Monkey IPA is a 8.5% American IPA from Monkey Mountain, based in Oita, in Kyushu, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round range and can be found in both bottles and on tap though the latter is harder to find due to the size of the brewery. Like other beers from Monkey Mountain, Monkey IPA uses apples sourced locally during the brew.
Monkey IPA Aroma and Taste
Monkey IPA poured out a slightly dark golden colour with a lot of head on top – so much so that I had to wait for a good 5 minutes before continuing to pour anymore into the glass as it simply didn’t fit. After waiting for five minutes for the head to (finally) settle, I could finally get my nose in to smell the beer – and would you believe it, I got apples off the beer. Not a surprise really considering I had read before drinking that apples went into making Monkey IPA, but it kind of worried me if they were hiding something? Once I had gotten past the apple aroma, I picked up some dank, citrus notes as well as a slight caramel note to the beer too.
The initial bite of bitterness to Monkey IPA was pleasing, and along with the dank, citrus notes, it meant that Monkey IPA had almost hit the style notes – except for that green apple flavour. While I do like to see brewers trying something new in their beers, the green apple flavour kept making me think if this beer had been over-hopped with dry pellets. Not something I really want to keep thinking about. However, it was a subtle flavour that only came through once the beer had warmed up. I’m sure if you drank Monkey IPA chilled, then it wouldn’t show up. The dank, citrus notes lingered into the aftertaste with a slight caramel note to it.
Monkey IPA The Bottom
Get rid of the apples and keep Monkey IPA as a basic IPA and you’ll be fine.
Where to Buy Monkey IPA
Monkey IPA can be bought online at the following places:
