Beer strength

[fimbul]

hmmmm, haven't had the pleasure.  care to elaborate on these?

They're both Belgian style Ales.

The Chimay is perhaps my second favorite Tripel (after only the Westmalle). It is an absolute classic and well worth seeking out.

The Golden Monkey is a US made Belgian style Tripel. It's a good deal (quite a bit cheaper than the true Belgians) but IMHO has some weaknesses in terms of execution against the style. A good beer, but not on par with the true Belgians or the top American Belgian style ales (Allagash and Ommegang for example).

Hunh. I like Golden Monkey (in the 750 ml bottle at least) far better than anything I've had from Ommegang or Allagash. The latter two always seem to fail me at the finish. *shrug*

Victory's V-10 is also very, very good. It's another Belgian inspired (strong) ale. It's worth seeking out if you've not had it.

Damn. Now I have this craving....

[malachi]

The V-10 is fabulous. Not exactly a "tripel" in the traditional sense of the word. I liken it more to the Unibroue 10. I guess I'd go with the generic "Artisanal Strong Pale Ale" category (grin).

Overall I find the Golden Monkey to be near to the quality of the Ommegang Hennepin, though perhaps a little less balanced. I'd say it's a bit superior to the straight Ommegang. Similar in quality to the Allagash Double, but I vastly prefer the Allagash Tripel Reserve (perhaps my favorite US belgian style ale).

I find that the Golden Monkey is, overall, unbalanced. It's as if they decided to make a BIG beer but lost site of the actual style they were emulating. It's a good beer, don't get me wrong, but I find it one dimensional and overly hoppy with a mediocre appearance and head.

[theakston]

Victory have released a V12 this year (V10 was last year) this is 12%. It hasn't surfaced around here yet but it has got good reviews.

I've had problems with both the V10 and the Golden Monkey in 75 Cl bottles. Many of them were infected during bottling. Beware anything bottled around September 12th 2002 ( or earlier that week). They apparently had a problem with the new bottling equipment which resulted in many bottles being infected. My first V10 tasted like Rodenbach -- not entirely awful but not as expected or intended.

I also think they are rather over-priced compared to Ommegang or Belgian imports.