Happy Sunday Funday AND Mother’s Day! The wife and I spent the weekend surprising my mom and grandmother by visiting them with my entire family. Naturally, I had to sneak in a few beers and some fishing. While I didn’t wear out either the beers or the fish, I was able to get a couple. When we walked into Publix today, we saw one of my favorite Belgian Tripels, Golden Monkey was BOGO along with their new-to-me sour version called Sour Monkey. Naturally, getting a twelve pack of new and favorite beers for $12 was a no-brainer. I’m not usually a big sour kind of guy, but I figured I would give this a try.
Appearance: Sour Monkey pours a crystal clear gold with a strong head that dissolves quickly. This is probably due to the 9.5% ABV.
Aroma: I’m getting huge notes of green apple and lemongrass. Definitely different from the banana-y funky Golden Monkey.
Taste: As I mentioned before, I’m typically not one for the sour/funky farmhouse styles. However, there is always an exception to the rule. This flavor profile is mostly green apple sourness, but ends extremely crisp and even a touch bitter. It starts sour, but ends in a nice crisp note that makes it very drinkable (and dangerous).
Mouthfeel: For this to be such a heavy-hitter, this is incredibly light and refreshing. This is almost equivalent to a Busch Latte or Michelob Ultra, it’s so light.
Value: When it’s BOGO and comes out to $1/beer, you can’t get better than that!
Overall: Remember. I am biased. But this is probably the best Sour I’ve ever had. I would give this an 8/10 because it is light, refreshing, obviously sour, and will sneak up on you. My only knock is that the flavor is very one dimensional, and I would like to see more depth to it. For all the Floridians reading this, go out and get you some!
Until next time, tight lines and cheers!
Tight Lines & Beers 