I found a thread on this recipe from 2011. Just wondering if anyone else has attempted this and how close they got to the real thing. Golden Monkey is one of my favorite commercial beers.
Denny’s Golden Monkey Homage
12.5 lb. pils malt
0.5 lb. flaked barley
6 oz. Belgian aromatic malt
4 oz. Belgian biscuit malt
1.5 lb. cane or beet sugar
0.7 oz. Horizon 13% 60 min.
0.3 oz. French Strisselspalt pellets 4% 10 min.
0.5 oz. freshly ground coriander 5 min.
Wyeast #3522 Ardennes yeast
I just kinda stumbled on that recipe by accident. I was jist trying to make something interesting. When I tasted it, itmwas remarkably close t Golden Monkey, one of my favorite beers.
To me Golden Monkey is more on the side of sweet and less on the side of sour, unlike the classic Belgian Tripels I have tried. I know this is seen as a “flaw,” but I happen to love it. Does your grain bill and yeast combination provide this flavor profile?
I also like the fact that Golden Monkey is a bit “spicy.” I’m guessing the yeast and coriander should provide this?
Wow, I’ve made and drunk a lot of tripels and never thought of them as sour! Do you Westmalle to taste like that?
At any rate, the aromatic and biscuit malt, in conjunction with the yeast, provide that sweetness. The yeast and coriander take care of the spiciness with the coriander providing a bit of citrus also.
Haven’t had Westmalle in a while. I currently have Tripel Karmeliet and I find it slightly “tart.” Maybe my taste is off, but it definitely doesn’t have the perceived sweetness that I get with Golden Monkey. I will look for Westmalle to refresh my memory.
I don’t get “tart” from Karmeliet. But I do think Golden Monkey has more body maybe than a lot of classic tripels. Maybe that’s giving it the sweetness?
I brew this recipe annually, but I call it Golden Boy in homage to my son. His birthday is coming up, so it will be in rotation soon.
I don’t recall doing a side-by-side but this is a solid recipe. I recommend it.
I did the first time. I’ve probably deviated a bit over the years based on what I’ve had available, but the goal is to stick to the recipe.
I mash low. 148 or so. All sugars go in the kettle. I’ve never fermented this one with temp controller. Oxygenate, pitch, let er ride. Ambient in my basement is mid 60s.
A good pitch of yeast and good oxygenation is key.
You probably found my thread from 2011. Many thanks to Denny for being a resource on this (and many other) recipes. He’s solid.
I just had my first sip of the GMonk, absolutely luscious. I thought my Triple was pretty stellar. I will now tuck my tail and head under my rock! [emoji20]
Quick opinion-based question: I haven’t yet dived (dove?) into Belgian-style brewing, but is it common to omit candi sugar in Tripels vs. Dubbels or Belgian strongs?
Nope. IMO, some sort of sugar is a must for all of those. For lighter beers, I use table sugar. For darker ones, I use candi syrup. I never use candi sugar.
I used the candy sugar back in the early/mid90s but have not used it since the syrup products have become available.
Other than table sugar, you can also have some fun experimenting with demarara, sucanat, jaggery, etc. Each one will lend something a little bit different but many of those differences are very subtle so you might only notice them in a blonde or tripel.
I use table sugar in many beers, but I brew a lot of high OG beers. When you’ve got a big beer, sugar is very helpful in hitting a good final gravity and having a beer that’s quaffable. Not that I’m quaffing a lot of 10% stouts, but I like to think I could.
Mm gotcha. Like I said, I’m not accustomed to Belgian styles, so at the time I wasn’t differentiating between candi ‘sugar’ or ‘syrup’ in my head. Either way you answered the question I intended to ask about using sugar not of the ‘candi’ variety at times.
