Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale - Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery

Long813

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

First off I want to say the look on the bottle is beautiful. Nice psychedelic colours and presentation.

G: Duvel Tulip

A: Dark caramel coloured body with no head and the most minimal lacing.

S: Sweet caramel malts, biscuity, citrus and pine hops all blended well together. I do feel the aroma is quite low though

T: Same as the smell with caramel upfront and biscuity flavours. Hints of citrus and pine.

M: Medium bodied and medium-low carbonation. This beer leaves a malty finish and some dry-bitterness too.

D: Nothing offensive here, but there also isn't much that is special. Everything seems quite weak and bland. I'd much prefer to drink something else.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2009 21:11:42 | More by Long813

heebes

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a medium amber with good amount of head and no lacing.
The smell is flowery with a slight fruit touch, citrus.
Tastes similiar with the floral coming through and a bit of fruitiness, there is a definite hop taste too which is nice.
Has a light mouthfeel and seems kinda watery but gos down quite smooth.
Overall this is allright for a pale ale. Will need to check out more from the Flying Monkies.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2010 22:07:15 | More by heebes

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at C'Est What?

Pours a lightly hazy dark copper/amber, thick off white head forms, some decent retention, leaves lace rings on the glass as it settles down. Smell is okay, floral, some fruitiness, bit of toasty malt and light caramel sweetness, grapefruit, smells alright but is a little underwhelming for me. Taste is similar, biscuity and sweet, some orange, grapefruit, floral, pretty balanced bitterness, but again underwhelming. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with medium carbonation, easy drinking but not something I would choose. Kind of hyped up and didn't live up to it for me.

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2009 15:26:10 | More by Viggo

MeisterBurger

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear copper amber with one finger of head that dies down leaving good head retention and lacing.

The aroma is a slight piney hop against a toasty, caramel malt, with hints of fresh cut anjour pear.

The taste follows the aroma, with a crisp Amariillo hop bite--citrus pith and pine--against a nice toasted malt and just the right amount of caramel malt. The flavor of the amarillio is interesting, adding some orange, herbs, pine and almost a medicinal aspect to the beer. There's a slight hint of chocolate in the malt and there's a nice lingering bitterness in the finish.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice crispness from the carbonation.

This is an American Pale Ale that's dialed way, way back. Considering this is brewed in and for a province that seems to have a hop phobia, it's easy to criticize them for it but at the same time kind of hard to blame them.

One area where this beer excels in in the packaging. It's worth picking up for the entertainment value alone, as you scour the box and bottles for all the little details, and fun textual blurbs, and just when you think you're done you crack one open only to realize that the inside of the caps have little sayings like, "Beer & Calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive" or "If things seem to be going well you've overlooked something."

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2009 20:37:53 | More by MeisterBurger

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear copper with solid foam. Nose is caramel, some fruit and light lemon/citrus hops. Buttery, nutty flavour. Husky grain, mild hops and a hint of toast. Mouthfeel is dry and somewhat oily and good carbonation level isn't too fizzy. Overall, a fairly easy drinking brew. Not quite what I expected, but tasty enough. Could use a bit more sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2009 18:12:08 | More by allergictomacros

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - clear dark random, two fingers of tan head, dissipated slowly leaving random blobs of lacing
S - herbal and resiny hop aromas, mild caramel and raw grain
T - a blend of herbal hop and toasted grain malt flavours, more mild grassy hops with a metallic hint
M - a little thin and light on carbonation, very mild bitterness
O - this almost pale ale is almost good, not bad but nothing outstanding, the IPA's I've tried from Flying Monkeys are a better buy

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 01:49:36 | More by joemcgrath27

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A - Copper body with a nice creamy beige head. Some lively carbonation can be seen. Decent head retention and pretty good lacing.

S - Pretty solid pine-like hoppiness, with a touch of citrus, and a good malt backbone, with toffee and caramel notes. Smells like a real APA to me. A little bit of spiciness and grassiness can also be noticed.

T - Starts out with a moderate hop bite, with some resinous pine notes and a bit of caramel. The finish, however, is rather bland and watery, with a little bit of bitterness lingering on.

M - Light-to-medium body, but closer to being light. Some effervescence and a hint of peppery spiciness on the tongue.

D - Good, being quite light, this is a decent session APA.

I think of it as a toned-down version of Mill St Tankhouse ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2010 15:58:44 | More by NightINgale

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle- A deep amber pour with a nice foamy cap of froth. Good lace here. Nose is floral and hoppy with the Amarillo really coming forward. Good earthy malts and fruit too. Sweet fruity flavour with caramel malts and good fresh floral hops and marked bitterness. Well balanced and very tasty. Ill be buying more.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2009 14:00:49 | More by mrmanning

ericj551

British Columbia (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I was looking for a good hoppy beer so I picked this up at the suggestion of some other BA's. It pours a clear light amber with a thin head that doesn't stick around. The aroma is a bit of citrusy hops with some dry, toasted malt aroma. The flavor has the same citrusy hops upfront with a hint of sweetness. The maltiness is dry, with a bit of caramel and some nutty, toasted flavor maybe from a small amount of chocolate malt. Overall this isn't a bad beer, but the hops and malt don't really blend well together.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2009 02:15:32 | More by ericj551

clockwerk

Ontario (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I'm breaking form on this review, because this beer really pissed me off. Frankly, it symbolized everything that is wrong with Ontario brewers. Why? Well, because it's a pretty good beer. It's also quite boring in my opinion.

