Samuel Adams Grumpy Monk
Grumpy Monk is a Belgian IPA. The long held brewing traditions of Belgian monks aren’t meant to be broken. Yet, to the monk’s dismay, the distinctive character of Belgian yeast with its spicy clove and fruit notes can be reimagined when combined with the brazen hop character of an IPA. These hops impart a citrusy, piney, and earthy flavor that’s balanced by a roasted malt sweetness for a complex and playful brew.
3.4
294 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
bottle. meh. very average ipa. Had at random, figured it would be average and was right
amber color; citrusy hops and funky Belgian yeast aroma; Belgian yeast with lots of bitter hopswith citrus and pine notes; medium bodied, bready malt base
Citrus and pine sweet aroma. Decent ipa underneath good malt weight and sweetness. Hop flavours balanced. Belgian notes very light but overall quite drinkable
Draught @ Doyle’s Cafe, Jamaica Plains, MA
Pours clear deep golden with a off white head. Aroma has notes of malt, dried fruits, citrus and yeast. Taste is medium sweet and medium bitter with a long slightly dry, fruity, yeasty, malty, caramel and citrus finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft
On tap at Doyle’s, Boston. A clear, dark amber colored beer with a small, beige head. The aroma is malty, with dark dried fruits, some alcohol and a bready touch. It’s full bodied, lightly warming and soft on the palate, quite bitter. Prunes, bread notes, raisins and bitterness in the flavor. Lasting warming, bitter finish. Quite nice this one, but a tad dry I think. 150608
Piney, floral, fruity aromas, berry-like. Hazy bronze with a fairly lasting off-white head. Pretty dry, hoppy. Medium bodied.
Has a really nice aroma. A nice belgian and hoppy flavor. Good but nothing overly special.
Old rating. Okay hybrid. Gold pour. Get the yeast and candy sugar of the Belgian. Floral
Hops of an ipa. Yup, that's about it.
"Lookin forward to this, but it ended up pretty mediocre. Fairly tame hopping and abv. Slightly fruity but every aspect is light. Not a whole lot to say about this one. They made a much better Belgian IPA that lost to the red rye in the vote off a couple years ago."
I had this at Global Brew. Pours amber with a white head. Taste belgian yeast, citrus, fruit. I thought this was so so. I could drink this again.
On tap. Copper pour with a fluffy with top. Mild nose of spices and fruit. Taste is fruits, spices and yeast with a mild piney finish.
Transfer from BA review on 6-16-12-
Poured from bottle into tulip glass
Appearance – Pours a golden color with a yellow tinted billowy head. The head has good retension and fades over time to leave a good deal of lacing. Very nice.
Smell – The smell is big of yeast and biscuit with nice hints of banana, clove and some other spice aromas. There are ever so light hoppy aromas of an earthy and pine nature as well, but these are light and overall the aroma is mostly of a Belgain wit.
Taste – A biscuit flavor with a good taste of yeast and clove are up front. These flavors act as a base for which others enter and leave from. Toward the middle, a light pine and a citrus flavor come to the taste. The citrus is largely grapefruit hop in nature. At the end the pine builds in strength as does the clove flavor and they mix with the nice bready and yeasty base to leave a pleasing, slightly bitter and yeasty flavor on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is medium in thickness, but quite smooth due to the slightly lower then average level of carbonation.
Overall – To me it is an easy drinking Belgian wit with a bit more hoppiness than the normal. It’s pretty nice.
Amber color with white head. Aroma of hops and pine. There is a Belgian character, but definitely an IPA. Not overly bitter, some citrus in the finish. Good one.
Poured up on tap into a tumbler at Mackenzie River Pizzeria, Bozeman, where it has a clear copper body that supports a light tan head of foam. The mild aroma offers up some soft vague spiciness and faint echoes of hop character. The taste delivers sweet malts, clove spiciness and sweet red apple wedges. It then gets into more traditional IPA notes with malt sweetened citrus and a dash of mango along with a decent level of vague resiny bitter hops. The spicy clove and sweet estery red apple notes are just too forward and need to be knocked down a couple of notches in order to be a background supporting character rather than dominate as they are here. Has this brewery made a straight up kick ass IPA? Nope. Please make one.
