Probably the most famous wandering monk would be Buddha, or would The Buddha be the definite article? * Leonard Cohen was a relatively stationary monk for five years during which time his accountant wandered off with all his money. Thelonious Monk travelled the country in the 50’s and 60’s creating a new era of jazz. Jack Kerouac called him “the saint of bop” but he was just a Monk.*** In 1965 Monk played a three-day concert in Brussels, so at the time he was a wandering Belgium Monk so to speak. Which segues quite awkwardly into our brew review.
This Belgian style IPA from Elora Brewing pours a golden orange with a bright white highlight of a head. A few bubbles in the mix searching for the surface. Stone fruit nose. The first taste is juice and bitters together, opening body and closing all in one, with a slight boozy bitter aftertaste. Not sure if this is the right sequence for this mix, I will have to delve into this one a bit more. It seems, like its name, it is wandering and trying to find a balance that just isn’t there. The juice is hard to nail down and it seems to have some spices in there as well. Not as many ingredients as a V8 but not far off. It does have a bit of a double IPA backstop booze hit to it, a high elevation ABV. Unfortunately the boozy bite is the main feature, the complex juice is only taking a supporting role. Maybe I’m acclimated but the booziness seems to be mellowing, no wait that’s me. Whomever or whatever is mellowing, the boozy bite is letting some juice through. Spoke too soon, the booze is back!
This high octane IPA is trying to be a double but seems to be unsure as to what it actually is, or maybe I’m unsure. Either way, it straddled the line between a single and a double and when it fell, well you know what happens when you are straddling something and fall. Ouch.
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