Beer of the Week – Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale

As much as I may be a cheerleader for Ontario's craft breweries and the beers that they make, I try not to be too much of a Pollyanna about it, and will dole out criticism where it's deserved. After all, there's no point praising breweries that produce nothing but bland beers that are barely a step up from macro-lagers, or that have consistent infection issues with their beers that they don't seem to care enough to do anything about (yeah, you know who you are!).

One area where many of our province's breweries fall short is branding and packaging. There seems to be little imagination when it comes to beer names and label design, especially when compared to  the small breweries south of the border, where folks like Stone and Magic Hat and Dogfish Head are well known for having unique beer names and eye-catching packaging. Things have been getting a bit more interesting up here thanks to a few breweries that are being a bit more adventurous, but they're still the exception rather than the rule.

One brewery that is definitely going against the conservative grain, however, is Barrie's Flying Monkeys Brewery.

Previously known as Robert Simpson Brewing, named after the  first mayor of Barrie who was also a brewery owner, the moniker was changed back in March because, as owner Peter Chiodo put it, "being named for a dead white guy just isn't very exciting [and] beer is supposed to be way more fun than a history class." Along with the name change, Chiodo announced that the first new beer from the relaunched brewery would be Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale, a more flavourful and hop-forward beer than the pleasant but unexciting Confederation Ale that was the brewery's flagship brand during the Robert Simpson days.

Initially, it was noted that the beer would be hopped to a level of 18 IBUs (International Bitterness Units), a step up from most mainstream pale lagers (which can be as low as 5 IBU), but still a bit tame compared to the American-style pale ales that Hoptical Illusion seemed designed to emulate. This inspired some typically opinionated discussion on the forum section of local beer website The Bar Towel, and to Chiodo's credit, not only did he join in on the discussion, but he took people's opinions seriously and began tweaking the beer before it was even released to give it a stronger flavour profile. He even admitted that while he personally prefers more aggressively flavoured beers, it took the feedback of a bunch of beer geeks to convince him that enough Ontario beer drinkers have similar tastes for him to brew a beer that was exactly what he wanted from a pale ale.

The end result finally hit the shelves at the LCBO several weeks ago (LCBO 132670 - $11.95/6x355 mL), and anyone who's been in the beer section of a location that carries it will know that it's hard to miss. Taking further influence from the Americans, Chiodo and his crew have designed a psychedelic looking six-pack holder and label that stand out of the shelf like a multi-coloured sore thumb. Festooned with a rainbow of swirls and a multitude of sketches and doodles that could keep you busy for hours, Hoptical Illusion boasts one of the most distinctive and eye-catching beer packages that has ever been available in Ontario. And based on the chatter on Bar Towel about the problems that people have been having finding it due to it being sold out, the colourful design seems to be doing the trick in terms of grabbing people's attention.

Of course, the most attention grabbing package in the world won't translate to long term success if the beer is lousy. But in the case of Hoptical Illusion, the beer is decidedly not lousy. In fact, it may already be one of the best ales being brewed in Ontario. It has a rich copper colour and off-white head that look very inviting, and an equally inviting hit of citrusy Amarillo hops in the aroma. The awesome Amarillo notes also come through in the flavour, especially in the lingering finish, but are well balanced by some toffee-like malt.

In a word, it's delicious. In another word, it's drinkable. And while those hoping for an über-aggressive 100 IBU hop bomb may be disappointed, anyone looking for a full-flavoured ale with pronounced but not over-the-top hops will find a lot to like about Hoptical Illusion.