21st Amendment Monk's Blood Review

Name: 21st Amendment Monk's Blood
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 8.3%

Here's a brewery that I've been meaning to start look at for quite a while. Tonight I've got 21st Amendment Brewing's Monk Blood. It's a Belgian Strong Ale that, despite the name, does not contain the blood of the servants of God. They're also the first brewery that I remember when I first got into craft beer that had all of their beers in 12 oz. cans.

There's a lot, and I mean A LOT of text on the can in Ruritania font that I'm not even going to bother trying to read, though it says plain and clear on the bottom of the can it's brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, oak chips and dried figs.

Appearance - A fairly clear but dark crimson which has a decent amount of visible carbonation. The head is fairly thin with some sparse retention but the lacing is rather plentiful.

Aroma - Dark fruit and oak notes, some roasted barley and chocolate maltiness on the front of the nose. The vanilla and figs starts to gain momentum as this warms up and it encompasses to aroma itself. Try as I may, I haven't picked up on any cinnamon

Taste - Dark fruit, oak and fig notes on the front of the palate, with caramelized malts and vanilla sweetness in the middle; The latter of which lingers until the end. The back end of the flavor is made up of light chocolate sweetness and cinnamon notes, along with the vanilla notes that I mentioned earlier.

I love the sheer complexity of this flavor and it only becomes more vibrant as it warms up. Don't let the 12oz. can fool you, contained inside is an absolutely flavorful beer that will be sure to please anyone looking a complex tasting beer!

21st Amendment Monk's Blood - 9/10