“A magical, mystical Monkey whose golden soul glows with the wisdom of the ages. This warming, flavored ale is rich in the spirited tradition of Belgian-inspired brewing. Our Golden Monkey is both playfully delightful and profoundly satisfying. Exotic spices from the East round out this global journey to joy. Get on board. This Monkey’s bound for glory!”
This is our first crack at this brewery deriving from Pennsylvania, USA. Served in a beer tulip the clear golden pour whipped up a 1 inch white head that slowly faded to a thin covering on top. OK lacing. We’re always unsure of non-Belgian Tripels but we’d have to say this one smells good. Other than the strange dusty aroma the estery, yeasty wafts of banana lollies, clove, booze, apricot, bubblegum, spice and pear drops stack up with some of the best Belgian Tripels on the market. In the mouth it feels oily with medium carbonation. Medium-full bodied. An assertive alcohol sting gets things underway while the taste buds revel in an array of initial flavours such as banana, raisin, sugar and stone fruits. The mid-palate dries up with a short burst of bitterness that finishes sweet and fruity with good duration on the tongue. The 9.5% ABV is actually well buried despite it’s noticeable presence upfront. All the way through this we couldn’t help but think how similar this was to Murray’s Grand Cru. These guys should be really happy with their brew, this Tripel is a very respectable attempt at a very complex form of brewing. We’ll be looking forward to their next offering.