Flying Monkeys Deep Tracks | Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Brewed by:
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Ontario, Canada
theflyingmonkeys.ca
Style: American Brown Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 6.20%
Availability: Fall
Notes / Commercial Description:
None provided.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 34 | Reviews: 12
Reviews by ThinkAgain:
3.82/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
More User Reviews:
3.77/5 rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I bought a can of this from Brantford whilst in Canada for my son's hockey tournament. It poured a deep mahogany with ecru head that is leaving a nice lace. The scent had whole wheat bread maybe with touch of rye. The taste is may fall slightly bitter but it is easy to drink. There are bread hints. The Mouthfeel is lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a good beer.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I bought a can of this from Brantford whilst in Canada for my son's hockey tournament. It poured a deep mahogany with ecru head that is leaving a nice lace. The scent had whole wheat bread maybe with touch of rye. The taste is may fall slightly bitter but it is easy to drink. There are bread hints. The Mouthfeel is lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a good beer.
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3.75/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can to mug, the appearance was a semi-dark red sort of color with a sturdy finger's worth of white foamy head that glistened and slid off at a moderate pace. Sly roaming lace ran around the glass and slid into the beer.
The aroma had some dark wheat bread up in the front dosed nicely with some nuts, caramel/toffee malts and a little bit of cocoa powder.
The flavor was moderately sweet and bready with a nice mobile smooth semi-roasty/sweet sort of aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied, somewhat sessionable. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt appropriate.
Overall, pretty nice brown ale though I thought it was somewhat close to an English styled one. Not worried, it was good and worthy of more pours.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can to mug, the appearance was a semi-dark red sort of color with a sturdy finger's worth of white foamy head that glistened and slid off at a moderate pace. Sly roaming lace ran around the glass and slid into the beer.
The aroma had some dark wheat bread up in the front dosed nicely with some nuts, caramel/toffee malts and a little bit of cocoa powder.
The flavor was moderately sweet and bready with a nice mobile smooth semi-roasty/sweet sort of aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied, somewhat sessionable. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt appropriate.
Overall, pretty nice brown ale though I thought it was somewhat close to an English styled one. Not worried, it was good and worthy of more pours.
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2.68/5 rDev -26.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
On tap. Not a bad looking beer and the aroma was rather bland but the taste and the mouth feel are notably bad. Strong pine tar taste with a very harsh bitterness. Not a Brown ale by any measure I know. Lacks malt character and body and although unpleasantly bitter there is a lack of any hop flavor. A surprisingly poor offering from an otherwise better than average Ontario brewery.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
On tap. Not a bad looking beer and the aroma was rather bland but the taste and the mouth feel are notably bad. Strong pine tar taste with a very harsh bitterness. Not a Brown ale by any measure I know. Lacks malt character and body and although unpleasantly bitter there is a lack of any hop flavor. A surprisingly poor offering from an otherwise better than average Ontario brewery.
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4.17/5 rDev +13.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Dark brown, filtered but hard to see through due to the deep hue, little carbonation and 3 fingers of beige head.
Smells of dark toasted notes, hints of orange and citrus, molasses and caramel.
Tastes of black coffee, pine and citrus, orange and toffee.
Medium body, medium low carbonation. Slightly dry hop burn on the end.
Got in Toronto, drinking in Chiang Mai a few weeks later. Really good, memories of Indian Brown Ale by Dogfish Head. Pairs awesome with the pumpkin corn quesadilla from The Dukes. Nov 16th, 2016
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Dark brown, filtered but hard to see through due to the deep hue, little carbonation and 3 fingers of beige head.
Smells of dark toasted notes, hints of orange and citrus, molasses and caramel.
Tastes of black coffee, pine and citrus, orange and toffee.
Medium body, medium low carbonation. Slightly dry hop burn on the end.
Got in Toronto, drinking in Chiang Mai a few weeks later. Really good, memories of Indian Brown Ale by Dogfish Head. Pairs awesome with the pumpkin corn quesadilla from The Dukes. Nov 16th, 2016
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3.75/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can from the lcbo for around $3. Pretty decent, not many beers like this at the lcbo.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can from the lcbo for around $3. Pretty decent, not many beers like this at the lcbo.
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3.61/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.43/5 rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.78/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Tallboy can from the LCBO; dated September 23rd 2016 and served slightly chilled. Reviewed on my phone.
Pours a deep chestnut-amber, with ruby-red highlights; two fingers of head is gradually reduced to a foamy collar over the next few minutes. Lots of lace - it's a good-looking brown ale, for sure. Pine resin, earthy hops and nutty malts, and a few notes of cocoa powder and coffee on the nose. Pretty hop-forward aroma, with peripheral accents of roasty malts.
A well-balanced brown ale, with the sweeter dark malt flavours serving as a counterbalance to the potent hop bill. I'm getting coffee and cocoa, with toasted bread, brown sugar and nuts; these are soon supplanted by a hefty, persistent wallop of blunt, earthy hop bitterness. Pine resin and some leafy, floral notes, with a touch of bitter orange and lingering earthiness in the aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with a smooth body and a restrained bite from the carbonation. Moderate drinkability.
