Ninja Star by Monkish Brewing of Los Angeles, California is a wonderfully crafted Belgian-style blonde ale. It has great traditional flavor with a wonderful effervescence.

Date Reviewed. April 29, 2016

Where. Taylor’s Market in Sacramento, CA

Serving Size. 750ml bottle

Aroma. Ninja Star has a pleasant floral, perfume, and fruity banana fragrance with just enough essence of cloves. The fruity esters also exhibit notes of Granny Smith apples and cider. I do no detect any sulfur qualities like I sometimes detect in American-made Belgian-style beers.

Appearance. This Belgian-style blonde ale is crystal clear with a golden yellow color. Streams of tiny bubbles flow to the top of the glass creating a permanent thin layer of foam on the top. After pouring the beer the head is larger but has below average retention. The head is thin and foamy.

Flavor. Ninja Star has a slightly sweet flavor with an herbal bitter bite to complement the sweet malt. It has a light black pepper quality to it but it is not as strong as in a beer like La Fin du Monde.

Mouthfeel. This beer is light to medium bodied with a wonderful effervescence. The bubbles are tiny and refreshing, likely from natural in-bottle carbonation. It is crisp and refreshing.

Overall. Ninja Star is a nicely crafted Belgian-style blonde ale reminiscent of a Duvel or La Fin du Monde but it has it’s differences. It is slightly sweeter with a little more banana and clove in the aroma but still has that Styrian Goldings hops floral and perfume quality.

Rating

Aroma (25%): ███
Appearance (5%): ███
Flavor (40%): ███
Mouthfeel (10%): ███
Overall (20%): ███
Total: ███

Beer Stats

Brewery: Monkish
Style: Belgian Blonde
ABV: 5.3% abv