Northern Monk Neapolitan Ice Cream Pale

Vanilla pale ale brewed with fresh strawberries and chocolate. Brewed at Northern Monk initially in collaboration with Little Leeds Beerhouse to celebrate their first birthday, however now part of their own range.

3.3

164 reviews

Leeds, England

Community reviews

3.1 Can, danke Fin! Cloudy amber, low offwhite head. Perfumed fruity nose, buvbllegum and cheap chocolate nose. Medium body, mellow mealy/grainy to chalky, bubblegum fruity base, white chocolate raspberry, muddled, would prefer a good ice cream and a pale ale separately.

3.2 Can. Hazy golden color with white head. Aroma is white chocolate, strawberries with cream. Taste is the same, creamy, now some darker chocolate, fruits. Oily mouthfeel with soft carbonation. Doesn't really do it for me.

3.4 330ml can brewed in England at 6.2%. Small, swiftly-disappearing head. Lightish orange-amber. Rustic English hop/yeast aroma, smells like a Best Bitter! Moderate carbonation. Rustic English hops and then some yeast, shades of say a Butty Bach or Otter Ale - then the lactose kicks in with some Haribo white foam gummy texture and sweetness, with the strawberry/chocolate flavours developing in the finish. A beer of two halves, then, and both halves are OK - and neither scuppers the other. However, they don't really synergise either, leaving one to wonder what, besides proving it could be done, was really the point of this beer? I'm sure a fair few people with quirky tastes will fall in love with this but for most drinkers (or ice cream lovers) it will just be a bit strange (albeit probably not terrible). Using the real deal instead of chocolate essence might have helped but ultimately I think this isn't a case of bad execution as much as just a bizarre idea. If you really want a drink that splits the difference between a pale ale/bitter and Neapolitan ice cream, this will probably be your huckleberry, but otherwise it's just a drinkable oddity. It would be one thing if the flavours synergised, but they don't really (other than that the sweet ice cream flavours replace the sweet malt of, say, an Otter Ale). These peculiar additions are something of a Northern Monk specialty, but they can be very hit or miss. Not really any harm in trying a can of this one though, that's for sure - especially if you like the concept. I'll just end by saying that 6.2% ABV is quite hefty for a light, almost gimmicky beer like this.

3.4 Tastelsblikecstrawberry vanilla, really nice pale ale

3.2 Hazy orange, small white head, no retainment nor lacing. Aroma has mild notes of vanilla and chocolate. Quite sweet and candy-like, flavour is not too pronounced but can get some chocolate and strawberries, both quite mild. In the after taste a better blend of some unidentified cake. Very low carbonation, nearly flat. Not exciting.

3.0 Aromat slod ciasteczka maslane ciasto z truskawkami i wlasciwie tyle. Cialo srednie, niska goryczka, slodkie, zamulajace. Troche czekolady gdzies w tle majaczy.

3.3 330ml can at Agenturet Øl og Vinbar. Shared with Finn. Filmy, bubbly surface, cloudy orange coloured body, fair lacing. Smell of mid-sweet citrus and berries. Vanilla sweet berry-fruit to the taste profile. Ends mid-sweet with berry-fruits. Soft on the swallow. Pretty good. (Tromsø 18.12.2019).

3.1 Delt med Rune. Ferskenfarget. Uklar. Lavt tett skum. Aroma av tørket frukt. Smaken søt frukt. Blodappelsin. Holder seg søt.

3.6 Strong chocolate ice cream taste, slightly creamy (Morrisons)

3.3 Can at home from the Honest Brew Advent calendar slot 5. A translucent golden orange coloured pour with a lasting white head. Aroma is earthy grains, straw, some jammy strawberry, milky grains, hint of vanilla. Flavour is composed of semi sweet, earthy wheat. All the components are there, vanilla, hints of jammy strawberry and a hint of chocolate bitter in the finish. I just dont find it the compelling. Palate is semi sweet, grainy, highish frothy carbonation.

3.6 Juicy, smooth and somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Taste is lactose, subtle strawberry, pale malt.

3.0 330ml can at We Brought Beer, Tooting. Lightly hazy deep golden. Aroma of lactose, vanilla, strawberry, pineapple and cooked fruit. It’s fruity and sweet, with some sugary notes at the end. Don’t really get any chocolate.

