New Holland Monkey King Saison
A soft, medium-body saison with subtle pepper character and fruity undertones. Pairings: shellfish, spiced cheeses and citrus-laden vinaigrettes.
3.3
189 reviews
Holland, United States
Community reviews
Monkey King has some nice flavors from the fruity, peppery yeast strains. For my personal tastes, though, I like Saisons that are complex, funky, and/or brazenly innovative. Monkey King doesn’t quite fit in any of those categories, but it’s a decent refreshing Saison all the same.
Bottle/Fest.
A- Citrus, pepper, yeasty, wheat.
A- Amber color, hazy liquid, white head.
T- Citrus, wheat, spices.
P- Light body, average texture, average carbonation, smooth finish.
O- Before having this and knowing what it was I thought maybe it was just a slightly off IPA or Pale Ale. It’s okay.
Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy yellow color with an enormous fluffy yellow-white head that lingered forever and left exceptional lacing. The aroma was tart, citric, chalky and had a bit of perfume. The flavor was tart citrus and perfume with a dry chalky undertone and a hints of bread and honey. Medium length finish. Medium body but overcarbonated.
12oz bottle from Andersons in Dublin: murky amber-gold pour with visible and vigorous carbonation. aroma of musty, light spice, bready. tastes are sweet banana, pear, clove, bubblegum. background pepper.
golden color, big frothy off-white head. aroma is of citrus, grass, bit of pepper, sugar. flavor is light citrus, yeast, grassy hops. hoped for better. for my money saison de pipaix is still the gold standard.
12oz bottle. Not that impressive of an offering. Kind of has a classic brewhouse golden malt thing going on, not really incorporating the yeast that well. Doesn’t come off sort or medium bodied to me, closer to full bodied yet underwhelming in flavor. US Saison all the way, not much finesse or similarities with a good Belgian example. Drinkable, but not so impressive.
Poured from bottle into tulip: Pours golden with a foamy white head. Aroma of coriander, tons of banana, and sugar. Taste is really sweet banana with lots of pepper, and the same cracker malt base as all of their beer. Really gross combination. Bottle might be old, I can’t imagine they intended it to be this sweet. Cloying, medium body, yuck
A cloudy, yellow pour with a frothy, white head. The aroma is earthy and slightly spicy with pepper. It has a medium body with slightly sticky texture and average carbonation. The taste is lightly bitter with hints of background sweetness and a dry finish.
It’s the aroma that kills this brew for me. Best comparison I can draw is mild B.O. I think it’s the pepper aroma combining with the hops that creates that unfortunate smell. Which is too bad, because otherwise it’s not bad at all. Overall taste is pleasant, although the peppery finish is not my favorite. I found this brew works best when paired with a spicy food, as then the pepper works to compliment vs. detract. It’s not so bad that I won’t finish the sixer I bought, but I won’t be buying again. :(
Bottle purchased at Haskells in Maple Grove and consumed with commonshawn. Golden pour with hints of orange. Full finger of white head. Effervescence in full force. Aroma of grains very much like a brewery with less spice than expected of the style. Taste has the strong yeast characteristics many folks love in saison. Relatively balanced representation with malts offsetting a bitter streak that runs through. Some fruity citrus flavors that’s welcomed as the sip progresses. A beer Jackie Chan would enjoy.
Bottle from Haskells with commonmac. Hazy gold with white head. Smells like a brewery. Taste is yeasty and grainy with too subtle spice and floral citrus taste. Good body but wanted more bite crispness and flavor to balance the yeast funk. Almost there.
Pours hazy yellow with thin white head. Aroma is mild fruit and spice. Taste is rich, malty with the right amount of spice and bitterness. I like this saison a lot.
Tap at WoB. Pours a hazy golden orange color with a white head. Aroma is almost a sweet bread, paint chips. Odd flavor, chalky mouthfeel. That same paint flavor is there with a slight bit of saison funkiness. Finished bitter. Not good.
Poured a very nice medium yellow with a very frothy head. Slight spice in the mouth is very nice.
On tap at the brewpub. Yellow/gold pour with an off-white head. Pleasantly mid saison with fruity taste ans aroma.
Bottle - hazy yellow with a small head. Spicy aroma and taste. Peppery with some lemon zest. Light to medium body.
bottled for Floodgates, yellow with frothy white foam, nice wheat pulpy aroma, flavor has good wheat grain note with balance of some fruit, tasty bitter finish bite
Lighter with a slight spice. Taste of yeast, it is also present in the bottle. Overall not a bad introduction to saison
On tap. Comes a cloudy pale gold with a nice white head. Aroma of citrus, fruit, and spice. Taste is apple, lemon, banana, spice, and a bit of funk. Pretty good.
On tap at L Woods in Lincolnwood. Aroma is very fruity, apples and pears. Clear light orange with a healthy head. Flavor is fruity alcohol. Reminds me of a champagne or white wine.
On tap @ Farmhouse in Evanston. Hazy medium yellow, white head with good retention. My notes on this one are poor, but I felt it to be quite sweet for a saison. Just ok.
Bottle. Pours a hazy golden orange color with white head. Hay, yeast, citrus, spice aromas. Spicy, yeasty, pear, light dry apricot flavors. Solid enough.
12 oz bottle at the Big Texas Beer Fest. Poured a light yellow with a frothy white top. Taste of banana, spice and Belgian eaters. Medium carbonation, medium body. Glad we’ll be seeing more of New Holland in Texas
Easily my all-time favorite saison. Has a fruity apple flavor onstead of the typical dry metallic taste. Light and refreshing.
Dark gold pour with a thin white head. Peppery, bready, oily grain, light apricot, wheat and light mineral. Medium , neutral to oily feel, light to medium carbonation. Good stuff.
Bottle. Golden body with a big, frothy head. Aroma of ear wax, plastic, clove, toasted grain, spice, lemon, wet cement. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery turning syrupy body, lively carbonation. Like a watered-down Golden Monkey in some ways. Very little funky yeast attributes in the flavor. Light peppery taste with clove. Fairly unclean.
Spicy aroma. Highly carbonated with a rocky white head. Very tasty. Despite the high carbonation it has a smooth mouthfeel.
Bottle shared thanks to lithy. Pours a hazy straw colored yellow. White head. Banana yeasty esters in the aroma. Taste is middle of the road dry. Just a nice everyday saison.
Pours hazy amber with thick white head. Smell is funk, farmhouse, yeast, bread and lemon. Taste is funk, yeast, fruit, bread and a hint of crisp pepper on finish. Medium body, heavy carbonation.
Pour cloudy with a lot of head. A nice taste of hops but a little too bitter. Overall a decent ale.