Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Live Transmission American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$3.83 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2019, reviewed 19-Mar-2019)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of pillowy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, creamy lactose, tropical fruit, coconut, pale malt, pine, green tea. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-high carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)
I’ve gotten to the point where I tend to pass on the “Milkshake IPA” style – I find the way the lactose sweetness blunts the bitterness tends to give a slightly cloying result. On the other hand, Flying Monkeys isn’t scared of bitterness, so I had hopes that the one would offset the other. And, I gotta say, I’m shocked at how well this ends up working. If you’re a purist, you could totally go a full two points lower on both aroma and taste, simply because the flavour choices are so extremely untraditional. You can’t argue with the appearance, though, and in my opinion the slightly higher-than-normal carbonation works well to counteract any cloying tendency of the lactose, so I’d argue the body score is pretty solid too. Ultimately, this is very well executed, even if it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but certainly not a beer that invites ambivalence. It’s pretty much a “love it or hate it” type of deal – and I’ve got more than enough negativity in my life, so I’m coming down on the side of love. (17/20)
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
