Monk's Cafe 8-05-2011

Ze Beer? Monk’s Cafe
Ze Style? Flemish Sour Ale
Ze Maker? Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.
Ze Content! 5.5%
Serving type: 12oz bottle

So, this is my first official blog from a 2 month hiatus. First off, I am sorry to let all of you down at least those of you who followed along on my blogs. But now that my promotion at work is regulated and my move to my new apartment is complete, I should have little to no excuse not to update this blog more often. A few months back, I was lucky to attend my friend Robert’s Graduation party, where we were able to drink/taste several delightful beers. During this event, we tasted several beers from Russian River, including their line of sours. My girlfriend has never been much into beer, but when this magical elixir touched her lips, she was instantly in love. To say the least, I will be buying more Sours so I have someone to drink with. With that said, this was the first sour I bought for her, as i truly think this is a must try for anyone into sours.

This Flemish sour when poured into my Tremens Goblet, turns out a very dark red/copper color. Lots of carbonation is present as the Head dwindled away. The head did not retain too long, but it was a nice layer of foam coating the beer as it poured. On the nose you could tell this was a sour with the slight hint of vinegar that came through, but not overpowering the tart apple and sour cherries. The Cherries pull through, but takes a while for the vinegar and apples to settle down. As soon as this beer touches your lips, tart crisp green apple is most of what you can think of; almost like a Sour green soda. The sour taste is not overwhelming as some other Sour Ales can be, but is nice and easy to get into if you are new to Sours as this one has a nice yeasty bread-like body. Very enjoyable, and easy to drink, though however tasty a sour ale can be I cannot do too much of a sour ale before I am ready to move on. Not to take away from its drinkability, this is very easy going.

Would I PAY for this beer? Yes I would, definitely. For about 4-5 dollars, you can get this solid Sour Ale, a staple of sours too if I may say so myself. If you want to get into sours or try them out this is definitely an affordable buy.

Overall Rating: B+

Cheers,
-Ze Beer Guy