Flying Dog Brewery - Wild Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter

After work today, I stopped by the beer shop and was caught by surprise when I saw this beer on the shelf.  I reviewed Flying Dog Gonzo back in August, and loved it.  Awesome label art and an all-around great imperial porter.  And now I learn, they have a whiskey barrel-aged version of it.....Who do you think you are Flying Dog?  Great Divide Brewing?  No, you'll never match Great Divide - I'm pretty sure they oak-age their drinking water.   For those of you that aren't familiar with Gonzo, it's a monster brew with 9.2% alcohol, 85 IBUs, and the potential for some massive foam (see photo in previous review linked above).  On their website, Flying Dog states "Just when we thought our Gonzo Imperial Porter couldn't get any better, our brewers age it in oak whiskey barrels for at least 180 days."  In my experience, oak-aged beers can be hit or miss.  Let's see how Gonzo holds up to the treatment...

Nice label, typical from Flying Dog, though not quite as cool as their regular Gonzo label.  It includes a short description with a Hunter S Thompson quote, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."  I'll let you derive your own meaning from that quote...

The beer looks similar to the original in color (the blackest shade of brown), but there is one large difference - the foam on this beer was almost non-existent.  Perhaps a result of the barrel-aging process?  The aroma is considerably different as well, still rich and hearty, but this time with waves of vanilla, bourbon, alcohol, and wet oak.  Also some sweetness in there, almost a coffee-creamer sweetness.  First sip....this is Gonzo all right!  Same amazingly rich, velvety texture that was in the original.  Gritty roasted chocolate malts, charcoal, oak soaked in whiskey.  Some vanilla also comes through in the middle, followed by a wave of alcohol heat that compliments the rest.  A sweetness pervades the finish, thick molasses mixed with that vanilla.  Hint of dark fruits.  Surprisingly dry at the end, preventing this heavy beer from tasting too heavy.

Overall Rating:  Flying Dog hit the nail on the head - this is a top-notch brew.  I'm hyper-critical of barrel-aged beers, brewers tend to allow their base beers to be overpowered by the oak and bourbon flavors.  Not the case here, this beer is damn near perfect.  In case I'm not being clear....here's a visual representation of my impression of this beer.

Flying Dog - Gonzo Imperial Porter

Tonight I'm going to drink a beer that Hunter Thompson would be proud of - the Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, MD.  This beer is part of their Canis Major Series, which features high-gravity limited releases of which the Double Pale Ale is also a part.  The Gonzo boasts 9.2% alcohol, it's no slouch.  The label features a really cool drawing of a skeleton version of Hunter S Thompson (see picture below).  On the bottom, it states "Good people drink good beer", apparently a Hunter Thompson quote and also a theme on Flying Dog's website. 

The color is black-brown with a billowing layer of tan head that resulted from my terrible, distracted pour...almost lost some in the overflow!  The aroma is rich and hearty, with roasty chocolate malts, bold dark fruits (plums and raisins), and some burnt brown sugar.  The alcohol is very present in there also.  The flavor starts off with smooth but heavy loads of roasty, gritty charcoal grains.  Sugary, sweet prunes come next along with a syrupy toffee-molasses combo.  The alcohol warms things up starting about halfway through, and increasing towards the end.  The second half brings a touch of tobacco and some hop bitterness tries to come through, barely makes it, leaving a dry finish.

Overall Rating:  Bold, complex porter from Flying Dog.  The 9.2% alcohol is very well-hidden.  Great beer, give it a try!  A-

Flying Dog - Horn Dog Barley Wine

Good evening fellow beer lovers!  As you can tell from the title, tonights brew isnt exactly what you would define as a Spring time beer.  In fact, its quite the opposite I would say.  But I feel as though I can get away with it considering the weather in MN the last few days has consisted of snow, sleet, rain and temperatures within the 30s.  At least this evening on my way home from work the sun came out and yielded a blue sky which I had forgotten even existed.  So I guess thats a start.

