Flying Monkeys brewing an amber, Beau’s brewing an IPA (an upcoming review), what kind of topsy turvy Lewis Carrol through the beer glass * beer brewing world is this? And the name, “Raving Loops of Computer Music” gave me a flashback (memory not chemical based in case you were wondering). I had bought Lou Reed’s “Rock N’ Roll Animal” in 74 and it is one of the great live rock albums out there. So I was eager to try out his 1975 release “Metal Machine Music”. Lesson learned, always read the reviews first. A double album of mind numbing machine distorted sound, some would say raving loops of computer music. I didn’t get past the first side. It may be the only album I ever threw out. Reed summed it up well himself by saying, “Anyone who gets to side four is dumber than I am”.
Watching the round ball finals, Denver is mile high after their big win. One of the commercials is for a video game “Final Fantasy XVI”. Am I the only one who sees the humour in that? Where was I? Oh yea, beer review.
I am a Flying Monkeys fan despite my childhood fears of the nasty winged simians from “The Wizard of Oz”. But their claim to fame is the IPA genre. Although they did brew a tasty modern lager. And I do love me an amber. The only way to deal with this juxtaposition of brewer and genre is to taste and tell.
A clear golden see right through the beer glass pour, with a lace of foam froth to round things off. A mild roasted malt on the nose, a bit of burnt but couldn’t catch the burn on a second sniff. A nice middlin’ malt amber flavour with a slightly hoppy rather than smooth finish. Tasty and interesting, not typical but to be expected from those crazy aerial apes. As I progress some sweet lager runs the hops out on a rail. A light-hearted amber that is after my own heart. Light almost slight fruit from those IPA monkey malts, a complex and tasty departure from a traditional amber.
0 Comments