I made a silly decision today. In spite of the frugal scribblings of yesterday, I went to Grapefruit Moon after work. Flying Monkeys was taking over the taps, and so I justified it to myself as follows. I have never been to Grapefruit Moon (reason #1) even though its name comes from my favourite Tom Waits album, which just happens to contain the best song with my name in the title (reasons #2 and #3) ever written, and really, I don't drink enough Flying Monkeys anyway (reason #4).
I've mostly neglected Flying Monkeys during my craft beer adventures, having decided they were a hop-heavy brewer with overwhelming package design, good for washing down pad thai, but too much for a full night. To address the first issue: yes, they still make some very bitter beers. The one-off pictured above, Rickety Crickets Amber Wheat, made me think they had accidentally poured me some of their Smashbomb instead. Only the cloudiness of the pint made me think it was truly a wheat beer. However, some of the other brews are a little more balanced. Both Stereovision and Hoptical Illusion are quite tasty, with the second having a lemongrass flavour I rather like. As to my second issue, label design - their style is starting to grow on me. The aesthetics of craft beer has homogenized as the industry has grown, and now most of the packaging looks like it came from a gig poster in Nashville. It's woodcut, or all type, with vaguely vintage colourways and graphics. In a sea of that much tastefulness, Flying Monkeys' psychedelia porridge stands out. And so, future brewers of Canada, remember that as nice as you want your branding to look, try to make sure it's still a little different.
Even if that means it's not as pretty.
Even if that means it's not as pretty.
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