Off the bat, the packaging had me intrigued. Excellent catchy phrases and bright colours adorned the bottle and box. Once, poured, it showed good head formation and was a nice clear copper. It looked quite the winner.

Then it all started to go wrong. I couldn't help it, try as I might, but the smell and taste reminded me of a craft brewed version of Bohemian. That same smell and flavour, just better brewed. There's simply nothing interesting here. Almost Pale Ale? Come on guys. The brewers obviously have skill, and the beer is really quite good, just unexceptional. There's nothing here to capture my interest, or convince me to pay a premium for it. When I can get 6's of DFH or Rogue Dead Guy, why would I choose this? If I'm the type of drinker who is looking for something on the "easy drinking" side, I'm going to save my money and buy a 12 of Bohemian instead. It hurts to say this, because the beer is very well brewed, just boring.

The mouthfeel and drinkability were spot on however.

The bottom line for me, is that despite the flashy packaging, the beer is anything but flashy or interesting. If you're going to talk about illusions and magic, you'd better back it up with something that surprises me.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2009 02:18:12 | More by clockwerk

Beers

Ontario (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

I like that I see this beer around. I live in Barrie, and it's often around in restaurants etc. It's nice to be able to buy something a little different on tap around here. Barrie is not a huge beer town.

This beer definitely has its merits. Not exactly in the box so to say.

Decent color. Not quite a huge fluffy head. Not a head that sticks around. smells of hops. A bit of malt.

Taste. This beer is covered in hops. I like hops just like the next guy. I also like a little more malt along with them. The hops wait it out and chill with the residual sweetness. This beer is like a shirt that is incorrectly buttoned up. The top and bottom aren't quite aligned correctly, and as a result the whole thing is just a bit uncomfortable. It's still a nice shirt, but it was done up a little hastily and is being worn incorrectly. At least it's not inside out.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2009 03:46:22 | More by Beers

berley31

New Brunswick (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured with a small-to-moderate, white head that diminished pretty quickly to a thin film. Body is amber colored and slightly hazy. Not much lacing.

S: Aroma had very slight hop presence... a bit of a soapish smell to it as well, but this may have been due to the glass at the bar.

T: Flavor was mostly malty and slightly caramelly at first, then finished slightly dry with a bit of a hop bite. Not high on the hops for an APA, but maybe that's where their name is coming from.

M: Light-bodied, moderate carbonation, thin texture.

D: Drinkable, but definitely nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 21:24:46 | More by berley31

grub

Ontario (Canada)

3.23/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle. sampled feb 6/2010.

pours deep orangey amber with just a hint of haze. a small dense off-white head forms, dropping slowly and leaving lots of lace behind.

aroma is nice. light herbal and spicy note. hint of citrus. wheat bread. cracker and a touch of biscuit. light alcohol. bit fruity.

taste is ok. what happened to the hops that were in the aroma? i mean, they weren't exactly dominant there, but now they've completely evaporated. the bit of biscuit character is more of the dog variety - yeah, i've chomped on a milkbone at some point, who hasn't? touch of alcohol. light caramel.

mouthfeel is good. medium body. medium-light carbonation level.

dirnkability is pretty good. nice balance, pretty good aroma... the taste was a letdown. when are ontario brewers really going to start USING hops?

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 23:50:27 | More by grub

a74gent

Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Based on 7/22/10 notes:

This is admittedly an old bottle (6 mos) and I'd love to try this beer fresh. It is quite mellow with some hoppiness which seems nice although hops were too faded at this point I think. Very little aroma, but great mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2010 00:51:53 | More by a74gent

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.13/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to SlovakSniper (ratebeer) for this one. Had it with my supper last night, sausages with broccoli & raisin salad.

Poured from a 341ml. bottle.

Appearance: Doesn't pour pale really but more of a copper color with a generous 3 finger off-white head that sticks around for awhile and leaves some lacing. Looks more like an IPA that an APA.

Smell: A bit disappointed as i get wisps of citrus & grapefruit but the aroma is too light for my liking.

Taste: Creamy with an afterthought of grapefruit. A dry tea-like character presents itself as it warms. I find their is not enough flavor in here.

Mouthfeel: Smoothness reminds me almost as if i'm drinking this from a nitro tap. Carbonation is active and the body feels thin at first but ends fuller. A little bit disjointed.

Drinkability: Would have liked more oomph in the taste to keep me coming back but it would be a decent alternative to BMC in a bar.

Overall: Tries to straddle the line between an APA & an IPA but the lack of intensity makes this an average beer IMO.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2010 14:48:24 | More by papat444