Brother Thelonius

"If you want to understand the meaning of bebop, you have to understand the meaning of freedom." 

Thelonius Monk

For many years, Thelonius Monk wrote and performed music in an improvisational and unorthodox style. His music clearly and unquestionably demonstrated that he understood the meaning of freedom. That understanding gave rise to songs such as Straight, No Chaser, Epistrophy, Blue Monk and Round Midnight. As David Graham once observed in The Atlantic, Monk's "catalog - some 60 to 70 songs, many of them familiar to even moderately serious jazz fans - form the spine of contemporary repertoire." Indeed, Monk's song, Round Midnight, stands as the most recorded jazz composition of all time ... and, for good reason. 

Yet, not everyone was a fan of Monk's music.  One jazz critic described Monk as "an elephant on the keyboard." Yet, that is what makes Monk so special. He flattened his fingers when playing notes, sometimes hitting a single key with two fingers or splitting single line melodies with both hands. Yet, to some, Monk "adjusted his finger pressure on the keys the way baseball pitchers do to the ball to make its path bend, curve or dip in flight."  Sometimes there would be chord changes in Monk's music that seem wrong or out of place. To Monk, those chords were "the logical result of countless hours of musical exploration." 

For years, North Coast Brewing has honored the legendary jazz artist with a Belgian style abbey ale known as the Brother Thelonius. The beer is described as a "Belgian Style Abbey Ale," which does not lend itself to categorization in what is a realm of well defined beer styles - such as the Belgian dubbel, tripel or quadrupel. Perhaps that was intentional, a nod to an artist who sought to free himself from conventional labels.

As for the beer, I am reminded of a quote by Thelonius Monk: "the piano ain't got no wrong notes." The same can be said for North Coast's Brother Thelonius. The beer pours a reddish brown to amber, with a slight layer of foam as the beer is poured into the glass. The aromatic elements of the beer fit quite nicely into the Belgian styles. There are the yeast notes, which are accompanied by scents of banana and sugar. Those latter notes carry through to the taste, which has the  same sensory effects on the tongue as Thelonius Monk playing Sweet and Lovely. There are other elements in the taste of the Brother Thelonius, such as notes of figs and caramel, along with just a faint sense of the hops in the background.

The Brother Thelonious is very much the tribute to Thelonius Monk, as complicated and deep of a beer as Monk was a jazz artist. The beer sells for approximately $12.99 for a four pack of 12 ounce bottles or $8.99 for a 750 ml bottle. It is totally worth it, especially if you do what I do and enjoy the beer while listening to Monk playing in the background. 

ENJOY!