Time for a review of a couple of beers from Victory Brewing Company out of Downingtown, PA. This is another brewery that I had heard of and read about, but until I hit up the bottle shop in Gainesville, I'd never seen their beers available. They claim on their site to distribute to Texas, but I don't ever remember seeing their beers available in Houston. Maybe I just overlooked them? Anyway... in true beer nerd fashion I grabbed a couple, and now a month or so later finally got around to drinking them!
The first one I tried was the HopDevil IPA, one I'd read about and was really looking forward to trying! For this one, I poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint glass.
It's a dark caramel color, clear with a finger worth of white head. There is a little creamy lacing and the retention is alright. It's hoppy as it should be... more of a citrus hop flavor as opposed to a piney west coast IPA. Makes sense considering this is coming from a Northeastern brewery. One of the things I've really learned since I've gotten into craft beer is how different regions of the USA regard the same style.
The flavor is similar... a little malt balance in there too almost like an APA. It's a good beer, an easy drinking IPA for sure. It's not as bold as I was hoping for something called HopDevil, but I'm still a fan. I think my tastes are just more geared towards West coast IPAs than East coast.
It's a dark caramel color, clear with a finger worth of white head. There is a little creamy lacing and the retention is alright. It's hoppy as it should be... more of a citrus hop flavor as opposed to a piney west coast IPA. Makes sense considering this is coming from a Northeastern brewery. One of the things I've really learned since I've gotten into craft beer is how different regions of the USA regard the same style.
The flavor is similar... a little malt balance in there too almost like an APA. It's a good beer, an easy drinking IPA for sure. It's not as bold as I was hoping for something called HopDevil, but I'm still a fan. I think my tastes are just more geared towards West coast IPAs than East coast.
My Rating: B
India Pale Ale (IPA)
Up next was the Golden Monkey tripel. I've always been a big fan of Belgian ales, so I'm always excited to see an American take on them. For this brew I poured from a 12oz. bottle into a Chimay goblet... always a goblet for a dubbel, tripel, quad, or strong Belgian ale. It's a cloudy beer with a gold color, befitting the "Golden Monkey" moniker, and a small white head. Not much lacing or retention to it, which would usually be present in this style.
It has a floral and honey smell to it, hints of coriander... pretty tasty. Typical for the style but right on point with how a good tripel should smell. In my opinion at least. The taste is a great reflection on the smell... maybe a little more floral and slightly bitter with a little hop hit in there. I'm really enjoying this one, for an American brewed tripel it's one of the best I've had in recent memory.
The mouthfeel is a little harsh, with a slight hint of the alcohol content in the aftertaste. This one is a pretty robust 9.5% alcohol so a little flavor from that isn't unusual at all.
I'd still go for another one of these... if it was available in Louisiana I could see some Golden Monkey finding its way into my regular rotation.
It has a floral and honey smell to it, hints of coriander... pretty tasty. Typical for the style but right on point with how a good tripel should smell. In my opinion at least. The taste is a great reflection on the smell... maybe a little more floral and slightly bitter with a little hop hit in there. I'm really enjoying this one, for an American brewed tripel it's one of the best I've had in recent memory.
The mouthfeel is a little harsh, with a slight hint of the alcohol content in the aftertaste. This one is a pretty robust 9.5% alcohol so a little flavor from that isn't unusual at all.
I'd still go for another one of these... if it was available in Louisiana I could see some Golden Monkey finding its way into my regular rotation.
My Rating: B+
So, check a new brewery off the list... that wasn't one of my resolutions but it's still nice to try new beers from new people!
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