The FNG
Monkless Belgian Ales - The Brasserie

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can marked batch #790 into a snifter at 55.4 degrees F.

Appearance- Amber-brown, low transmission translucent, plentiful small visible particulate, light brown creamy head, above average head retention, average lacing.

Aroma- Clove, toast, toffee, medium strength of scent.

Flavor- Clove, toffee, toast, pepper, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Mouthfeel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, highly creamy, moderately bitter, moderately sweet, moderately mouth warming, soft, moderately dry finish, mildly mouth coating.

Overall- Amber-brown with low transmission translucence and above average head retention and average lacing. The bouquet was a mix of clove, toast and toffee with medium intensity. The flavor followed the nose with the addition of pepper layered in and slightly more strength. The mouthfeel consisted of a medium-full body and high creaminess. There were moderate amounts of sweetness, bitterness and mouth warming property. Overall, the appearance and mouthfeel were great with this beer, but the aromatics and flavor were uninteresting and simple, with too much clove character for my palate.

 

This beer pours a golden orange with a small head. The aroma is sweet and malty with toffee & caramel notes. Almost no bitterness, smooth, tasty and easy drinking for an 8 percenter. Rated 3-21-2025

 

A well balanced Belgian. Will try it again.

L: Clear copper body, minimal soapy head on edge of glass.
S: Sweet, soft. Fig, prune, candied fruit, banana, cloves.
T: Cloves upfront, banana, caramel, figs, candied dark fruit, honey, a few spices. Wheat and a bit of citrus on the finish, and a classic Belgian booziness.
F: Moderate carbonation.
O: They describe it as a stylistic bridge, and I’d agree. Elements of a dubbel and tripel are present in aromas and flavors, and in harmony. Bravo. Keep beer interesting.

16 oz tall boy can give it to me as a gift of appreciation by friends who I am presently house sitting and pet sitting for. According to the stamp on the bottom rim of the can, this is from batch # 601. I wish I knew something about Monkless' dating, and could therefore determine whether this is old or not. It's the number one reason why I'm fearful of their packaged beers when I encounter them in the wild.

Poured into a stemmed wine glass that resembles a wide version of a teku, this was a cloudy, russet color, which took on a lighter appearance not unlike unfiltered apple cider when held up to direct light. There was about a half a finger of beige colored foam when poured. Sad head has since receded to a thin collar.

The nose reminds me of apples and sugar. As it warms a more toffee ish aroma comes out to play, along with notes of dark fruit, spicy Belgian yeast and a bit of wheaty earthiness.

Sadly, the taste is not nearly as interesting as the nose. It tastes rather like a cola that has aged out of its own sweetness. Perhaps batch number 601 is not a particularly fresh batch.

Body is heavy and undercarbonated.

This is got to be an old can. Monkless needs to get off their ass and ditch this stupid batch thing and put some honest to God dates on their cans.

Look: Pours a nice-looking dark brown with ruby-red hues and quickly, a beige head forms and settles to a film, leaving spotty lacing behind

Aroma: Red and green apple flesh and skins, earthy and spicy notes, some dried dark fruit, warm brown bread, toffee, and Belgian yeast

Taste: Opens up with dried dark fruit notes and rich, bready malt and toffee that come on quickly and develop depth. Peppery spice and apple flesh and skins grab ahold in the middle and interweave with the toffee and brown bread until yeast comes in to close it out with spritzy spice notes and some funk

Mouthfeel: Full, clean, medium-high carbonation, and pretty soft on the finish

Overall: I dig this one. I went into this beer blind as I was itching for anything Belgian and enjoy what these folks do so didn’t know about the curve ball it brought until I first tried it. Like the descriptor says, a hybrid Dubbel and Tripel that tastes and drinks exactly like those two styles had a love child. Rich, bready malt, dark fruit, and toffee notes of a Dubbel meet spicy, herbal/earthy notes of a Tripel and it actually comes together well without being a mess like throwing two styles together could be. Tasty, interesting, fun, and definitely worth a try

While Monkless' label legitimately pitches FNG as a bridge between dubbels and tripels, I agree with the BA styling. FNG is satisfying during shorter days and stewier meals. A few things say "tripel" like the spicing in the finish and some extra pale malts; but this is a dubbel.

That said, FNG has intriguing Looks. I've appropriately poured it into an Ommegang tulip and it Looks right at home for appealing color... but less so for lasting foam. While I'm also not overly-impressed by how FNG Smells, it gives me the dark fruits I expect. Tastes are balanced, not always easy for North Americans interpreting centuries of Belgian tradition and still having to sell ales to NA palates trained to love hops. I consider FNG medium-mouthed, which is all I need to pair with Uncle Bob's world-famous soup.

Would I drink FNG again? I have to; I just bought a 4-pack at Woodman's Kenosha. Would I pair something non-stewy with FNG? Probably not. I like tripels for three seasons a year and many I can drink with a meal. FNG is no tripel. And I will finish this 4-pack before February.

12/11/23 Had a second copy with the same soup. Edited above. I'm satisfied in knowing that Monkless is getting bette,r but that its yeasts need to get better to compete with the monk-ish masters.

Woody brown color. Light head. Smell of malt. Taste is, sure enough, between a dubbel and a triple. Foundation of woody malt, some hop, some spice. Reminiscent of a Belgian strong pale, in some ways. Potpourri-like quality. Somewhat viscous, compared to a tripel. Some effervescence. As a lover of tripels, this is certainly the best dubbel I've drunk.

 

Brown amber pour, light head. Good aroma of root cellar dankness along with biscuits / crackers. Taste is very malty, highly flavorful. Medium dry, just a hint of sweetness. Finish is clean and that's when you pick up the more subtle spice notes of allspice, cloves and mace. The 8% ABV is very well hidden. Let it warm a bit and enjoy sip-by-sip.

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can. Date stamp is batch # 518. Pouring into my chalice, the beer pours a deep rich mahogany color, with some ruby highlights, very nice looking color. Almost no light passes through my glass when held to a light source.
Very minimal beige head foams up and I almost get the entire can into the glass. A very thin surface covering remains throughout the sampling.
Aroma is fairly sweet with some general candi sugar notes, a bit of caramel and some raisin and general fruitiness. I also get a little clove. There is an interesting floral note in there too. No hints of the ABV, which at 8% is pretty impressive.
First sip reveals a medium body with very fine and slightly tingly carbonation. The beer is smooth textured and rolls easily across my palate.
Flavor is fairly sweet with caramel and toffee mixing with some cloves and a hint of black pepper bite on the finish. I get some raisin too and the floral note has a flavor too. Im not sure what flowers taste like really, but that is what Ive come up with here. Pretty drinkable for an 8% beer. Glad to have tried this one.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium to dark reddish orange with a quarter finger light khaki head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of caramel and candi malt, toffee, light stone fruit, Belgian yeast and a touch of clove. Flavor is dry caramel and candi malt, raisins, apricot Belgian yeast and clove. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and sharp carbonation. This is described as tasting like a hybrid of the dubbel and tripel styles and it does taste like a slightly mellow tripel, although to me it seems more like a cross between a Belgian pale and a tripel. Whatever the mixture, it is an appealing domestic Belgian ale. Spicy and somewhat dryer than a dubbel and more fruit notes than a dubbel. I like what they have done here (or what the fng did). This brewery is my go-to for Belgian style ales in the Northwest. Enjoyable.

 

16oz can from Brewers Haven. Mahogany pour, thin film of beige head. Yeasty aroma, tannins, tobacco, raisins, prunes. Taste brings a tinge of sweetness, Belgian yeast flavors, pit fruit, light tingle at the back. Pretty damn authentic.