Victory - Golden Monkey Ale

"This Monkey's bound for glory!"

Next stop on our journey is Downingtown, PA, at Victory Brewing Co., drinking their Golden Monkey Ale, purchased at Vintage Estates.

"The magical, mystical Monkey whose golden soul glows with the wisdom of ages. This warming, flavored ale as rich in the spirited tradition of Belgian-inspired brewing. Our Golden Monkey is both playfully delightful and profoundly satisfying. Exotic spices from the East round out this global journey to joy. Get on board." This tripel ale is bottle-conditioned and brewed with spices and should be enjoyed before June 14, 2014. It is 9.5% ABV.

Overall average rating: 5.7/10

The beer is a translucent, cloudy straw color with a moderately diminishing white, frothy head with lacing on the glass. The aroma is crisp and very wheaty with essences of Belgian yeast, giving it a light banana scent. The taste has a front/mid tongue bite with a hoppy and acidic/s;ight metallic bitey finish. We can taste the wheat and Belgian yeast, though the flavors seem muddled.

Shawn- The aroma makes you think you'll taste great flavors, but the taste is all one flavor. It smells crisp, but the muddled flavors almost taste dirty, 5/10.

Angela- This has a clean, crisp aroma, as well as a crisp taste, but it is a little bitey for me, 6/10.

Chris- I like the slight banana taste and the hoppy after taste, but the aroma far outweighs the taste, 6/10.

St. Bernardus - Christmas Ale

"Bringing heavenly nectar within reach."

Our eighth Christmas ale comes all the way from Belgium! It's the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale purchased at Vintage Estates.

The term "Watou" is on the glass on the label, and it refers to the village in Belgium where the beer is brewed. It is a Belgian Abbey Ale that is best stored in a cool, dark place and is best served between 46-50°F. It is 10% ABV.

Overall average rating: 9.25/10

This pours a rusty red color and is opaque because of being bottle conditioned with a good head and lacing. You get aromas of Belgian yeast, dark cherry, honey, a little molasses, and maybe wheat and cranberry. The taste gives flavors of honey, Belgian yeast, and cherry. There is a bite on the tip of the tongue. The guys agree that this is "simple but perfect."

Shawn- "It's just beautiful." It is extremely well-balanced, although I would prefer a little less of the Belgian yeast. For being 10% ABV, you don't taste it, so be careful when drinking this! The brewer definitely hit a homerun with this, 9.25/10.

Angela- This is a very good Belgian beer and a good representation of what a Christmas ale should be. It is a fulfilling, flavorful beer, 9/10.

Chris- "This beer leaves me speechless," 9.5/10.

Label:

"Brewery St. Bernardus was founded in 1946 in Watou, Province of West Flanders in Belgium. These exceptional quality ales are brewed by using only the finest malts, local grown hops, yeast and artesian water pumped from a depth of 500 feet. After the brewing process these traditional ales are matured in tanks for three months, before being bottle conditioned. The result is a naturally carbonated 'living ale,' which can be aged for up to 15 years and will satisfy the taste of even the most discriminating connoisseurs.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale is the youngest descendant in the illustrious family of delicious Abbey Ales brewed by brewery St. Bernardus since 1946. This specialty ale of 10% is characterized by its deep dark color with a creamy, thick head, and a full, almost velvety mouthfeel with a fruity nose. It's a seasonal ale, brewed annually for the Holiday season. The long winter nights are perfect moments to savor this ale, with family and friends, and to enjoy its unique, complex taste."

Happy Thanksgiving with The Bruery Trade Winds

Ironically, we celebrate this Thanksgiving with The Bruery Trade Winds, their summer seasonal, purchased at Vintage Estates.

This Belgian-style Ale is brewed with rice and Thai basil. Thie Belgian and Southeast Asian inspired Tripel brings spice from the East and yeast from the West. "Since there is fresh Thai basil in this Tripel, it is best enjoyed fresh. The ideal serving temperature is 45° F, and it will taste best served in a tulip/wine glass." It has 25 IBUs and is 8.1% ABV.

Overall average rating: 7.0/10

It pours a beautiful Belgian color - a cloudy, straw color - with a thick white head and a lot of lacing. We think we smell oats, as well as basil, rice, wheat, and citrusy hops. The taste has a lemony bite and is more hoppy than other Belgian tripels, although it is a fairly good attempt at an American version of this style. There is a slight dryness, most likely the rice, and it is sharp and refreshing.

Shawn- They made the basil flavor relevant and it has a super clean flavor enjoyable any time of the year, 7.5/10.
Angela- I like it, but I think I would personally enjoy it much more with food (Rex suggests a ribeye/steak dinner with sweet onions), 6.5/10.
Chris- I like this because of its delicate flavors, although I think it can use a little less lemon, 7/10.


