Brother Thelonious

Belgian Style Abbey Ale

North Coast Brewing Co. is a proud partner with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in support of Jazz education. The Brewery makes a donation to the Institute for every bottle of Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale sold.
Like a Belgian "Dark Strong Ale," this beer is rich and robust with an ABV of 9.3%. The package features a label picturing the Jazz master himself, and comes in either a 375 or 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish, or 12 oz. 4-packs.

Vital Statistics

Style: Belgian Style Strong Dark
Color: Dark mahogany
ABV: 9.4%
Bitterness: 32 IBUs
When you buy Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale you also help to support the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz whose mission is to offer the world's most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters and to present public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the world. All of these programs are offered free of charge to the students and schools.
The Artwork on the Brother Thelonious Packaging, or, Why is a skull on the Brother Thelonious label?

Artist Eduardo Smissen and the Brother Thelonious Packaging

The Artist: Eduardo Smissen in his studio working on the Brother Thelonious painting; Photo by Joelle Signorelli

The Result: Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale

North Coast Brewing Company has always supported regional creative talent in the distinctive beer imagery that goes with each of their brews. When it came to the creation of the Brother Thelonious beer, we sought out the talent of local Mendocino artist Eduardo Smissen. The resulting packaging design by Colored Horse Studios featuring his spirited painting of Thelonious Monk as a Belgian Abbey Monk highlighted one of the most successful beer launches for North Coast Brewing, and won a Gold Medal in the Creativity Category from the Beverage Testing Institute’s World Beer Championships Packaging Competition.

Why is a skull on the Brother Thelonious label?
From Eduardo: It’s a “memento mori,” a Latin phrase that may be freely translated as “Remember that you are mortal,” “Remember you will die,” or “Remember your death.” It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely from one another, but which all share the same purpose, which is to remind people of their own mortality. The chief thrust of “memento mori” was the theme of “carpe diem,” “seize the day,” which entailed the advice to “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” And as the motto for North Coast Brewing is “Carpe Diem Vita Brevis”—”Life is short, seize the day”—I thought it an appropriate Style for the Brother Thelonious label.

Friday, July 5, 2013