Tonights review is from Flying Dog Brewing's Canis Major series.  The bottle cap, as pictured below, makes mention of the series name along with a depiction of the constellation Canis Major.  Tying your specialty beer line up to a constellation is probably one of the last things I would have thought of doing.  But I guess thats why I didnt go into marketing and advertisement as my college major.  In standard Flying Dog fashion the front label is of a rabid looking dog with a menacing unicorn horn bulging from his frontal lobe.  Its something you would most likely see in a horrible nightmare.  They also included an over-the-top description on the side of the bottle which reads "Horn Dog is a big, malty monster of a brew.  Fortunately, its wrath is moderately hopped and tastes like licorice and chocolate.  Horn is such a robust beast that we have to keep it caged and contained at the brewery for a couple months before letting it integrate with the public".

My pint fills with a dark amber, almost brown colored yet extremely clear brew.  A nice light tan foam lingers around and consolidates into smaller slugs after sitting for a bit.  Strong caramelized malt and slightly hoppy aroma combines with a hint of alcohol.  Its on the right path for a barley wine so far.  Bold, malty, viscous and alcohol are my first four impressions in that order.  After further tastings I start to discern the subtle licorice and chocolate notes mentioned within the bottles description.  A muted hop profile is present only during the finish as a bittering aspect to dry out this robust brew.  Alcohol also helps to dry out the surprisingly non-cloyingly sweet finish.  Minimal carbonation and a smooth mouthfeel throughout.

Overall - I'd drink this one again.  Its not right up my alley as far as an American Barely Wine is concerned, but it is an easy drinker.  This style is a competitive space within the states with most craft breweries producing their take on a barley wine.  So when I drink a barley wine, I tend to set some high standards because the remaining choices in the market allow me to do so.  This isn't my favorite, but its not a bad one either.  Pick some up next winter and see what you think for yourself.  If you like your barley wines, its probably safe to say you would enjoy this four pack.

Flying Dog - Double Pale Ale

As you could imagine, my weekend was not nearly as exciting as my beer reviewing partners was. However, as you can see in the background of my picture we did get our Christmas tree up! The good news is that it sounds as though Dunz will be returning to reviewing as soon as tonight since he called me after finding some delicious new brews! Its good to know a little garage fire cant get in the way of good beer. We have our priorities...

Today I have decided to review a nice, big, American minded brew. Part of Flying Dog's "Canis Major" series, this Double Pale Ale is a double batch of their standard pale ale packed full of hops and dry hopped for that added umph! The nose on this brew is a straight result of those Cascade and Columbus dry hops. Citrusy, slightly grassy with some of that pale, caramel malt in the background. The brew pours an amber/orange and is somewhat cloudy due to its lack of being filtered. A solid, frothy head lingers for a minute or two before collapsing under the weight of its 11.2% abv! Oh baby. Lets get a taste of this beast!

Very viscous and hoppy for sure. Alcohol is clearly present but not enough to deter you from having another sip. Dang... I can feel it hitting me already! You can definitely tell the base of this beer being a pale ale and not a separate recipe built for a double IPA even though this beer falls into that category. The maltiness of a pale ale is there to back up the extra hops added to make this a solid Imperial IPA. I wish I had their normal pale ale to compare. Maybe another time... Halfway through the beer and the flavors are starting to come together more. The hops back off slightly and the caramel of the lighter crystal malts used to give the amber color to this beer come through. The alcohol keeps this brew from becoming cloyingly sweet even though the body on this sucker is huge. Medium carbonation compliments this bold K-9.

Overall this is around a 4.7/6 for me. This double pale ale is right up my alley. Big, hoppy, strong malt backbone, excellent to sip during a frigid day with a fire going in your living room. I could easily drink this four pack throughout an evening. Just make sure you arent going anywhere afterwards!

Flying Dog has a great website and gives you lots of information on their brews. Check out more information about this beer here. Established in 1983, Flying Dog has their original brewpub located in Aspen, Colorado but they brew their beer out of a state of the art facility in Frederick, Maryland. Apparently, as the story goes, the founders almost died on while trying to climb the mountain K2. After making it back down K2 without perishing in a frosty, frothy way they stopped at a bar and saw a picture of a flying dog. From that time on they dubbed the "flying dog" as a symbol to show that you can do anything if you aren't told what you cant do.