Take a classic American take on the Belgian Tripel style like, say, Victory Golden Monkey, sour it, and what do you get? Why Victory Sour Monkey of course. Sour beers are all the rage these days, and this is not the only one that Victory produces. It is. However, an interesting take on an old favorite of mine.

Sour Monkey and Golden Monkey share some common grain and hops:

Sour Monkey:

Golden Monkey:

Malt: Pilsner, Dextrose

Hops: Tettnang Tettnang, Tettnang Mittelfrueh

Both are fermented with a Brettanomyces yeast strain.

From the label:

Sour Monkey puts a tastefully tart twist on our Golden Monkey’s sweet, fruity essence. A sharp, citrus-laden tang makes this brew a Monkey all its own!

Victory Sour Monkey has an alcohol content of 9.5% by volume and runs high in price at $12.99 a six-pack.

Victory Sour Monkey pours to a pale golden color with a light foamy head and a very sour, acidic nose. Taking a sip, the beer really offers no tripel like notes as does Golden Monkey, but instead is very dry, very tart and puckeringly sour, with nigh vinegar notes. I do get citrus fruit, melon and hints of pear, oddly. There’s a hint of Brett, but the sourness almost drowns it out. I am enjoying it, this is a very tasty beer indeed and I like the subtle play against the sourness, though it does not remind me at all of Golden Monkey. Hints of clove are present into the dry slightly warming finish.

I would definitely buy this again my friends, even if it is a few dollars more expensive than it should be. Is it a Tripel or is it a sour/wild ale? There’s more of sour about it to me, so that’s what I will call it.

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