Final Grade: 3.78, a B+. Deep Tracks American Brown Ale manages to be a pretty good dark ale without actually excelling in any particular area. Seems like this one was made bitter just for bitterness' sake - appealing enough if you're so inclined, but the hop profile isn't for me, I think. Respectable effort, but not this brewery's most memorable product.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Tallboy can from the LCBO; dated September 23rd 2016 and served slightly chilled. Reviewed on my phone.
Pours a deep chestnut-amber, with ruby-red highlights; two fingers of head is gradually reduced to a foamy collar over the next few minutes. Lots of lace - it's a good-looking brown ale, for sure. Pine resin, earthy hops and nutty malts, and a few notes of cocoa powder and coffee on the nose. Pretty hop-forward aroma, with peripheral accents of roasty malts.
A well-balanced brown ale, with the sweeter dark malt flavours serving as a counterbalance to the potent hop bill. I'm getting coffee and cocoa, with toasted bread, brown sugar and nuts; these are soon supplanted by a hefty, persistent wallop of blunt, earthy hop bitterness. Pine resin and some leafy, floral notes, with a touch of bitter orange and lingering earthiness in the aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with a smooth body and a restrained bite from the carbonation. Moderate drinkability.
Final Grade: 3.78, a B+. Deep Tracks American Brown Ale manages to be a pretty good dark ale without actually excelling in any particular area. Seems like this one was made bitter just for bitterness' sake - appealing enough if you're so inclined, but the hop profile isn't for me, I think. Respectable effort, but not this brewery's most memorable product.
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4.04/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.52/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.74/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can at the hotel room Mississauga.
Deep copper brown with a rich tan head that slowly recedes. Toasty caramel brown sugar and faint chocolate with some light earth and butterscotch. Not too bad.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can at the hotel room Mississauga.
Deep copper brown with a rich tan head that slowly recedes. Toasty caramel brown sugar and faint chocolate with some light earth and butterscotch. Not too bad.
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3.49/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
473 ml can served cold into a beer mug. Canned on September 11, 2016 and purchased from LCBO for $3.25 CDN.
Appearance - Pours a dark brown color that has shades of red when pouring. Mostly clear and a finger and half of creamy beige coloured head is poured and has good if not great staying power. Lacing sticks to the glass like white on rice.
Smell - a nice blend of some earthy hops with just a twinge of lemon and flowers as well as a steady grain bill that is present but doesn't overwhelm the senses in any manner. Hoppier than expected at least based on the nose.
Taste - fairly bitter throughout with earthy hops dominating and just a hint of citrus. Citrus is lemon and grapefruit. The malts are smooth and there but not terribly recognizable, potentially some spicy rye like characteristic right at the end. A slight touch of nuttiness after a few sips. Flavor is all right but everything doesn't quite come together.
Mouthfeel - moderate body, even keeled carbonation and a little astringent for my tastes with a drying finish.
Overall - Deep Tracks isn't my favourite brown ale, but what I think has happened here is the FM has tweaked their recipe and the product I have here is a more refined version of what some previous reviews have sampled. Certainly the freshness helps, but this is a good beer in a wildly underused style. Glad to see local brewers starting to introduce more brown ales.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
473 ml can served cold into a beer mug. Canned on September 11, 2016 and purchased from LCBO for $3.25 CDN.
Appearance - Pours a dark brown color that has shades of red when pouring. Mostly clear and a finger and half of creamy beige coloured head is poured and has good if not great staying power. Lacing sticks to the glass like white on rice.
Smell - a nice blend of some earthy hops with just a twinge of lemon and flowers as well as a steady grain bill that is present but doesn't overwhelm the senses in any manner. Hoppier than expected at least based on the nose.
Taste - fairly bitter throughout with earthy hops dominating and just a hint of citrus. Citrus is lemon and grapefruit. The malts are smooth and there but not terribly recognizable, potentially some spicy rye like characteristic right at the end. A slight touch of nuttiness after a few sips. Flavor is all right but everything doesn't quite come together.
Mouthfeel - moderate body, even keeled carbonation and a little astringent for my tastes with a drying finish.
Overall - Deep Tracks isn't my favourite brown ale, but what I think has happened here is the FM has tweaked their recipe and the product I have here is a more refined version of what some previous reviews have sampled. Certainly the freshness helps, but this is a good beer in a wildly underused style. Glad to see local brewers starting to introduce more brown ales.
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3.69/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A hopped up brown. This struck a nice balance between toasted grains, nutty notes and subtle cocoa malts with nice vibrant hop flavours. I'm a fan and will easily make this a part of my go-to brews. By no means a traditional brown ale, but if you're a fan of a hoppy brown ales then this might appease your taste buds.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A hopped up brown. This struck a nice balance between toasted grains, nutty notes and subtle cocoa malts with nice vibrant hop flavours. I'm a fan and will easily make this a part of my go-to brews. By no means a traditional brown ale, but if you're a fan of a hoppy brown ales then this might appease your taste buds.
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4.25/5 rDev +16.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2.8/5 rDev -23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
4/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A very good brown ale.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A very good brown ale.
