A Tale of Two Monkeys

When Victory Brewing announced that they were going to be releasing barrel aged renditions of three of their beers (Golden Monkey, Baltic Thunder, Old Horizontal), I knew these were bottles that were going to be on my "must get" list. For this post, I am going to try White Monkey (Golden Monkey aged in white wine barrels), and compare it to the original, Golden Monkey.

Victory Brewing Company - Beer Portfolio page

Victory Golden Monkey

Golden Monkey, Belgian Tripel

9.5% ABV

Beer Portfolio Page

Appearance: Gold color with some haze, two finger rocky white head, pleasant lacing

Aroma: Classic Belgian tripel aroma, hint of banana, pepper, yeast

Flavor: sweet malt profile, peppery, big alcohol in the finish

Mouthfeel: High carbonation, medium to medium-full body, bitter finish

Victory White Monkey

White Monkey

Belgian Tripel aged in white wine barrels

9.5% ABV

Beer Portfolio Page

Appearance: Orange-gold, 2 finger fluffy white head, hazy, not much lacing

Aroma: white wine aroma jumps out at me, apple

Flavor: white wine, fruity (apple), slightly oaky in the finish, little bit of alcohol

Mouthfeel: Average carbonation, medium body

Victory's Golden Monkey is one of my favorite beers because, well, it's delicious. On its journey in wine barrels to become White Monkey, it becomes a completely different beer. The aromas of white wine and apple completely dominate the aroma, and end up making the majority of the flavor. If you're looking for a Belgian ale with only a slight wine influence, then this isn't the beer for you. However, if you enjoy how wine aromas and flavors can impact a beer, go out and find this, and if you can't find it, trade for it! I found it to be fantastic, but completely different from its original form, Golden Monkey.

Have you had White Monkey and/or Golden Monkey? How do you like them? Let me know in the comments!

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