Flying Monkeys Amber Ale

Flying Monkeys are an ecelctic brewery.  Awesome name aside they tend to make brews that are loaded up with hops and have a million percent alcohol so I was surprised when I popped into the beer store to see that they have made a beer that is more geared towards the masses of beer drinkers as opposed to fans of uber hoppy beers.  As this was a new beer I hadn't tried I felt it was my moral obligation to pick up a six pack and give it a try, and it was a very interesting experience. 

Given flying monkeys history with hops I was expecting a very malty and hoppy amber ale but it really isn't.  It's actually quite sweet and floral with only a light dusting of hops, although true to flying monkey form this is quite a unique brew.   When you take a sip the first thing you notice is how sweet the opening is.  This intro is where the fruity floral taste comes in, as the sip progresses it mellos out into a smooth and slightly bland middle before finishing with a slightyly sour and hoppy finish.  This sour finish is very odd for an amber, it is something that would be more at home in a wheat beer than an amber.  Unfortunately this sourness seems a bit out of place and the fruity floral intro seems out of tune with the rest of the beer.  It seems as though Flying Monkey's amber is a mishmash of styles that makes it hard to fully enjoy.   It is smooth enough to be a good session beer, and it is has the complexities of a wheat beer, but the colour and consistency of a traditional amber ale.  As a result I wasn't overly convinced by it.  It is certainly complex, but it could benfit a bit from the old KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid).  I salute Flying Monkey's for giving this a go, but I feel as though they need to work on this in order to make into my regular rotation.

It is available at the beer store and LCBO in Ontario as well as at their brewery store in Barrie.  Their website was unavailable at the time of writing, so I am not able to tell you if and where it is available on draught, but Flying Monkey's are often seen at pubs throughout Ontario, especially the  GTA.

Rating: 3 Steins

What you need to know
Website:
http://www.theflyingmonkeys.ca/

Brewery Address:
107 Dunlop St E 
Barrie, ON, L4M 1A6

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flying-Monkeys-Craft-Brewery/108949405799023 

Twitter:
@flyingmonkeys