Four Devils
Monkless Belgian Ales - The Brasserie

Review: 2592
Name: Four Devils
Brewery: Monkless
Location: Bend, OR
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 9%
Canned: No Date
Date: 26 April 2026
Initial Impression:
Please put a date on the can—batch numbers aren’t enough. Four Devils is my first experience with the Monkless lineup, and I’m not sure why I waited this long to try one.
Appearance:
Served at 54°F in a tulip. Pours a hazy light gold with straw-yellow hues. A creamy, pillowy white head forms with excellent retention, slowly receding and leaving light lacing—a strong visual presentation for a higher-ABV Belgian.
Aroma:
Classic Belgian profile with a soft, malt-forward foundation. Lightly toasted cracker, biscuit, and fresh bread notes support a gentle malt sweetness. The yeast character shines—pear, banana, apple (clean, not off), and light tropical notes of pineapple and passion fruit.
Spice and herbal elements add depth: clove, white pepper, honeysuckle, light grass, and a subtle eucalyptus note. A touch of tangerine peel rounds it out. Complex, expressive, and well-integrated.
Flavor:
Delicate yet layered. Citrus and tropical notes lead—lemon, tangerine, pineapple, passion fruit—followed by pear and apple. Yeast-driven spice comes through as white pepper, light clove, and a faint phenolic edge (Band-Aid-like, but restrained).
The malt provides structure without heaviness—cracker, light biscuit, soft sweetness, and a lightly toasted, bready finish. The interplay between yeast, malt, and subtle hop character is cohesive and balanced, with a mineral note on the end.
Mouthfeel:
Medium-bodied with a smooth texture and a slight bite. Well-attenuated, finishing on the drier side while maintaining a gentle malt roundness. Alcohol warmth is present but controlled.
Overall Impression:
I went into this not knowing what to expect, and it delivered. Four Devils is a well-executed Belgian that holds its own stylistically—complex, balanced, and expressive without overreaching. Strong, but restrained.
The yeast character leads, the malt supports, and everything works together cleanly. A really enjoyable beer and one I’ll absolutely come back to.

 

"Batch 768" (meaningless to me); drank 7/30/25 @ the Yarchives.

Cloudy orange/yellow appearance.

An even pour yielded a small, noisy bright white head; nice lacing remained.

Banana, clove, faint cider & faint orange citrus notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Banana & mild cider flavors up front; faint citrus & dry clove notes on the finish.

A nice Belgian-style ale; not quite as smooth as the classics but it'll do for sure.

On tap in Brookings Oregon.

Excellent appearance: clear, sparkling golden body with a tall and durable white head. Surprisingly malty aroma. The flavor has bready malts with modest hops making a harmonious mixture.

L: Hazy straw colored body with a one finger head.
S: Pineapple and pear, hints of mango, orange, and wheat.
T: Coriander, pineapple, pear, Belgian yeast, mild hop bitterness, a hint of vegetable or maybe fruit rind, finishing with pepper and orange peel.
F: Crisp, quite dry, slightly chalky, warm.

Clear pale yellow with abundant foam in the Hopleaf goblet. Very sweet and spicy. Tastes like pineapple to me. Smells like perfume. Quite pleasant sudsy mouthfeel, smooth and mellow carbonation. The finish is quite dry and even a little astringent. By then the nose is more pear and banana, and quite pleasing. Overall this is a complex and intriguing brew. It does not taste so alcoholic, but clearly it is as strong as advertised. Distinct yeasty bitterness in the aftertaste. From the 16 oz can purchased some months ago. No date.

L- Nearly clear mid golden color with smallish head that disappears in a minute or so with scant low lace. 3.75

N- Yeast, a touch of produce dept funk and a whiff of spices, hop and alcohol. 3.75

T- Fairly strong opening note for this ale which presents as spicy alcohol. Spice note could be clove on top of light pineapple and unripe banana perhaps. A nice bit of lightly sweet malt centers on the tongue to counter the former notes. This is a rather dry tasting Belgian with a fairly brash alcohol that mellows just a bit as it warms. Still a warm ABV forward ale. 3.75

F- Body is medium with a drying mid palate and finish due to the alcohol. Light carbonation with tiny bubbles 3.75

O- I was expecting a bit more from this beer,. Taste and enjoyment is alright, yet for the dollars charged I would expect a bit more flavor and some more finesse with the alcohol. Wait, did I mention alcohol too much. 3.75

L: Pours a very nice clear dark golden orange with a medium white head and thick lacing around the glass.

