I think this may have been my longest gap between Tumblr posts. Shame on me! I figured I’d get back into it with a good ol’ fashioned unboxing of sorts, accompanied by an elaborate backstory.
Back in April of this year, I was in Mississauga, Ontario for a few days. My wife was there for work and I tagged along because it’s a decent getaway from home and there’s plenty to entertain myself with in the GTA. One of my missions was to hit up a nearby bar/pub/pourhouse that had a decent selection of Ontario Craft Beer that I couldn’t get back home in Ottawa (yet). I had already been to the great Beer Bistro in Toronto and barVolo wasn’t quite feasible based on our schedule (definitely still want to visit though), but West 50 Pourhouse was actually within walking distance of our hotel and boasted an impressive list[pdf] of exclusively draught beer.
So one early evening, I headed to West 50 with the intent to enjoy a handful of brews while watching The Masters golf tournament. And that I did. They offered a flight of any 6 beers, so I asked the bartender to simply give me what he thought were the 5 best local-ish or favourite craft beers they had, while noting my affinity for the hoppy side of things. The beers I tasted from that flight were: Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale (Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery), Route 666 Devils Pale Ale (Great Lakes Brewing), Sgt. Major’s IPA (Scotch Irish Brewing Company), Neustadt Lager (Neustadt Springs Brewery), Duggan’s No. 9 IPA (Duggan’s Brewery), and best of all - Smashbomb Atomic IPA (Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery). I enjoyed them all for the most part and have since revisited most of them again (except Duggan’s No. 9) due to the LCBO starting to carry some.
I enjoyed the Smashbomb so much that I immediately ordered a pint of it to enjoy in all its glory. And then yet another. It had just the right amount of bold flavours, hops, bitterness and mild fruitiness. It also helped that a nice buzz was happening by this point. This taste stuck with me ever since.
It was with great excitement that I saw the LCBO had started carrying Flying Monkeys’ Netherworld and Hoptical Illusion not long after getting back to Ottawa. Both are great beers, with Hoptical being slightly favoured by me. BUT, I still held out hope of re-experiencing the Smashbomb Atomic high again, via my own fridge ideally. It turns out that around the time of my first having tasted it, Smashbomb was all set to be carried by the LCBO, but unfortunately the LCBO had a change of heart due to the “controversial” packaging/design (which I found ridiculous, as the name and label were obviously just in line with how most of FM’s beers were packaged/marketed, and a bit tongue-in-cheek too). So it was back to the drawing board for the brewery to redesign their packaging in order to be carried by the LCBO (who, along with the Beer Store, monopolize the liquor/beer game here in Ontario).
Jump to the present, and obvioulsy the moment has finally arrived. Based on my photos above, the design of the label really didn’t change much (kind of reminds me of the trivial edits some films have to undergo in otder to avoid an NC-17 or R rating by the ludicrous MPAA ratings board).
I’ve since gleefully finished off both 6-packs from the above photos and have 2 bottles left from another pack I picked up. It’s definitely still one of my favourite Canadian beers, though I will admit that it doesn’t taste as great as it did in draught form (as is often the case). I’m thrilled that it’s now readily available for purchase and steady consumption and will continue to support Flying Monkeys as a premier craft brewer here in my home province.
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