Monks Cafe Flemish Red

An out-of-town experience

Casey Hard, young beer manager at Max's TapHouse (in Baltimore, MD), always seems to bring in unique beers that other beer emporia don't.


Max's beer manager Casey Hard, not with Flemish Red, but with gravity keg of Uerige Sticke.

And so it was today... Monk's Cafe Flemish Red, the house sour red of Monk's Cafe in Philly, right here in Baltimore. I stumbled upon it, figuratively: Casey had only just placed it on tap.

Steenbrugge brews it in Belgium for Monk's. Wetten Importers brings it into the US. Alone among all draft houses in Maryland, Max's is pouring it. Again, props to Mr. Hard.

Inviting lactic/fruity nose.. that signature mixture of cherry fruit, minerality, and cream cheese. Good sharp cherry acidity in the mouth. I prefer Duchesse de Bourgogne's more ample mouthfeel and complexity but this is a wonderfully drinkable Flemish Red. Wonderful by itself, I would pair it with game ... or for us vegetarians, triple creme cheeses.

The world seems a richer place.