120z bottle, amber pour with a thick white head and long lacing. Taste of spicy/earthy hops, Belgian yeast, spicy herbs, citrus hops. Medium body with a crisp taste. Lightly bitter, complex brew. I like the combination of ipa and Belgium taste. I thought it was higher than 6%abv. When I read Cheap’s ratings, I knew this was going to be a good one!!
so my mouth has been recked by nike once again, go ahead, keep torturing me, i’ll get you a case of fru fru fuity beers. this is from a bottle. looks like its a somewhat viscous brew with a creamy head. smells like dull ipa blast. oh oh my, can’t be less than 8%, its so alky on the palate. on this site it say 5% but my bottle says more than 6. yes, medicinal medicine maniac. some fizz mouth coating oily. finish is bitter alky medicine. wew! not impressed, will ruin a lager lover.
Draft at Lui Lui’s - West Lebanon, NH. Pours clear gold with a creamy, white head. The nose has some caramel, bread, candi sugar. Medium sweet flavor with Belgian yeast, ripe citrus, orange, light pine. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Finishes sweet and bready with lightly aged toffee, ripe fruits, candi sugars, light bitter toasty hay. Very tasty.
Tap. The description of “playful” was well chosen for this beer. It seemed to bounce all over the place with its flavor. Yes, it tasted like a IPA and yes it tasted like a Belgian Ale. Actually was pretty good. Good in color with a really nice head. Aroma was spicy and sweet. Same with the flavor but with a bitter after taste.
Bottle from QClub at home. Clear dark gold pour. Aroma is Belgian, yeasty, apples. Taste is big, fizzy, biting Belgian flavor. Bit of sweetness. Finish almost tastes like bananas. Very dry. Not a bad Belgian IPA, but would probably not get again.
16 ounce draft at Mckenzie River Pizza. Pours Amber with a tan head. Aroma of Belgian fruits, with a note of hops. Taste is a little bitter, a little sweet in a complex way. Palate lingers with a blend of his and Belgian flavors. Interesting brew. Thumbs up.
Tap. I’m still getting used to Belgian IPA’s, but this is a good beer. Pours clear orange with small white head. Nose is fruit and spice. Taste is cloves and hops.
Pours a reddish gold with a creamy, off-white head that lingers. Thick lacing. Nose is typical Belgian barnyard, apple butter, spice. Taste is well-balanced. Medium body. Soft carbonation. Good beer.
On tap, Barley’s, Knoxville. Reddish orange, with a lumpy beige head. Smells yeasty and hoppy. Taste is grassy hops and some yeasty, bubble gum notes. Some earthy malts in the finish. Pretty tasty...
Poured from a bottle. Clear golden color, medium white head. Malts and floral hops aroma. Wheat, clove and mild hops flavor with a slight card board finish.
A Belgian IPA, eh? Impressed right off the bat by the brilliant golden color. Smells like cloves, but the grapefruit comes through. Unusual taste, and unusual is good.
Aroma of cloves, hops and fruit. A good looking beer, clear amber colour short lasting bubbly head. Taste of cloves and fruit. A bitter spicy palate.
Great appearance. Love the color of this beer. Taste is a little sweet like most Belgians. Overall not bad
Very surprised by this one. Tried as part of the hopology variety pack. Great blend of traditional Belgium and IPA styles.
I smell the sweetness of the malt and the belgian yeast. It almost smells like a candt. Its a clearish red amber color with not very muchwhite head. I taste the typical belgian flavor with an extra bitterness. There is a sweetness but is offset by a bitter lingering aftertaste. Its a mediumish bodied brew with tiny carb bubbles. For a combo beer like this i think sam did a good job. You get bitterness from the ipa but the sweetness and belgian flavor as well.
12oz bottle shared. Poured big orange color with white head. Awesome Belgian aroma with malt and hops. The flavor almost punches you in the face of Belgian and hops was very tasty. Bold flavors throughout. Overall nice job