Victory Golden Monkey

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

355 mL. Pours a clear, deepish yellow with a thin white head that has little retention and no lacing. Yeast particles at the bottom. Aroma is powerful yeast, apple juice, yellow pear, spices, esters. Taste is rich, creamy, spicy with a big alcohol presence. Wet finish. Very good. Great Belgian clone. A bit of cloying after awhile- not not overpowering. If only it looked better in the glass.

draft at lucky 13 in south philly- no wonder i felt a bit tipsy after leaving the place. 9.5% woah. nose is strong with bubblegum esters, cane sugar, cotton candy, and an outdoor barnyard scent reminiscent of a wheat beer. taste is similiar. mouthfeel is really sticky, and heavy. lots of spices, pepper, nutmeg, strange, can sugar. good bitterness to balance sweetness. good stuff.

I had pretty high expecations for this and it kind of let me down. Pours an orange color with a fluffy white head that faded down to nothing surprisingly fast. At first the aroma was weak, faint melons, yeast, grassy malts, not a lot there but it does open up a little as it breaths. This is very easy drinking, maybe a bit thin though, melon flavor with other fruity flavors like orange rind, banana, coriander mixed with light spices and some alcohol notes show in the finish. Decent beer but everything seemed a tad off, perhaps because I’m comparing it to a Belgian Triple. Lower the alcohol content and I can see this being a nice sun beer.

12oz bottle. One of the strangest looking beers ever. The color is like neon-orange Tang; there is enough suspended yeast in this one to chew on, almost no head upon pour, but it fizzes like Pepsi. Smells like citrus fruits (banana mostly), can taste alcohol flavor, but doesn’t detract from the experience. Well balanced, and for 9.5%, this thing goes down buttery smooth- this is another very good beer from Victory.

12oz bottle served in a Duvel tulip. Pours a hazy gold topped by a lasting head. Smells of coriander, orange peel, and banana. Tastes slightly tart and phenolic, fruity though no flavors stand out. Body is fizzy. Finishes nice and dry. Pretty good.

Poured yellow ocre with a thin, fast-vanishing head. Nice lacing...Aroma was yeasty and peppery. The alcohol nose and flavor are quite pleasurable. Nice citrus zesty flavor and a full body. Despite a monstrous 9.5%, alcohol flavors mixed in very well with the yeastiness and provided a well-balanced, complex drink. Overall I found this to be an excellent tripel.

Pours golden with a nice lacing white head. Great sweetness and fruitiness. Masks the 9.5% ABV really well. Great stuff.

bottle - Pours hazy gold with loads of suspended yeast particles and a one finger head. The aroma is of banana accented esters and some herbs. It tastes sweet and fruity with a moderate to full body and a bubbly palate. Some bitterness kicks in with the dry finish. It’s good, but missing something for me to bump it up any further.