Monkish Brewing

First Things First leans more towards OH than Monkish. I'm not familiar with Monkish's beers. But I will say this off the record, their Off The Record IPA is very good. First time hearing bout anything IPA coming out of Monkish. Similar east coast unfiltered IPA. Not quite as juicy as 1st things first. But a good IPA from Monkish.

 

Yeah, tastes and looks a lot more like Other Half brewed a batch of their beer in Monkish tanks than any kind of collaboration. Which, in particular for those who lament the degradation of East Coast hops as they travel our way, is a glorious thing. 100% worth the wait for me to grab a couple 4 packs of these. Fresh haze in cans on the west coast? uh oh..

 

Worth the wait for sure. Glad I've got cans in the fridge. I hope this is a sign of things to come in LA...

 

Damn that beer was good. Awesome to know more of these releases are coming. I hope they're just as good.

 

It's ok though in MA?

 

I was there for the sour.

 

The wait wasn't long. No one that was there by noon got turned away. Line moved quickly. Henry was handling the sales himself. It's a damn good IPA. Vellichor is tasty AF too.

 

Shit, I got there around 12:40 or so. The line was about 20 deep at that point and it looked like anyone who jumped in even at the 12:50 mark got bottles, if not a couple of folks got another allocation from what I can tell.

Line moved super fast and was a breeze.

 

On draft vs out of the can > I have to say out of the can for me. Had a little bit more punch in the end. Bit more flavor. Maybe it was at the end of the tanks when canned? Typical OH/east coast dankness. I do like my IPA's clear n dry. But I also like the change to hazy and sweet too. Filtered vs unfiltered > Filtered still for me. West coast vs east coast > West is still the best. But look for these dank n hazy EC style IPA's here on the west coast. For those who don't care for the unfiltered dankness, just close your eyes and try it.

 

Echoing what Catchy said...I had some on draft today and it was good, sure, but I wouldn't lose my shit over it. I saw the ratings on Untappd and was just like "really?" It's good, but I don't know if it's THAT good. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I'll stick with my Beachwood IPAs

 

It's not 5 star good, Solid 4.5 for me. My opinion is also swayed by how much closer I am to Monkish and HPB. I don't have enough of the Beachwood stuff to really have an opinion beyond thrillseeker and melrose.

 

What I WAS amused by was all the chatter I overheard about these cans being trade bait.

 

I would take Amalgamator or Hops of Fury over either of those any day. That being said, they're both damn fine beers. Monkish doesn't do IPAs (these being their first two), but HPB definitely can give Beachwood a run for its money

 

In terms of the "New England" style IPA, First Things First is on point and comparable to the heavy hitters. Hate it or love it, they nailed the style that is generating all the hype right now. Great beer.

 

So much this. Saying Monkish doesn't do IPAs is a bit ignorant and short sighted. Henry is doing some really good things lately and they will be in the SoCal hops game discussion if they aren't already.

I wouldn't even start to try to compare Monkish or HPB to Beachwood in terms of their look, style and taste. Not everyone wants bitter and piney IPAs. I don't give a shit about the color but I personally like that juicy taste and that's just my opinion. To each his or her own.

 

Is it?

 

I didn't really like Monkish at all a year or two ago... Things done changed... (see what I did there?)

 

That sign has been long gone for some time

 

Will First Things First still be on tap this weekend or is it soon to be gone (if its not already)?

 

"First things first, I poppa! - Freaks all the honies! (uh-huh!)
Dummies! (uh!) - Playboy bunnies, those wantin' money."
- Biggie