Review: Flying Monkeys Live Transmission Milkshake IPA


The Milkshake IPA craze had a pretty big explosion in popularity late last year but it's only starting to make its way into Manitoba. There were two Milkshake IPAs as part of Liquor Marts' Coast to Coaster series - Muskoka's Berry Springer and Flying Monkeys' Live Transmission. Unfortunately Muskoka's Milkshake IPA is sold out so I won't be able to get my hands on it for a bit, but there were a lot of Flying Monkeys' Live Transmission, and at $3.29/can, I knew I had to pick a bunch up!

Milkshake IPAs are a bit interesting, they're kind of like a New England IPA - incredibly fruity, tropical, yeasty and minimal hop bitterness. Milkshake IPAs are quite a bit more creamy thanks to the addition of lactose, giving the beer its name. It's weird how an IPA a few years ago referred to something that's got a very heavy piney bitterness, a hint of citrus and minimal sweetness, but now more breweries are going towards Milkshakes and NE IPAs, but that's progress!

Flying Monkeys' Live Transmission Milkshake IPA is brewed with lactose, orange peel, grapefruit and coconut white tea. Dry hopped with Citra, Idaho 7 and Mosaic hops. 6.3% ABV

Appearance: Cloudy and hefty. I didn't notice any carbonation so far in this beer. The head is light yet creamy on top.

Aroma: Notes of oranges and tangerines, pineapple, and memories of Five Alive soda. So as you can tell so far - this is a very fruity and tropical beer. There's a bit of a creamy aroma so far, but mostly the fruit medley... so it's kind of like a creamsicle.

Taste: The flavour of coconut really pops out in my tasting notes.. which is surprising as I didn't really notice it in the aroma. Like the aroma, this beer is quite tropical forward with notes of pineapple, tangerines and orange peel. A mild yeastiness that has a bit of a Belgian witbier vibe to it. This is incredibly creamy for the mouthfeel yet is quite enjoyable for the hot humid summer days we're experiencing here on the prairies. I'd call this a beer version of a creamsicle. Also, because of the coconut flavour, it kind of has a piña colada vibe to it.

Overall Thoughts: Creamsicle in a can! It's affordable at $3.29 per 473mL can. I'll be buying more of this once I get my reviews done. Quite sweet, creamy and easy to drink.

www.flyingmonkeys.ca

No comments: