Victory Sour Monkey Review

Victory Brewing Company

Sour Monkey - Sour Brett Tripel

For July's beer review, I decided to go back to an old favorite of mine, Victory Brewing's Sour Monkey. The "Sour Brett Tripel" is a twist on a classic Victory beer, the original Golden Monkey. Golden Monkey holds a special place in my heart because it was actually the first beer I ever had.

Not necessarily the first beer I'd ever tried, but in high school, when my friends and I all met up in someone's basement to drink for the first time, Golden Monkey is what was on the menu. If you've never had Golden Monkey before, it is a powerful Belgian Tripel, and as my first beer, I HATED it. I'm happy to say my tastes have improved since then.

If you've never had a Golden Monkey or a Sour Monkey, I would definitely recommend both. If you're a fan of sours, the Sour Monkey definitely packs a delicious punch!

Pour

Victory Sour Monkey pours a light golden color like most Belgians, relatively clear with just a bit of haze. A thin head forms quickly but bubbles away just as quickly leaving just a thin ring of bubbles around the rim of the glass.

Aroma

As you'd expect, the tart aroma is quite pungent as you take your first whiff, like all of my favorite sour candies. There is a very subtle sweetness buried under the rush of sour notes but not enough to distinguish anything specific.

Flavor

This beer is definitely pucker-inducing. The first sip is pretty powerful and reminds me of what liquid Sweet Tarts might taste like. It takes a few sips to get used to the sour but as with the aroma, there seems to be a subtle sweetness hidden beneath the sour.

Fruitiness is really funky, probably a result of the Belgian yeast. It actually reminds me a lot of the original Golden Monkey if you remove all the sour. It's certainly not as citrusy as I was expecting from the description.

Overall Rating: 4/5

As I mentioned, I love this beer. I love the original Golden Monkey and this is a great twist. I'd actually love to do a side-by-side comparison of the two sometime in the future.

I would certainly not recommend this as an introduction to the sour style since it packs such a powerful punch. But if you're a fan of sour beers already, I would definitely recommend giving this one a try!

Cheers!

Rating Scale

  • 1 - Poured Out

  • 2 - Suffered Through

  • 3 - Would Drink If Available

  • 4 - Would Buy Again

  • 5 - Will Search For

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