The wait is finally over! Flying Monkeys' Smashbomb Atomic IPA can be finally purchased in bottles from your favorite beer retailer for $12.75 for a 6 pack. I have been waiting for this moment for many, many months now and I couldn't be happier this weekend...except for all the work I had to do.
I first had this at bar Volo and it has been one long and magical affair ever since. But Volo isn't the only place that serves this beer, many pubs soon followed and I am able to find this even at the local university pub - Kickoff, which served me as a great hangout spot during my university career in Waterloo.
But now, lets talk about the beer for a moment. It has an amazing amber-red color and is slightly hazy. It pours with a short off-white head which recedes to a ring. The aroma is very strong with a ton of hops. Dried fruits, citrus, pine and a touch of honey dominate and rope you in. The taste is similar with a strong hoppy punch right at the start, followed by milder fruity notes, some pine and honey. The finish is bittersweet, emphasis on the bitter, with a lot of hops, some citrus, grapefruit predominantly and a very distant roasted malt note. Delicious! Not as great bottled, but comes very close to the stuff you can get on tap at your favorite pub.
Wait, all this sounds a lot like any other IPA. So why is Smashbomb Atomic IPA so important? It's important because it is local, because it will be available everywhere where you can find Flying Monkeys' products, because it is affordable for what it is, because it is delicious, and lastly, because the company is run by an amazing group of people who pay attention to detail and listen. Just pay attention to the box the beer comes in, look at the bottle itself, notice the "Respect the Hop" stamp on the bottle. Where else have you seen all this?
With this all written up, I will go enjoy my 4th Smashbomb in a row. Only 2 more left of the only 6 pack I was able to score at the release LCBO invasion at 115 King Street in Waterloo.
Scores:
Cost - $12.75 for a 6 pack
Taste - 9.5/10
ABV - 6%
Overall - 9.5/10...Americans make great IPAs, but why buy them when you can get an amazing local IPA for less money?
Because Americans make better IPAs....not that I'm some yank yanking your frozen maple chain here, I've spent many an evening at Volo, and Local 4 beside it. But the truth is, Canada will never catch up to the variety and quality of the US craft beer market.
ReplyDeleteThere is some truth to this. I think it is a lot easier to brew and sell a beer in the US than it is in Canada, Ontario to be more specific.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, the US has a fantastic variety of IPAs that are all very very good. I just find this one to be excellent - a cut above the rest.
ReplyDeleteI love this beer. Best Ontario has. With time, we'll be making quality beer like in the U.S. but our stupid regulations make that difficult - it'll take a long time for us to get the variety too. Wish Ontario wasn't so puritanical!
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