Barrel of Monks Brewing - Abbey Terno

Barrel of Monks’ Abbey Terno is named as a play on the Latin phrase Ab Aeterno, meaning “from eternity” or “since the beginning.” This featured beer is a timeless Belgian-style brown ale brewed with candi sugar, adding notes of toffee, dried fruit, and a hint of chocolate—for an end result that’s dry and superbly drinkable.

Abbey Terno pours a golden-tinged cola color, capped by off-white foam that’s decently well retained. Early aromatics of cola, honey, and a rich nutty maltiness lead things. That honeyed malt character is quite present throughout, providing a vibrant core sweetness alongside the yeast’s notes of white pepper and subtle clove elements. There’s a rich, malt-driven impact that’s ultimately tempered well by the yeast’s contributions, leaving the overall perception of the aromatics surprisingly dry. Some additional red fruits (cherries, currants, etc.) appear as this tasty, multifaceted Belgian-style dubbel is allowed to warm up in our glasses.

This dubbel from Barrel of Monks exhibits a medium-full body, with a vibrant, effervescent underpinning of bubbles. That initial sip leads with brown sugar, caramel, and a honeyed maltiness that’s typical of the best examples of this style—plus a nicely bitter counterpoint from the yeast’s pepper and clove elements. This exceptional dubbel stays dry throughout, courtesy of solid yeast management taking care of residual sugars, but the core malts remain generous with chewy caramelization, layers of fruitiness, and even hints of subtle chocolate from the specialty-malt additions. There’s a lot going on here, increasingly so as this warms up. The generosity of this beer builds over time, and Abbey Terno finishes pretty dry overall, showcasing lingering white pepper, touches of caramel, and highly expressive cherry notes.

Abbey Terno is bottle conditioned, which will give this a bit more longevity in the cellar. Its ABV is a relatively modest 7% (at least compared to our other featured selection), but there’s room for a bit of additional caramelization in this beer from cellaring time; we’d just keep an eye on bottles and pop one every three months or so to make sure they’re still heading in the right direction. For food pairing: look to this dubbel’s combination of caramel, pepper, and red fruits to steer choices here. Pork tenderloin, lamb kebabs, pungent wash-rinded or bleu cheeses… For dessert, bring in fruit-focused options like a flaky, buttery blackberry tart.

Barrel of Monks Brewing in Boca Raton, Florida was founded by a small group of good friends who wanted to follow the less-frequented path of creating a U.S. brewery focusing exclusively on making Belgian-style beers. We’ve been really excited by all of the Barrel of Monks beers that we’ve been able to sample thus far, and this month we chose their Abbey Terno as one of our two featured offerings. We think this delicious Belgian-style dubbel is the perfect way to introduce this unique brewery to our Rare Beer Club members. Outside of the Barrel of Monks taproom, this beer is nearly impossible to find, as just a dozen kegs have been distributed in the whole US over the last year. Enjoy these rare bottles!

The South Florida brewery opened in 2015, after the founding members had spent time in Belgium traveling about and learning how their favorite Belgian beers were created. Today the four “monks” at the brewery consist of: Bill McFee, a trained brewmaster who oversees recipe design and brewery processes; Keith DeLoach, an entrepreneur and general wealth of knowledge; Matthew Saady, a scientist who oversees lab activities such as yeast management, quality control, and yeast strain development; and Kevin Abbott, the director of operations who oversees the brewery’s sales, production, and staffing. Together they’ve worked to build one of the most beloved up-and-coming breweries in Florida—highlighting the craftmanship and wide range of brewery offerings first developed in Belgium. The brewery is partnered up with Odd Breed Wild Ales in Pompano Beach, Florida, which focuses more on (as you may have guessed…) wild ales of all varieties: from traditional Belgian-style farmhouse offerings to more American takes on these beers using a wide range of fruit and barrel combinations.

You can visit Barrel of Monks’ Boca Raton location seven days a week. It features a range of Belgian-style releases, a decidated food truck by Cheffrey Eats, and a bunch of special events throughout the year (though you’re going to just miss their Celebrity Cornhole Tournament this July; there’s always next year). Brewery tours are offered Wednesday evenings as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons; you can check the brewery’s website at barrelofmonks.com to find out about their latest tour availability, upcoming events, and new beers on tap.