Funky Monks
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

$ 2.12 (Including tax)/12 oz bottle ($ 0.177/oz) from the brewery, Easton, PA. Reviewed 4/25/19.
“CANNED ON 3/12/19” on bottom of can. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 54 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
Body – Yellow, hazy.
Head – Large (Maximum 6.2 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, medium density, somewhat fizzy, average duration, stabilizes briefly at a seven mm rocky ring and a thin cap with rocks.
Lacing – Poor. A couple of island and gull-like formations of tiny bubbles appear.
First pour – Light yellow, slight haze.
Aroma – 4 - Very distinct banana and possibly imaginary pear.
Flavor – 3.25 - Begins with a massive hit of tartness followed by a bit of green apple and no banana, although when I lick the beer from my thermometer, the banana is obvious. Weird. No alcohol (9.3% ABV) flavor, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.25 – Not particularly enjoyable, and I like wild ales. Correctly priced.

 

The lightly hazed golden yellow orange tinged beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a 1/2” off white head that soon begins to recede to eventually become a cap of foam with a ring around the glass and then a thin irregular island of foam on the surface that eventually turns into a small ring around the glass while leaving a thin bit of lacing and and a few small patches on the sides of the glass. Sipping creates a couple of arches and multiple small patches and a few legs of lacing.

The aroma shows lots of green orchard fruits (apple, pear) with some banana and a bit of white wine grape. There’s also a bit of acidity and some malt.

The flavors are a bit different than expected from the nose in that the tartness is more up front. There’s still plenty of fruitiness with the banana and some green orchard fruits. In the background there’s a touch of lemon and some light bready malt with a bit of sweetness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and crisp from both the tartness and the light carbonation. The finish begins as the fruit flavors and tartness begin to recede to a fairly long, dry, lightly tart and banana tinged ending.

Overall I’d say this is a beer worth trying at least once for the unusual combination of flavors that includes citrus, green orchard fruits and banana, all of which are as noticeable as the tartness. I definitely liked and enjoyed it and would be willing to have another, but only on a “once in a while” basis. If sour beers are your passion, this is one which is worth giving a try.

 

 

 

 

It is an interesting aspect of The CANQuest (tm) that I did not initially set out to review & rate this beer back-to-back with Victory B. C.'s Sour Monkey, when they both came out of my queue & into my reefer, I decided to do just that. Several previous reviewers have made remarks that sound as though they did the same thing. Yes, I DO read others' reviews!

From the CA: "Sour Belgian-style Ale".

I was curious as to others' mention of haze or cloudiness, so once I Crack!ed the CAN's vent open, I employed a slow, gentle Glug to se what would result. I poured about half to three-quarters of the CANtents before stopping. It was a very lightly-hazy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5) in color, but I did not want to ChANce it any further. A vigorous in-glass swirl raised a brief two fingers of foamy, fizzy, bone-white head with very limited retention that quickly fell away to wisps. Nose smelled almost solely of Merry Monks Tripel, which was the base beer in this one. It primarily smelled like liquefied banana bread with only a hint of funk, nothing like Sour Monkey, which seemed determined t beat me about the head & shoulders with its funkiness. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was more tart than sour, but now I could definitely taste a lemony funk to go with the banana bread. This, to me, was a bit more accessible than Sour Monkey, but if the point is to allow the wild yeast to do its thing, doesn't this defeat the purpose? Hmm. Finish was dry, more towards tart than sour, as evidenced by my puckering, smacking lips, but not really exploring the depths of the style since I also CANtinued to taste banana bread. You may remember at the outset that I did not pour all of the CANtents into the glass. I then did an in-CAN swirl of the remainder & really let fly. I noticed only a slight deepening of the beer's haziness, so it was not due to lees having been left behind on my initial Glug. Nose seemed even more like banana bread than before, if that is possible. Mouthfeel remained medium. The taste became slightly more tart, but not appreciably so. Finish was still dry and tart, but I felt like it did not live up to potential for the style. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a two inch white head over a slightly hazy golden body with no lacing. Nose of apples, slight citrus, and ever so slight funk. Taste sort of mirrors the nose but not much else going on here. Good feel and overall, a fairly refreshing sour ale and would be real good on a very hot day as it hides its alcohol pretty well; watch out!

Yes this is very good, and much better than Sour Monkey (sorry Victory, your beers just stink anymore, go sell your business again). Pretty color, nice head yet low carbed. Aroma is malted vanilla, morphing into citrus and banana. Taste follows, very tart, nicely bitter lemon, orange, apples and banana. Great aftertaste all the tart citrus and banana very smooth. This disappeared in no time at all. Great work , will certainly have again.

Great tasting Belgium sour not and I like how it's sour but not as much as Victory's Sour Monkey. Still for this level of sour I could only enjoy a couple in a sitting but if your looking for a cheap flavorful sour this one is very good!