Northern Monk Double Heathen

Pull on a blindfold and inhale. This is a big, chunky beer right from the first sniff. Actually, that blindfold might come in handy if presentation is important to you. This is a murky beer with a disconcerting appearance, but once other senses kick in, the fog lifts. This full-bodied and warming beer is very quaffable for 10%. The IBUs are 70, but you’d never know it as it’s initially sweet, with a hint of caramel. Lemon, grapefruit and tangy pine are then delivered by a firm punch of hops that join with alcohol in the dry, gum-tingling finish.

Jeff Evans is author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide, The Book of Beer Knowledge, Beer Lover's Britain and So You Want to Be a Beer Expert? More of his writing can be found at insidebeer.com.

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The brewery is based in an old flax mill in Leeds, a city that was once the industrial powerhouse of Yorkshire. It’s a modern concept with—borrowing the monastic habit—a refectory where visitors can drop by for a beer and a meal, and watch the 10-barrel brewing kit that produces a wide range of both keg and cask-conditioned beers. The double IPA promises citrus and tropical fruits, but this is so rich and pungent that I find celery and sweaty trainers—yes, really—on the aroma, too. Citra and Mosaic hops pile into action on the palate with bittersweet peach and mango fruit, allied to juicy malt. The finish is surprisingly dry for a beer of this strength, but there are continuing contributions from ripe fruit and bitter, herbal hops. Hold on to your tonsure!

Roger Protz is the author of 300 Beers to Try Before You Die and 300 More Beers to Try Before You Die. Respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and protzonbeer.co.uk.

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