*You may remember our previous beer from this brewery, and I said I thought it would be better with Thanksgiving dinner. Well, I bought a bottle and drank it with my meal. I think it helped the flavors somewhat, but not as much as I'd hoped. I still think these beers are better with a meal than by themselves. -Angela

Heavy Seas - The Great Pumpkin

Our second to last pumpkin beer is Heavy Seas'  The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale from its Mutiny Fleetseries purchased at Vintage Estates.

All of the beers in the Munity Fleet are bottle-conditioned, and many are vintage dated and designed for aging. This bottle boasts "Embrace your inner pyrate and join the mutiny! It's the great pumpkin... risen at last!" This is brewed with pumpkin and spices and is 8% ABV.

Overall average rating: 7.25/10

Due to it being bottle-conditioned, it is a cloudy orange color. The aroma gives scents of pumpkin, honey, nutmeg, molasses, and coriander. The taste is like that of pumpkin pie spice. It has a side tongue bite with a nutmeg finish and a slight metallic after taste. While we smelled coriander, there was no evidence of it in the taste.

Shawn- The taste doesn't live up to the aroma. It's a good pumpkin beer, very drinkable, but I don't enjoy the metallic after taste. I would have liked to try The Great'er Pumpkin, 7.25/10.
Angela- It is very drinkable, and you can taste the spices, which I enjoy in pumpkin beers. This is not my favorite, but it is very good, 7/10.
Chris- I enjoy the hop after taste. This is one of my "go to" pumpkin beers, and I will continue to go back to it, 7.5/10.

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel - Rosée d'Hibiscus

Today's Canadian beer is Brassiere Dieu du Ciel - Rosée d'Hibiscus purchased at Vintage Estates.

This beer and brewery translates to Pink Hibiscus and God of the Sky Brewery, respectively. It is a bottle-conditioned, Belgian-style wheat beer that was born at Dieu du Ciel's brewpub in May 2006. The rose colour comes from the hibiscus flowers added during the brewing process. The floral aroma and flavour is very prominent in the beer. It has won awards at the Mondial de la Bière in Montréal  and is 5.9% ABV.

Overall average rating: 7.8/10

It is semi-clear with a rose color and a light pink head. The first thing Shawn said when he smelled it was "this is f-ing beautiful." It has a floral, citrus, overall beautiful smell. The floral taste has a front of the tongue bite with cherry undertones. It tastes kind of like rose water iced tea.

Shawn- This has an amazing aroma. The more you drink of this, the more you smell.. I can't say enough good things about this. I would recommend this to anyone, 8.5/10.
Angela- I haven't had too many prominently floral beers before, but I enjoy how aromatic this is and what a unique flavor it has, 7.5/10.
Chris- This beer is definitely an aromatic experience. This is a beer to sit and enjoy, not one for a meal because it would be overpowered by food, 7.5/10.

The Bruery - Autumn Maple

Our final Harvest beer is The Bruery Autumn Maple, purchased at Vintage Estates.

The label is red, orange, and autumny with a really well-worded description. It is explained how the beer should be served (temperature, what type of glass), as well as how to properly store it (it can be aged up to five years). It is bottle-conditioned, unfiltered, and brewed with yams (17lbs. per barrel!), molasses, maple syrup, and spices. It boasts: "We don't need pumpkin in our beer! Big, bold, spicy, and oh so yammy, our delicious Brown Ale is perfect for those cold autumn nights."

Can I just say how much I love that they used the phrase "oh so yammy"?! Anyway..

Overall average rating: 5.8/10

We poured this bottle into a large pitcher to properly distribute the yeast in the beer. It is red and caramelly and very difficult to see through, as bottle-conditioned beers tend to be. It yields a big, frothy, long-lasting head, although there was no lace which one would expect from a bottle-conditioned beer. The aroma gives off smells of maple and sweet potato, as well as a little apple even though there is no apple in it. There is a woody taste (Shawn says it's birch), with a very slight tongue bite and a yammy molasses finish.

Shawn- It looks like a good hard cider, but it's not. It reminds me of a mediocre attempt of Life & Limb (a collaboration of Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada), but it needs bitterness/hops to counteract the sweetness, 6/10.
Angela- I was incredibly excited to try this simply based on the description. The aroma was wonderful, but the taste left a little to be desired. I am going to buy a bottle to set aside, however, so I can enjoy it with my family's Thanksgiving dinner. I think it would pair really well with those flavors based on the ingredients, 5.5/10.
Chris- This beer gave me a flavor combination of apple pie and sweet potato pie. I also get a definite cider smell and taste, even with no apple in it. It has a lot of flavor but not a lot of body; it could use more malt. I was slightly disappointed considering how much it was talked up, but I would still drink it again, 6/10.