Beer # 99 Flying Monkeys Treble Clef Series Beer # 2 City and Colour Imperial Maple Wheat

Imperial Maple Wheat

Flying Monkeys Brewing Company

Barrie, Ontario, CanadaIndependent
High Alcohol Flavoured Wheat 11.5 % ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$13.95 Canadian LCBO

Twitter: @flyingmonkeys

I honestly can believe it took me to Beer # 99 to do a Flying Monkey's Beer. I did, after all, live just down the street from them... The Flying Monkeys has as interesting a back story as I can imagine in the brewing industry. Founded in 2005 The Owners had picked the name Simcoe Steam which was a real brewery in Barrie in the late 1800's. However as the Licensing application was being completed it was discovered that the rights to the name Simcoe Steam were not available and the owners had to quickly decide a new name to prevent the licensing paperwork from being rejected. They decided on Robert Simpson, who just happened to be the first mayor of Barrie Ontario (1871- 1872), and the owner of Simcoe Steam Brewery. The original flagship beer was Confederation Ale. It was an expensive premium beer marketed as the longest aged beer in Canada (around 44 days if I remember correctly) I remember having it and I really enjoyed it. Flash forward 4 years. Peter Chiodo, Head brewer, made new beers he pushed to rename the brewery because, in his words "Being named after a a dead white guy isn't that interesting." So Flying Monkeys was born. In all honesty I have met most of the people responsible for this brew... and Flying Monkeys is a great fit for a name for them...

Today we are doing the Treble Clef Series Beer # 2. Treble clef is a collaboration between The Flying Monkeys and a prominent Canadian Musician. Last year they collaborated with The Bare Naked Ladies, this year Dallas Green of City and Colour and formerly of Alexis on Fire.

 The beer is an Imperial Maple Wheat That was flavoured with Local (to Barrie) maple syrup from Breedon's Farm in Alliston Ontario. It is also flavoured with Fair Trade organic Ugandan Bourbon vanilla beans (That's a mouthful).

Anyway... City and Colour is playing on the MP3... onto the tasting.

The colour is dark amber, like a fine maple syrup and almost as translucent and slightly cloudy. Head is brown and tan, very short lived and made up of very tiny bubbles.The scent is up front maple syrup and vanilla with underlying notes of chocolate, malt, and wood. The first sip is a little like porridge, wheaty, syrupy. and a slight note of background citrus. The lingering maple is a bit strong and tends to get a bit bitter on the finish. Woodsy vanilla is present throughout the attack. Hot alcohol taste, finishing in a super sweet almost cloying hum of maple. Aeration brings a whisky taste to the mouth with a touch of wet grain and eye watering alcohol!
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 4/6 PASS

Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  3/6 SO-SO
Experience:  4/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

This is a good beer don't get me wrong. There is lot's going on in it. But it fell down in a few areas. Price was an issue. I understand the limited availability and the special ingredients, and the over the top packaging. However in the end you have to pay for it and drink it and feel good about your purchase. I felt there was a price to taste expectation gap that was not met. The Maple syrup was out of balance. It stomped all over the wheat of the beer and left me feeling over-sweetened and sticky at the end. Would I suggest you try this beer? Of course... please do. Just share it with a friend... over some dessert. It definitely needs a touch of food to offset the sugar

Cheers

CJT


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