Hello once again.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Victory Golden Monkey produced by the Victory Brewing Company located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

I’ve had the opportunity to try several brews from Victory now, and I’ve been rather pleased with them.  I’m hoping this one continues the trend.

From the website, victorybeer.com, we find this description of the Golden Monkey.

Strong and sensual, this golden, Belgian-style ale glows. The richness of German malts and Belgian yeast are tempered by a sparkling approach and overall light body. Abundant herbal, fruity notes make Golden Monkey^® one to savor.

How ’bout a pour?

This brew has an ABV of 9.5% and it comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle.

The Golden Monkey poured a hazy, golden/orange color.  The head was white and of real nice size.  It was a touch soapy, but smooth and soft in texture.  The retention time was commendable and the lacing looked pretty nice too.

The nose was very clean and fresh smelling.  Hints of orange and lemon citrus along a light touch of pear.  Floral scents and some grassy factors were found combined with tones of Belgian yeast and cloves as well.  The overall bouquet was not terribly strong, but it definitely had enough complexity to keep me interested.

The taste brought forth more of the lemon citrus, orange zest and minuscule tones of pear.  Very lively and bright.  The bready and yeasty accents added some depth while spices of pepper and cloves gave it a slight bite.  Just a tiny recognition of alcohol was felt at the back end.  Again, not considerably strong or robust, but rather easy going.

The mouthfeel was medium to medium/light in body.  Quite a bit of that prickly carbonation stung the tongue at the beginning.  It was nice and crisp, snappy and refreshing.  A small amount of warmth was felt from the alcohol and a decent amount of flavor was left covering the palate after the swallow also.

Well, I think this is another favorable beer from Victory.  It’s easily worth trying if you can get your hands on it.  It was just a little bit meek on all fronts, but that in no way deterred from my enjoyment of the experience.  It’s super easy to drink and would pair exceptionally well with the Spring and Summer heat.  This would be a great beer for an introduction to the Belgian Triple style.  It has plenty of the proper characteristics without being too aggressive or demanding on the senses.  So, if you’ve had the Victory Golden Monkey be sure to let me know your opinion.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  3.7 out of 5
Grade:  B