Monstro
NoDa Brewing Co. - North End

 

 

 

A 2016 vintage given to me by my friend Mark Rodda.

A very nice barrel aged RIS. Not over barreled. I can only imagine how good this beer would be if the brewers had resisted the urge to barrel age it. Maybe the base beer is one of NODAs regular RIS’. I don’t know.

A - Pours like motor oil, a beautiful shiny viscous black with reddish highlights with a one finger brown head that dissapates rapidly. Alcohol legs. Minimal lacing. 4.0

S - Too much barrel/bourbon/spirits for me, but the aroma overstates the barrel aging found in the taste. Vanilla, brown sugar and molasses. 3.5

T - Roasted malts, low to no bitterness, bourbon, vanilla, brown sugar, molasses. 3.75

MF - Heavy bodied, smooth semi-dry finish. 3.75

 

 

Thanks to Wil for this one!
Black with brownish edges, cirrus surface skim with spotty lace. Aroma is a little boozy with a yeasty roasty presence. Super creamy with a rich taste. Roasted pecans, toasted coconut and vanilla, fudgy brownie crust, toffee. Unique flavor, noticeably strong. Full bodied and chewy, creamy feel, warming bourbon traces. Overall this is a great bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. Complex unique taste.

L - pours an almost black with an ominous, foreboding head. Dark tannish brown with mysterious jagged white rings that slowly sink to the depths of... Monstro.

S - monster bourbon and oak nose. Scraped right off the wood itself. Bright and metallic vanilla. I would say this smells hoppy, but it's probably the roasty toasty barley. Extreme.

T - that's a booze bomb. Grassy barley blast up front. Very fresh and plastic. Almost seems fake! Toasted chocolate and bitter vanilla beans on the raw. Big grain character and strong oak on the finish.

F - surprisingly thin. Viscous, but has an aggressively pointy and unbalanced carbonation. Weird sugary feel that makes teeth stick together.

O - this is a roller coaster of a beer. Lots of big, bold flavor. Bitter, fresh, toasty, chocolatey, hoppy. Not many stouts will wake you up, but this pulls it off.

The first BA beer I've had from a can, great offering from NODA. I've only ever had their hoppy beers, so I wasn't sure how this one would be. Turned out it was a solid barrel aged stout. Notes of dark chocolate, coffee, and slight boozy finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks pretty much like a stout, dark brown like the mulch in my yard. Poured surprisingly light for a BBA out of the 16 oz can, about 1 1/2 skittles worth of head that dissipated quickly. Has a slight boozy smell but not getting much through the nose hairs. The taste was primarily bourbon, secondary chocolate, blending together fairly well. As I left it simmer in my mouth for a caught I caught some coffee and vanilla, not much molasses. It definitely tasted better as it warmed up, alot more complexity of flavor. Overall, a solid offering from NODA.