ゴールデンモンキーは、美しく深い黄金色のビールをつくるために、ヨーロピアンホップス、ベルジャンイースト、エキゾチックスパイスを使い、非常に複雑にブレンドされています。飲みながらいろんなキャラクターに気付きます。一つのビールに二つの顔。
一方では、遊び心があり踊りだすような楽しくもリフレッシュできるビール。もう一方では、複雑なフレイバーをもつ、ゆっくり味わえるリッチとストロングなビール。
ラベルに示されているゴールデンモンキーの神は、西に軽やかに心弾む楽しさを、東に強烈な深みを指し表しています。どちらを飲んでも、結果はユニークで満足できる美味しいビール。さて、あなたはどちらのゴールデンモンキーを選びます？
Victory Brewing Company (VBC) is a unique brewery in America. Both of the owners/brewmasters started as homebrewers, became professional brewers in America, and then studied at prestigious German brewing institutions. They then returned to brew in America before starting Victory. Through those long travels they learned to brew many different styles, and in addition to brewing real modern American craft (like Dirt Wolf and Vital IPA), they are also one of America’s foremost brewers of European-style beers.
Victory is famous for a whole range of German-style lagers, but they have a strong Belgian series as well. And, their most famous and original Belgian beer is Golden Monkey. This Belgian golden tripel was brewed long before many breweries started brewing Belgian styles. They chose the Golden Monkey name because this was an exotic beer back at that time, and an asian name and logo seemed fitting. They also use asian spices combined with belgian yeast and german malts to give the beer an international east meets west aspect. The monkey image shows a deep, reflective side, along with a playful side, which is exactly the profile of the beer. It is a very deep and nuanced beer, but also has a fruity, friendly side as well, being very easy to drink and refreshing at 9.5% abv.
Golden Monkey has been popular since it was first made, but it remains so now. It has a rate beer score of 97, was chosen by paste magazine in the 10 best golden tripels in the world and the highest rated one in America, and won the GABF gold medal in 2014. It also is very popular in regions where alcohol drinking is prevalent. In Niigata, the Japanese home of sake, Golden Monkey was the most popular beer at the Niigata craft beer festival in 2014. In the American south, the home of bourbon and whiskey in America, Golden Monkey is by far Victory’s most popular beer! That a belgian golden tripel could be more popular than IPA for a major American craft brewery is truly amazing. It shows the many different sides of this profound yet playfully delicious monkey!
