Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale

Brewed by Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Barrie, Canada

Serve in English pint, Shaker

I don’t know why I do this to myself.... I start rating with a bunch of similar strong lagers and pale lagers and other forgetable stuff in the morass of the mess of the beer world, and then dig deeper into the interesting stuff later on. Maybe it’s that old rule about starting with the lighter stuff first... well, to valhalla with it! I wanna try the one with the funky label! So there it is. When poured aggressively it has a solid head and a foggy copper body, perfect for an IPA if you’d ask moi. The aroma is all hops, fresh hops that smell like 30-minute and 0-minute varieties. The flavour, however, is rather subtle - not overpowering hops and a bit of a watery finish. Still good, still refreshing, but this stuff should have been in-your-face with its qualities. Instead it backs off at the end, leaving it to be "good" instead of "great". Shame.

Thanks to brentfeesh for this one as a bonus. Cheers, Brent! Pours a hazy brown-amber with an off-white head. Nose is malt, some biscuit, slight cardboard, and some mild hops. Flavor is similar with a full body for the style and lingering biscuity malt in the finish.

Poured rich amber in colour with a smallish head a light carbonation. A subtle note of hops on the nose followed by some hop flavour but mostly the roasty backbone dominates...not a bad beer by any standards but more illusion than hoptical....

Dull amber. Caramelly aroma. Bland amber ale taste with only a hint of hops. Invoking hops in your beer name but only have 18 miserly IBUs = abject fail.

Had a pint at the Hogtown Vegan. Almost pale ale seems apt. Amber colour with a slight bitterness and clean finish. Went well with the vegan burger I mowed down (too much meat this week, a vegan meal was on the menu). A nice fall/winter/spring beer.

Bottle provided by a potential supplier. Hazy amber pour with a wispy head. Light pine and citrus aroma on light grain. Spice meets pine in the flavor but its not particularly strong. Well balanced with the grainy malts. Medium mouth feel with a bit of a creamy finish that tappers its way to semi-dry. Easy drinking and OK.

Bottle at tasting, pours a hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma and flavour of floral and grassy hops, citrus and bready malts. Pretty decent but uninteresting.

From bottle. Rusty brown w small white head that quickly fades. Big citrusy hop aroma. Taste is mild fruit and hops-light bodied easy to drink beer. Good for the patio.