3.2 Canned, 330ml from Morrison's in Banbury, Oxon. Hazy gold with white head. There are sweet vanilla, fruity flavours from the start with this. Squidgy strawberry with custard type flavours, a touch flabby really. Light in body. It's okay but I couldn't drink a lot of it.

2.3 Can. Solely branded as Northern Monk. Nose is strawberry, vanilla, wafer, candy floss. Taste is candy floss, strawberry, vanilla, hint of marshmellow. It tastes better than the nose, and I can't taste the chocolate sauce. It's far far too sweet to be enjoyable. 263/

3.0 Aromas- Sweet and creamy with notes of strawberry meringues with touch of cotton candy and light malts. Appearance- Hazy peach colour with weak and small white foam. Palate- Medium body with creamy texture leaving a malty finish. Taste- Sweet, notes of light pale malts with touch of biscuit and caramel, followed by subtle notes of cream. Overall- Drinkable, could have more creamy and strawberry notes, but as a pale ale not bad.

3.1 (Cask at Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak, London, 25 July 2019) Hazy amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Fruity nose with notes of strawberries, rose hip and vanilla. Fruity taste with strawberry ice cream, rose hip, vanilla, marshmallows and a mild bitterness. Medium body, quite sweet. Interesting, but on the sweet side. Worked well on this day, with 38 degrees C. Quite enjoyable.

3.4 Can from Morrison's Ayr. Really reasonably priced at £2.49. Looks like a cloudy pale ale. Taste has very light bitterness, thick vanilla cream, strawberry purée which tastes similar to milkshake syrup mix, finish is chocolate and sugars. Unfortunately they have used chocolate essence which is notably synthetic and ruins the finish for me, natural chocolate or cocoa powder would have made this a contender beer of the year for me.

2.9 Creamy white good mostly lasting head. Yellow colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Light bitter flavor. Average light bitter finish. Oily palate. Strange.

3.1 Can. Deep and hazy gold, with a frothy, off-white, head. Ripe strawberries, vanilla oak, a hint of citrus hops and some grainy malts, leading to a dryish finish. Ok.

3.3 Cloudy golden appearance. Aroma is strawberry, herbal and wheat. Flavour is strawberry, toffee, sweet and berries.

3.5 Can at home. Orange color, middle foam size. Good balanced beer. Drinkable and fits into style.

1.0 Too sicky for me, must be the strawberry.. didn't enjoyed and was even hard to finish it.

2.9 As Neapolitan. Hazy blond. Aroma and flavour have a fair amount of boiled sweet peas. There's strawberry in the taste anad a little vanilla and chocolate in the aftertaste but on the whole it's disappointing.

3.8 Morrisons

2.8 Draft. An unclear dark golden beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma has notes of lemons, straw, and vanilla. The flavor is sweet with notes of vanilla, straw, lemons, and malt, leading to a dry finish.

3.0 Draught @ Mikkeller, Odense. Pours golden with a white head. Regnbue is. Sjovt. Toffee, strawberry, caramel and grains. Medium soft body.

3.6 Pours a hazy, brown'ish coloration with a large, fluffy, lasting head. Smell is dominated by strawberry and vanilla, with just a hint of chocolate coming through as well. Taste follows the nose, being dominated by strawberry and vanilla, with a bit more chocolate coming through as well and some faint citrus notes, with very little malt presence detectable. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some strawberry, vanilla and chocolate lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation. This is definitely a weird one, but I guess they managed to achieve what they set out to do rather well. Then again, why would you want your Pale Ale to taste just like Neapolitan ice cream? I dunno, it's an interesting, different beer that really hits what it's trying to do on the head, but is not going to be for everyone. At least this never turns too sickly sweet, as you might suspect, due to a light bitterness and acidity balancing things out.

3.6 AR: Erdbeere, kräuterig, Schokolade, Karamell AP: trübes bernstein/kupfer TA: Erdbeere, kräuterig, Schokolade, Laktose

3.3 Gezapft bei Southampton Arms in London. Farbe: Orange, trüb, wenig aber fester Schaum Aroma: Sahne, etwas Frucht. Erdbeer Sahne-Bonbon Antrunk sehr cremig, dadurch am Ende etwas schwer, Geschmack: Erdbeere, Himbeere Sahne, Bonbon. Süß, aber auch eine leichte Säure Note, nicht Bitter

3.3 Tap @ Panema, Helsinki. Poured amber in color. Juicy, mild berry notes. Mild sourness, some sweetness in finish.