Cheeky Monkey’s first limited release beer for 2017 shows the Margaret River brewery building momentum for bigger beers. Last year, the limited release Southern Wailer series included the Silverback, a 10 percent ABV imperial stout revived after laying dormant for three years, a West Coast IPA that evolved into a core range beer and a hop forward, multi-collaborator XPA to name a few.
The Imperial Monk is an amplified version of their core range session red ale, Travelling Monk, where the flavours coalesce rather than dominate – more a strong, silent type than a mouthy brat – and a beer that head brewer Ross Terlick says the brewing team has long dreamt of brewing.
In doing so, the brewers combined six specialty malts to create a deep reddish brown beer with a light tan head. An initial savoury note gives way to a rich, torched toffee sweetness, tight bitterness and light roast finish. Despite being nearly two and half times more boozy than its mid-strength relative, Imperial Monk is well balanced and its release is well timed for summer’s slide into autumn.
Guy Southern
Published February 28, 2017 2017-02-28 00:00:00
