-2013 08:54:45 | More by jucifer1818

Chickenhawk9932

Pennsylvania

4.03/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

Deep amber, copper color with an off white head.

Smell the resinous hop aroma with some woody, earthy, grape vine notes and slight floral aroma.

Big chewy malt mouth up front. Followed by some nice wine notes with resinous hops and a bitter herb bite. It is well balance for all the flavor and abv packed into it. This is a very tasty and accessible barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2013 00:36:16 | More by Chickenhawk9932