Reviewing a Beer WMD, Flying Monkeys Smashbomb Atomic IPA

This week’s review returns to one of my favourite types of beer, the IPA. And, though I’ve reviewed a beer from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery already, I couldn’t resist reviewing Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Smashbomb Atomic IPA.

The Brewery

Flying Monkeys IPA
The words of wisdom under Flying Monkeys bottle caps are always welcome

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, as I said in my review of their Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale, has distinguished itself as an award-winning maker of fine Ontarian beer since 2008. Flying Monkeys’ beers’ goofy names and wacky multi-coloured labels make them stand out on the shelf but Flying Monkeys’ dedication to making great brews is what makes its beer worth picking up.

First Sip

Kaboom! This IPA packs a serious wallop. With heavy citrus notes and a solid malty showing, Smashbomb Atomic IPA ain’t kiddin’ around. It’s hard to keep my lips from puckering and my mouth from watering as I take a big gulp of this explosive IPA. The notes of grapefruit are hard to miss and the high carbonation level makes the flavour of this IPA detonate and leave an aftertaste fallout on your nuked taste buds. Don’t serve this to anyone expecting a lager. They’re likely to wrinkle their noses and give you an odd look.

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Last Sip

Although this isn’t a heavy beer, it’s a strong-flavoured and highly alcoholic one. Watch out, a beer this flavourful comes at a very pleasantly intoxicating cost: this nuclear beer has a 6.0% ABV rating. Keeping that in mind, this is a good beer to have a couple of but it doesn’t have that “Let’s keep drinking” quality that a beer like Steam Whistle or Moosehead does. This beer just isn’t meant to be that, though. Instead, like the Flying Monkeys website states, “It’s that beer we craft while we tune out whiners who ask us to relent. It’s that IPA we brew because, gosh darn it, we want to drink it.”

Other Comments

As a particularly good IPA, this one’s best served with salty pub foods like french fries and deep-fried food. Just don’t tell your doctor I told you that.

Michael Bedford
Michael Bedford
Under intense scrutiny by the Temporal Authorities, I was coerced into actualizing my capsule in this causality loop. Through no fault of my own, I am marooned on this dangerous yet lovely level-four civilization. Stranded here, I have spent most of my time learning what I can of the social norms and oddities of the Terran species, including how to properly use the term "Hipster" and how to perform a "perfect pour." Under the assumed name of "Michael Bedford," I have completed BA's with specialized honours in both theatre studies and philosophy, and am currently saving up for enough galactic credits to buy a new--or suitably used--temporal contextualizer ... for a friend.