The Matador
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery

The MatadorThe Matador
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From:
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
10%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 16.85%
Reviews:
25
Ratings:
73
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 22, 2017
Added:
Feb 01, 2013
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by CanuckRover:
Photo of CanuckRover
Reviewed by CanuckRover from Canada (ON)

3.68/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This is an interesting one. Probably the first cedar aged beer I've had, and I'm fairly impressed.

Woody nose, cedar certainly gives a distinctive aroma and it comes through clear.

Bit of a war going on in this beer. The Amarillo, the cedar, the sweet malt, and the heat are all wrestling with each other. It's not bad though, unless you don't care for the cedar, in which case you have a problem. Sweet honey malt up front, brief flash of hops and then the cedar takes over. Lingering lovely, to me, aftertaste of wood.

I understand why the reviews are all over the place for this. I enjoy it, but can't begrudge anyone for feeling differently.
Feb 17, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.75 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Nov 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.47 by mikebu from Canada (AB)

May 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.98 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Mar 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by TerryW from Canada (ON)

May 07, 2015
Photo of tonyf55
Reviewed by tonyf55 from Canada (AB)

4.53/5  rDev +25.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From the big bottle into a footed pockal IPA glass with a narrowed top. Aged for 1 year from purchase.

Appearance (5/5): Perfect copper-orange colour for an IPA, topped by an amazing and lasting 3 finger head of off-white frothy and creamy looking proteins. Carbonation is active and kicking, dancing through the full height of the glass. Head was so persistent, I had to take a bite out of it, just so I could sniff the beer.

Aroma (4.5/5): Well worth it too - the aromas give the first hint of how well the floral, citrus hops dance with the light spicy character of the cedar wood. I can't tell if the 1 year of aging changed the hop character, but I can say that the floral and citrus (grapefruit?) character of the Armarillo hop was intermingled with a lightly musky wood aroma. Despite the 10% on it's label, the booziness only shows very slightly. Amazing balance.

Taste (4.5/5): As with any good Imperial IPA - a bit of light bready malt shows up at the beginning of the sip by quickly disappears behind hints of nutmeg, leather, and other earthy and spicy undertones. The citrus and floral hops may have faded in the aging, as the predominant flavours are ones of spicy hops that really dance well with the woody undertones. Just to be clear - if you were not told this was 'aged on cedar' you would likely think the Amarillo hop was really flexing it's spicy character more than usual.

Mouthfeel (4.5/5): A perfect medium body (great for the style) that washes the pallet in a velvety smoothness of understated carbonation and a bit of a juicy finish. Booze numbness is minimal, which is amazing is a beer boasting a 10% ABV. Again, the name of the game is balance - and they are showing it in all categories.

Overall (4.5/5): A near perfect beer to me, with nice hop flavours and aromas, a decent malt profile that balances the bitterness, and a fantastic little interest piece in the nice woody, leather, and earthy flavours. They manage to take all this and package it up in an amazing looking beer (what a head!) that drinks almost too easily. Flying Monkey's continually impresses me. I will be looking for more of their Limited Edition production in the future.
Jan 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.31 by Howlader from Canada (AB)

Dec 22, 2014
 
Rated: 2.25 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Dec 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by RyanPollock from Canada (ON)

Nov 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by bigox420 from Canada (ON)

Oct 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by BT_Bobandy from Ohio

Sep 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by KAF from Iowa

Sep 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Shandycan from Pennsylvania

Aug 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by fostachild from Wisconsin

Aug 12, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by JeffONeal from Ohio

Aug 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by LDuke from Canada (AB)

Aug 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by andrenaline from Canada (ON)

Jun 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by YamagamiTravis from Canada (BC)

Jun 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by beertasterb from Michigan

Jun 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Docrock from Illinois

Jun 01, 2014
The Matador from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 73 ratings