Shoulders of Giants
Flying Monkeys in Barrie, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
IPA - Triple Regular|
Score
7.15
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6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
750 ml bottle. Clear copper pour, medium off white head. Very malty aroma, lots of caramels, sherry, light stone fruit, and quite a bit of alcohol. The hops are dim, and hard to find, just notes of light pine. The mouthfeel is syrupy, and the carb is very low. The finish is highly bitter, with more of the super sweet boozy malts. Hops are a little more prevalent in the finish with some resinous, sticky pine notes. All in all and old school dipa.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Feb 2025
at 06:08
7/10
Tried
on 16 Oct 2018
at 05:33
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 9
Imperial IPA by this renowned Canadian craft brewery, 75 cl bottle from De Caigny. Membranous-lacing, thick and very frothy, moussy, egg-white, stable head over an initially clear but eventually hazy, very deeply orangey, almost amberish peach blonde beer. Quite intense nose (as befits an IIPA) of grapefruit peel, sweet paprika, barbeque sausages (including the meatiness, probably from proteins), bitter honey, apple peel, pine resin, gin, warm biscuit. Sweet onset, clean in yeastiness but explicitly hinting at orange, mango, grapefruit and papaja adorned with early hop bitter stings foreshadowing what is to come; medium carb, thick and oily, bit vinous mouthfeel. Biscuity malt sweet body with a softly bitterish toasted peanut edge, underneath a heavy load of very long-stretched, resinous, intense hop bitterness, very deeply grapefruity and (to a somewhat lesser extent) piney but with a sweeter orange flesh side to it from the Amarillo, followed – and accentuated – by a glow of warming, tequila-ish alcohol. Very ‘old school’ imperial IPA, intense (though not the most intense example I had in this substyle), aromatic, vinous and bold – exactly how I like them. I love this – now somewhat surpassed – style of strong IPA and this is a highly recommendable example of it.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Jun 2018
at 12:03
8/10
Tried
on 31 Mar 2017
at 19:13
8.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Shoulders Of Giants! Voilà un nom qui en impose pour une bouteille multicolore qui veut également en imposer. On en est pas en reste avec les houblons Amarillo, Galaxy, et Falconer’s Flight (le dernier étant lui même un mélange de 7 houblons) et un titrage alcoolique de 10 % Abv. De couleur orange abricot (EBC aux alentours de 27), l’effervescence est portée par de très fines bulles avec une mousse blanche stable à 3 mm. La bière est parée d’un léger voile avec une méthode peu fréquente de filtration à 80 %. (le voile existant permet tout de même d’imaginer une bière avec des résidus très importants lorsque celle ci est non filtrée). Le nez est d’une belle intensité et complexité avec des arômes de caramel, résineux, thym, abricot et alcool de prune. La première bouche dévoile une texture assez exceptionnelle pour une Imperial IPA, avec un velouté jamais observé pour ma part pour une bière du genre. L’équilibre malt/houblon est bien à propos, sur des arômes de caramel, abricot et résineux. La deuxième bouche se densifie quelque peux, toujours sur cette texture remarquable avec des notes de caramel de pamplemousse et de résineux. L’amertume qui s’en suit est saillante, fine et bien maîtrisée (IBU de 86). L’alcool est quant à lui très bien intégré avec une belle homogénéité. Les 10 Abv se sentent relativement peu mais permettent une longueur appréciable manquant cependant de variations sur des arômes linéaires sans réelle complexité. Ce Géant n’est pas tout à fait à la hauteur, dommage pour une dégustation effectuée en présence d’un Géant Zythologue.
Tried
on 20 Mar 2017
at 11:58
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
A golden orange ale with a thin off white head. In aroma, maderized caramel malt with surranated floral hops, grapefruit pulp, nice. In mouth, a nice caramel malt with resinous floral hops, grapefruit pulp, oxidized notes, OK. Bottle at Alex and Hugue tasting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Mar 2017
at 21:50
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Orangish color, off-white head with good retention and nice lacework. Aroma is very fruity, notes of orange and grapefruit with resin hops. Flavor with a good bitterness, peachy and orangish notes with good maltiness. Smooth and creamy on palate with good bitterness in the aftertaste.
Tried
on 23 Dec 2016
at 18:43
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Caña en el Lupulo 19..10..2016. (r66). Color amarillento turbio con espuma blanca Aromas y sabores maltosos algo dulces afrutados secos y con amargo final ligeramente herbaceo seco. Cuerpo medio algo pastoso y denso con 10 vol que se dejan notar. No está mal.
Tried
on 20 Oct 2016
at 02:33
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours hazy deep orange/copper color with a 2 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big apricot, pineapple, peach, grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit, mango, papaya, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of juicy citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt sweetness; with great strength. Taste of big apricot, pineapple, peach, grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit, mango, papaya, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine/herbal/spicy/citrus rind bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of apricot, pineapple, peach, grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit, mango, papaya, lemon/orange rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt sweetness; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and slight lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a smooth, sticky/resinous, moderately creamy/bready, and slightly slick/syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice DIPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt sweetness; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. This was pretty much American barelywine territory on flavors; but was still very juicy and aggressively bitter on hop flavors. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Sep 2016
at 21:56
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
From a 22 oz bottle shared at Watson Lake YKT. Pours a cloudy copper with an ecru head. Flavors of pine and caramel. Bitter finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 May 2016
at 12:25