Beer Spot: Three Wise Monks

I haven’t done a beer spot post in a little bit, so this long weekend gave me a great opportunity.  A beer nerd’s search for good beer and good places to find beer is never over.  A friend of mine told me about Three Wise Monks, a new beer place that was having a grand opening.  I missed the grand opening, but I made it a goal to visit the place.

Three Wise Monks is located in Garfield, NJ.  The bar sits on the corner of Outwater Lane, so it was really easy to find.  The giant blackboard beer list is a staple of any beer bar.  There were a couple of standouts on the board that made me feel like I was in the right place for a beer.  One of the standout beers was DFH World Wide Stout!  They also had Lost Abbey’s Avant Garde on tap, which was dope because until now I have only seen Lost Abbey beers in the 750ml bottles. So, my friend and I started off the night with some Lost Abbey.

We sat at the bar watching the Spurs vs. Thunder game and started to talk to the bartender.  It turns out the guy behind the bar was Brian, one of the owners.  He was a cool guy who started talking beer with us.  Brian is also a homebrewer, so we talked about homebrewing and all that comes with it.  He also told us something cool about the decor of the bar.  It turns out the wooden barrels that adorned the bar actually came from Weyerbacher, which I thought was awesome.  Brian also told us about the recent Kane Brewing Co. night and more Kane Brewing itself.  So, naturally the next beer we chose was a red rye beer from Kane.

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of beer bars in the area.  I either have to take a long drive somewhere or I have to head into NYC to find good beer.  Three Wise Monks just gave me a place where I can find a good beer and don’t have to go completely out of my way for it.  Brian made my friend and I feel like we had been coming to this place for years.  The beer selection was good and had something for everybody.  It’s also great to go to a beer place and talk about beer with the person that is pouring it.  I’m looking forward to seeing what other brewery nights they have because I probably won’t miss the next one.  If you are in Garfield, NJ (or close by) you should stop in for a beer.  You might just see me there!

Westvleteren 6

The word Westvleteren sends a shiver down the spine of all beer nerds.  For those that don’t know,  its a Trappist brewery in Belgium that makes hard to find beers that are known as some of the best in the world.  You can only imagine my excitement when a friend gave me one as a gift. 

The appearance of the single bottle just felt special.  On the bottle the word “trappist ” is imprinted on the glass and nothing else.  The only other identifying item on the beer is the green cap. 

The beer poured a cloudy, pale, yellow color.  There was plenty of fluffy white head that had really good retention.  Once it started to dissipate, it settles to a bubbly froth.  The ABV was light at about 5%, so if I had more than one,  I’d be chillin.

The aroma was that expected Belgian yeast right upfront.  There was a good amount of fruity hops in the nose along with some apple fruityness.

The first sip was really good.  There was a good hoppy kick at the start that was accompanied by some of that Belgian yeast.  It finishes a little bitter but that isn’t a bad thing.  I could also pick up some of that apple sweetness too.  Very easy to drink and I could see myself cooling off with one of these on a warm day.  Then again, I could see myself drinking one on any day.

Verdict: Fill It!   This was a great beer and easily the best Blonde I’ve had.  It was quite complex with all of the flavors happening in the beer.  It was like a really good movie, when I was done I wanted to go back again to see what I missed.  Alas, I only had the one but it was fun while it lasted.  It made me want to get my hands on all the Westvleterns and so the search continues……

Ten Fidy

Like all beer nerds, I keep my ear ear to the streets for the latest beer releases.  For the last couple of weeks, I kept hearing about Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues, so I went in search of it.  Oskar Blues, for those that don’t know, is from Colorado and does quality canned beer.  With all the buzz about Ten Fidy, I was pretty excited when I got my hands on a can, it happened to be the last can on the shelf, so this post was meant to be.

As expected, the beer poured an almost completely black color with a little bit of brown head.  There wasn’t a whole lot of retention and the head dissipated quickly and completely with no trace left on the beer.  This a pretty big beer, weighing in at 10.5% ABV, so definitely a beer to spend some time with.

The aroma was full of stouty goodness.  The aroma had some chocolate notes, along with an enjoyable roasted aroma.  For such a high ABV imperial stout, the alcohol was well hidden in the aroma.

This beer was very smooth going down.  The chocolate notes were right upfront along with some of the roasted notes.  I like the maltyness that was present in the beer as well.  It wasn’t too malty and didn’t have too much roast, which I liked.   There was a light bitterness on the tail end of finish accompanied with a subtle alcohol kick.  There was also an alcohol warmth that lingered after each sip, which was interesting and strangely comforting.  Why you ask? I don’t know, it just felt that way.

Verdict: Fill It!  This could be my new favorite stout, it was right on with all the flavors.  The alcohol didn’t overpower the beer (or me) and made for a really enjoyable stout.  I almost wish it wasn’t so high in ABV so I could have had another one, but then again probably not because then it wouldn’t be Ten Fidy.  I am already looking for this on draft somewhere and I am looking to score another can at the very least.  Go put your hands on this can, you’ll like it!