Brother Thelonious

North Coast Brewing Co

Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale - 9.3% ABV

Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

"Like a Belgian “Dark Strong Ale”, the beer is rich and robust with an ABV of 9.3%. The package is a 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish or 12oz 4 packs and features a label picturing the jazz master himself."

So this one is a Dubbel, which is a name for Belgium style Trappist beers. Now traditionally only beers brewed in actual Trappist Belgium monasteries can be called Trappist beers, and there are only a select few that are exported. There's some random beer trivia for ya. So most "Belgium Style Abbey Ales" are interpretations of them. Dubbels and Tripels are simply different styles of Abbey Ales if I read correctly. A dubbel having more alcohol then a normal abbey ale and a tripel yet even more. You get the picture. They're all interpretations on traditional abbey ales. Some obviously better then others. Would love to go to one of the real Trappist monasteries one day.

This particular dubbel pours to a thick murky brown color (almost all abbey ales are varying shades of brown/black) with a thick frothy head. It had aromas of fruit, roasted malt, and yeast come through. Very nice aroma but not as strong of an aroma as other dubbels I have had. The flavor follows suit and is what you'd expect. A nice medium body with upfront flavors of toasted caramel malt, tart dried fruit, and almost a brown sugar sweetness flavor. Finishes with a slightly sweet toasted bread flavor and hints of over ripe apple. Honestly a bit too sweet for me with out enough bitterness to balance the sweetness. Reminded me of some overly sweet porter wines or barley wines I've had where the dry sweetness just overpowers everything else to a degree. Only has a slight carbonation which also serves to not help cut the sweetness enough for my tastes. It's a good beer and definitely worth trying but there are better abbey brown ales/dubbels out there. There are worse though as well. For me personally though I prefer one a bit more balanced since most good abbey ales are not cheap.