Terrapin – De Proef Monstre Rouge

Terrapin Beer Co., Athens, Georgia AND De Proef Brouwerij, Lochristi, Belgium

Monstre Rouge

Imperial Flanders Red

7.5% ABV

750 mL bottle into tulip glasses

This big fancy collaboration beer was practically glowing with promise on the shelf. What could peak expectations more than the words: collaboration, rouge, hoppy, Belgian, and MONSTER?

In retrospect, the beer could do nothing but fail to live up to such expectations. I thought a “Flander’s Red” would satisfy my recent sour beer cravings, but there was no forward sourness to it at all. Instead the predominant characteristic was extreme hoppiness manifesting itself in a licorice-y finish. It also tasted of oak and vanilla, but there was not mention of barrel-aging on the label.

In the end, a full-bodied, thought-provoking beer with a tippy-top shelf pricetag– but ultimately not what we’d hoped for.

~ by nininja on November 15, 2010.