Monk's Blood - 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco

21st Amendment is an interesting brewery. I had the pleasure of visiting their brewpub in San Francisco last year and I really enjoyed it. It's a tiny little place with about a dozen different beers on tap at a time. 21st Amendment doesn't bottle, but they do can their beer for export to other markets. Since my trip to San Francisco I've managed to have a few more 21st Amendment beers and I've liked each one better than the last. I have heard a lot of good things about the Monk's Blood, a Belgian style Strong Ale, and I can't wait to try it. I really like the Belgian styles, but I've never had one out of a can before... this should be interesting.

Monk's Blood pours a reddish, brownish purple color. The body settles quite dark with a very light tan colored head. There's no lacing from this thin head, and there doesn't seem to be much carbonation either. The aroma coming from this glass is quite complex, it's rather sweet with figs, prunes and candied sugar up front. There's just a hint of oak and alcohol on the nose. Overall, this smells very Belgian and very good.

The flavor of the 21st Amendment Monk's Blood is super complex and really quite good. The beer starts off tasting very sweet, a lot like Gulden Draak actually, with figs, prunes and Belgian sugar. As the Monk's Blood moves to the back of your palate you notice the flavor change quite a bit. There's a bitterness that creeps up along with cinnamon, brown sugar and oak. The whole thing tastes amazing.

I really enjoyed the Monk's Blood. My only complain with this beer is that bitterness at the end, it really seems out of place. The rest of the beer, that flavor shift from the tip of your tongue to the taste buds at the back of your palate is really really interesting.