Review: Brother Thelonious Belgian-Style Abbey Ale

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Beer!

Another one from a recent Calandro's beer run... the Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale from North Coast Brewing Company.  This brewery is located in northern California, and not just San Francisco... Fort Bragg which apparently (I just checked some Google Earth) is much farther north.  That's damn near Oregon and Oregon makes some good beer, so that's a good sign.  They are probably best known for the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, which I've tried before and will have to find again to feature on this blog sometime in the future.  But back to this beer...

I poured it from the corked 750ml bottle into a Chimay goblet... no head at all. Zero. That was really odd, as you can see in the picture from literally seconds after the pour. The color is a dark ruby red, almost brown. 

There's a good smell to it, herbal, a little pear and apple scents.

The taste isn't much like the smell upfront... hints of malts, then the fruit flavors come through and on the back end more malts with some hops as well. Pretty good, considering this one has almost no carbonation.  I obviously came across a flat bottle, total bummer... the flavor is still there but none of the character.  I've had this beer once before, on tap at the Flying Saucer in Little Rock, AR last year after the LSU/Arkansas game.  I remember it being a really good Belgian-style ale so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt despite this disappointment.

Taste: B+

Value: B+  ($8.49 at Calandro's, good price for a 750ml bottle.)

On the notes of price, just imagine what you'd pay for a 750ml bottle of exceptional wine?  A lot more than $8.49 that's for sure, yet the same price on the same quantity of beer is often considered to be high.  Just something to think about next time you're picking up a few bombers or 6-packs.