Beer of the Week! 10/25/22
North Coast Brother Thelonious
Regularly $15.99 / Now on Sale for $14.96
Belgian Style Strong Dark Ale
This is a story of money, monks, magnificent maltiness, and the most litigated brew that we have on our shelves.
Back in the early 00s, North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, CA (on the Pacific coast, about 170 miles north of San Francisco) decided to brew a strong brown ale inspired by the Trappist Dubbels made by (mostly Belgian) monks. Once they’d perfected the beer, North Coast, in a moment of whimsey, thought of naming it after an American monk of sorts. They came to an agreement with the estate of a late, great jazz legend — portions of the money from each sold case would go to the, then, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in exchange for permission to use his name and likeness. Artist Eduardo Smissen crafted an image of Monk in robes drinking a beer with a halo of piano keys around his head, and the Brother Thelonious was born. Beauty.
Originally, North Coast treated the Brother Thelonious as a niche beer, marketing it to jazz fans, selling it at clubs and festivals. However (like Monk himself) the beer was just too good to be contained. Soon, North Coast was putting it into wide distribution. It was a success … and there’s no success that finances can’t sour.
First, in 2015, Monk’s son T.S. Monk parted ways with the institute and took his father’s name with him. That break prompted a renegotiation with North Coast over where the money would now go. Then in 2017, Smissen’s widow sued for a greater slice of the Brother Thelonius pie. (A judge dismissed her suit in November, 2018.) However, the biggest suit was right on its heels.
T.S. Monk saw North Coast selling his father’s image on merchandise from mugs to mouse pads. That, said son Monk, was beyond their deal. And ho! They were a’ courting! Production stopped for eight months while the suit was fought in open court and then undisclosedly settled. So, with a new deal, a new philanthropy recipient (the Monterey Jazz Festival’s education programs), and a new label by Eric Grbich, the Brother Thelonious re-released in February of 2018. Phew! So much fuss, and none of it about the actual beer! So, please allow us to fuss about it.
Though brewed in California, the Brother Thelonious was one of our introductions to the Belgian style of brewing and still remains the archetype of what you think a strong Belgian Dark Ale should be. A little heavier in body than a Trappist Dubbel, the Brother Thelonious eschews the fruit notes of its parent style to deliver an unabashed dose of deeply caramel tasting malt. The malt sweetness never goes too far, though, with hints of peppery hops rounding off the finish. There’s a reason why one thing that hasn’t been litigated is how good this beer is.
Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause it’s one for your baby and one more for the road.)
Stoneface IPA
Regularly $15.99 / Now on Sale for $14.96
Unfiltered IPA
Pete Beauregard started home brewing when he was a student at University of New Hampshire. Years after UNH, he was still dropping suds — enough to get his friend Erol Moe hooked on the hobby. Soon the two looked to turn said hobby into a career. Searching for a space, Beauregard drove past a building in Newington, saw the “For Sale” sign out front, and pulled over. In 2014, Stoneface Brewing Company (referencing New Hampshire’s Old Man in the Mountain) was born.
Actually, Stoneface sits on the northeast outskirts of Newington, which is, itself, just north of Portsmouth. The brewery is on the bank of the Pistaqua River, running between New Hampshire and Maine, before it empties into the Atlantic. So their slogan, “Brewed on the seacost in Newington, NH” is accurate even though they look out to Eliot, ME and not to the ocean.
Founded in 2014, they’re dedicated to “sustainable brewing,” doing things like: capturing CO2 from fermentation and using it in their packaging, donating money to the New Hampshire SPCA from sales of two of their beers named after their “beloved brewery cat, Dwayne,” having a series of beers where they collaborate with local artists for their labels, running “the first Free Blockbuster location in New Hampshire,” and making a fierce IPA! Who are these people?
The Stoneface IPA should be ashamed to have been birthed on this coast because this IPA is so darned dank!! Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Columbus hops stand like a street gang daring you to bring your wimpy, gentrifying, tropical-fruit-note-ass onto their turf! We haven’t tasted this level of unabashed old-school hoppiness in years! Don’t get us wrong; we love a juicy IPA and hope you do as well. However, if you need to take a moment to realign your palate …
Remember!
You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!