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4.29/5 rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours mahogany with red, purplish glints. The tan, rocky head lasts forever and drapes the glass in lace. The aroma is roasty and citrusy. Caramel malt roastyness, fresh ground coffee and a light nuttiness mix with a big northwestern grapefruit, pine hop profile in the taste.. A whisper of buttered popcorn with warmth. Fullbodied mouthfeel with a medium to light carbonation, nearly like cask conditioned ale. Medium bitterness mingles with citrus and roasty notes in the long finish.
This is a fantastic American Brown Ale. Definitely on the hoppy side, but with lots of malt presence to keep this out of IPA range. Complex and delicious. Worth a try.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours mahogany with red, purplish glints. The tan, rocky head lasts forever and drapes the glass in lace. The aroma is roasty and citrusy. Caramel malt roastyness, fresh ground coffee and a light nuttiness mix with a big northwestern grapefruit, pine hop profile in the taste.. A whisper of buttered popcorn with warmth. Fullbodied mouthfeel with a medium to light carbonation, nearly like cask conditioned ale. Medium bitterness mingles with citrus and roasty notes in the long finish.
This is a fantastic American Brown Ale. Definitely on the hoppy side, but with lots of malt presence to keep this out of IPA range. Complex and delicious. Worth a try.
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3.25/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Well now. This didn't quite turn out the way the brewer intended or did it? If it did, shame on them. If it didn't, keep on trying.
Man, Ontario craft beer has ways to go.
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look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Well now. This didn't quite turn out the way the brewer intended or did it? If it did, shame on them. If it didn't, keep on trying.
Man, Ontario craft beer has ways to go.
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3.79/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Deep Tracks has a dark complexion and lays down an impressive path of lacing. Those long, winding white trails never unhinge from the glass, just as the foamy mass from which they originate doesn't wane in the least. The beer is not without colour; mahogany highlights illuminate pristine clarity and reveal a pulsating stream of tiny bubbles.
With Flying Monkeys there tends to be, for whatever reason, a correlation between alcohol content and overall caliber: the stronger it is, the better the beer. Their standard offerings are borderline insipid whereas high-gravity recipes like Chocolate Manifesto (10%), Paranormal Pumpkin Ale (10%) and Acadian Groove (10%) are all outstandingly distinctive and flavourful.
Deep Tracks clocks in at 6.2% and, in keeping with the trend, occupies that middle zone - it's got a good deal of character but isn't entirely void of criticism. Expressive, fairly intense hop aromas of pine needle and herbal weeds are as harshly pungent as they are pleasant and there's a highly astringent burnt coffee-like note that makes it all a little less inviting.
The same kind of thing plays out on the palate. It's difficult to appreciate the full extent of the malts' toasty, nutty-sweet flavours when the finish comes in so heavy-handed with smoky astringency and an incredibly crude, earthy bitterness. Overall, however, the fistful of cocoa and coffee beans does provide the right base on which to showcase such piny, pungent hops.
Released as a fall seasonal, Deep Tracks provides everything you need in that 'cool autumn night consumption' preparedness kit. It's got a rich, roasty maltiness, a gritty and 'freshly-harvested' (or freshly-decayed) kind of hoppiness and, maybe it's just a vivid imagination on my part, a little dash of baking spices. There's even a little extra alcohol to keep you warm!
1,844 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Deep Tracks has a dark complexion and lays down an impressive path of lacing. Those long, winding white trails never unhinge from the glass, just as the foamy mass from which they originate doesn't wane in the least. The beer is not without colour; mahogany highlights illuminate pristine clarity and reveal a pulsating stream of tiny bubbles.
With Flying Monkeys there tends to be, for whatever reason, a correlation between alcohol content and overall caliber: the stronger it is, the better the beer. Their standard offerings are borderline insipid whereas high-gravity recipes like Chocolate Manifesto (10%), Paranormal Pumpkin Ale (10%) and Acadian Groove (10%) are all outstandingly distinctive and flavourful.
Deep Tracks clocks in at 6.2% and, in keeping with the trend, occupies that middle zone - it's got a good deal of character but isn't entirely void of criticism. Expressive, fairly intense hop aromas of pine needle and herbal weeds are as harshly pungent as they are pleasant and there's a highly astringent burnt coffee-like note that makes it all a little less inviting.
The same kind of thing plays out on the palate. It's difficult to appreciate the full extent of the malts' toasty, nutty-sweet flavours when the finish comes in so heavy-handed with smoky astringency and an incredibly crude, earthy bitterness. Overall, however, the fistful of cocoa and coffee beans does provide the right base on which to showcase such piny, pungent hops.
Released as a fall seasonal, Deep Tracks provides everything you need in that 'cool autumn night consumption' preparedness kit. It's got a rich, roasty maltiness, a gritty and 'freshly-harvested' (or freshly-decayed) kind of hoppiness and, maybe it's just a vivid imagination on my part, a little dash of baking spices. There's even a little extra alcohol to keep you warm!
1,844 characters
Flying Monkeys Deep Tracks from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Beer rating:
3.66 out of
5 with
34 ratings
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