S: This smells like a Belgian beer, banana, clove, coriander, light lemon and orange followed by that nice spicy Belgian yeast.

T: A nice spicy Belgian yeast greats the tongue followed by the clove and coriander, a nice banana, lemon and orange. This beer is the Belgian profile on full throttle, and it is very delightful.

F: Pillowy soft mouthfeel, larger body.

O: I had never heard of this brewery before but I love my Belgian beers so I decided to give it a go and this beer is everything I want in a Belgian beer.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of candi malt, Belgian yeast, coriander, orange and light stone fruit. Flavor is candi malt, Belgian yeast, light stone fruit, orange, coriander and clove. Starts a bit sweet, but dries out into a spice finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. A somewhat sweetish take on the Belgian pale ale style, but the flavor progression to a drier finish worked for me. Nice fruit notes from the Belgian style yeast; the stone fruit was fine but the orange notes almost tasted more like Tang then fresh oranges; somewhat estery. Although the sweetness was a bit off style, I liked the flavor change and overall fruit profile. I'll get this again. The name hints at Duvel and there is a resemblance although the ABV seems better covered here.

 

Very good, above average Belgian pale. Yellow gold color. Light, tripel-like scent. Light on hop bitterness, balanced potpourri-like flavor. Nice, smooth flavor and effervescence.

draught
IBU: 30
Quite clear, not completely so, look. Light amber and gold appearance. A little bit heady, medium light and caramel malt, with a roasted corn nuance to the aroma. A bit reduced amount of flavor and body. A touch sharp at first, then gets into the flavors at hand. A touch sweet, medium light and coriander/clove, way in the background of the taste, with a bit of caramelization going on, to complete the flavors.

16oz can from Tavour. Medium golden, clear, small, spotty head. Aroma is caramel malts and Belgian yeast. Taste starts with a burst of floral notes, then some alcohol warmth, caramel, butter before finishing with a sharp sting. Darn good.

I've been back and forth about how much Monkless really knows what they are doing in what is a very difficult tradition to succeed in. This is my 8th from Monkless and five I rated above the average... which is pretty good for a nine year old Belgian-inspired brewer because, for me, only a dozen brewers in North America are in there competing on quality with the Belgians across the pond. With that as background, I'm enjoying this first can of a 4-pack bought from Woodman's Kenosha.

Four Devils Looks only average (it's the less-active yeast thing, my common comment on North American startups.) Smells are better: I'm intrigued by how this pineapple note says "sweet" and the spices say "not so fast." Tastes are equally balanced; fruity in the attack, but a drying sensation in the finish. In my mouth, Four Devils suffers from the yeast-thing... a lack of fullness. I will comment on how this goes with appetizers with one of the other cans. But as a Euro-Saison head, Four Devils (a strong and somewhat spicy BPSA) will not be on my dinner table unless I've cleaned out my inventory. Nonetheless, I like Monkless and I want to like them more and, as a Belgo-phile, I probably will.

10/2/22 I had a second can while preparing dinner (i9nstead of appetizers), but drinking on an empty stomach also can display an ale's versatility. For Four Devils, it showed it doesn't try to do too much. Good. Not masterful yet, but Monkless is getting closer.

 

Pours a gorgeous clear straw color with a sudsy white head that laces the glass surprisingly well. The nose is led by a fragrant pineapple note as referenced on the can, and comes across pretty sweet.

The taste has some of the pineapple, but is really dominated by the sweetness, and would have benefited from a bit more of the spiciness mentioned on the can. Still a really nice Belgian strong ale I had the opportunity to try.

Served in 12oz teku. Poured a lightly hazy honey gold color with an inch of white head that had moderate retention and no lacing.

The aroma started out with a blast of sweetness, but underneath were some solid grains and nicely spicy yeast.

Fairly similar on the tongue, with the sweetness absolutely dominating the grains and yeast. The spiciness of the yeast tried to compete, but wasn't able to stand up to the sugars.

The body was medium-full, smooth, and was very sticky-sweet across the palate. Bordering on syrupy. Very sugary finish.

Drinkability was damaged by the sweetness, it became a bit of a chore to finish the pour.

Overall, a basically solid version of a personal favorite style, but the heavy-handed sweetness heavily out-weighed the positives. If your into the style it's worth a shot. Not recommended for one as an introduction to the style.