Monk's Blood - 21st Amendment Brewery

zeledonia

Minnesota

2.5/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a deep, dark amber brown. Shows reddish when held to the light. A decent but not amazing amount of off-white head that recedes rather quickly but leaves good lacing.

Smell is a whole lotta sweet malt, figs, some Belgian-y yeast, and a bit of spice. Solid, but not super complex. Good enough that I'm definitely excited to taste it, but not so good that I'm convinced it'll be delicious. There's something hiding there in the background that doesn't feel quite right - an over-sweetness, or a touch of unpleasant bitter.

Taste is not so good. It starts out well enough, with caramel malts, brown sugar, some dark fruit. But then a sharpness comes in, a bit of acrid bitterness, that really doesn't go well with the other flavors in the beer. This flavor dominates the finish, and lingers beyond its welcome. Very un-smooth. And sadly, as it warms up and I taste it more, it just gets worse. This is the second beer I've had recently that reminded me of cough syrup. Fortunately, there are some good tastes in there, and the bad ones aren't totally overpowering.

Mouthfeel is okay; a bit syrupy, medium-bodied, light on the carbonation, holds the flavors in the mouth well. The only problem is, those flavors it holds in the mouth (especially the finish) are just bad.

This came damn near to being a drain-pour (in fact, I drain-poured the last quarter - a first for me). I continued on with the beer more to document exactly why I dislike it. Blech. The bitterness in the latter half of the flavor really kills this beer. I do NOT plan on drinking this again.

Serving type: can

05-02-2011 04:28:22 | More by zeledonia

mxchap

California

2/5  rDev -47.4%

05-21-2013 04:00:27 | More by mxchap

thampel09

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5.3%

05-20-2013 03:41:45 | More by thampel09

pixieskid

France

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

05-17-2013 07:38:24 | More by pixieskid

mcaulifww

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%

05-15-2013 19:27:27 | More by mcaulifww

Zbeetleman

California

2.25/5  rDev -40.8%

05-15-2013 04:42:00 | More by Zbeetleman

bconsidine

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

05-10-2013 18:33:00 | More by bconsidine

Zimm

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

05-10-2013 11:51:25 | More by Zimm

shehateme

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%

05-09-2013 23:54:02 | More by shehateme

In_Control_Mike

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -21.1%

05-09-2013 22:25:35 | More by In_Control_Mike

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

05-07-2013 13:17:58 | More by tommyguz

JohnnieNepal

Michigan

4/5  rDev +5.3%

05-03-2013 03:41:19 | More by JohnnieNepal

darkstar12

Maryland

4/5  rDev +5.3%

04-21-2013 21:43:33 | More by darkstar12

JoeBlevins

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%

04-14-2013 17:23:00 | More by JoeBlevins

510a

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

04-13-2013 17:02:18 | More by 510a

Srabe

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

04-12-2013 22:22:11 | More by Srabe

goldenM13

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

04-11-2013 04:38:39 | More by goldenM13

TychoNDC

New York

4/5  rDev +5.3%

04-07-2013 01:22:43 | More by TychoNDC

dvmin98

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +5.3%

03-31-2013 23:07:20 | More by dvmin98

csurowiec

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

03-31-2013 15:35:24 | More by csurowiec

artoolemomo

Oregon

2.75/5  rDev -27.6%

03-31-2013 05:57:20 | More by artoolemomo

kangarooAdam59

Maine

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a PA haulback in early March:

Into a tulip and a snifter at separate times (only difference is a larger head in the tulip, about 3 finger and closer to a 2 finger in the snifter):

A: slightly dark brown body head noted above, thick foamy lacing along the sides of the glass

S: sweet cherries, heavy malt coming through a sugary sweet way

T: sweet through previously mentioned flavors

M: medium, slightly sessionable, sweet sticky aftertaste and finish

O: I say good for a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and I'd have this one again, though as much as I let it warm I didn't detect any yeast, so, yeah, good for me, but leaves a questionable note of how good it truly is towards its suggested style

Serving type: can

03-24-2013 19:35:13 | More by kangarooAdam59

deuce9259

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

03-16-2013 04:30:56 | More by deuce9259

wmobley

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +5.3%

03-14-2013 19:55:51 | More by wmobley

IPAchris

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

03-14-2013 18:20:10 | More by IPAchris