Collaboration with Garrison Brewing Company, Trou du Diable Brewing Company and Phillips Beer
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Imperial ESB 7.6% ABV
Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$9.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @FlyingMonkeys
Garrison Brewing Company Halifax, Nova Scotia @GarrisonBrewing
Trou du Diable Shawinigan, Quebec @troududiable
Philips Beer Victoria, British Columbia @philipsbeer
Flying Monkeys is a brewery that always comes up with some great beers. This is quite possibly the most ambitious Collab I have heard of, four breweries from across Canada one from each coast and two from the middle. ESB or Extra Special Bitter is one of my favourite styles, (It's the Brit in me) so I gravitate towards them anytime I see one. This also being an Imperial ESB it fits in nicely with our stronger darker beers that tend to make an appearance on my 2-4 Beers of Christmas list.
Onto the ESB...
Pours a deep chestnut colour with a tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is a heady mix of dark malt sugars and licorice some turbinado sugar and caramel/burnt sugar. First sip is biscuits sweet molasses and some black tea. slightly spicy with hints of wood. and menthol. Aeration gives us some light breadiness with more sweetness and a hint of aromatic hops. Finish is slightly astringent, and bitter hops.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASSExperience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Final Thoughts:
A lovely complex little beer. I perhaps tasted it a bit too cold. I feel that were it slightly warmer the full range of flavours would have been more evident. If you try this pull it from your fridge and let it warm for 20 minutes to half an hour before consuming, your patience will be rewarded.
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