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.

Sam Adams - Infinium

Samuel Adams likes to say they started the craft beer revolution here in the states in 1984.  Their Boston Lager is the epitome of what non-craft beer drinkers would typically define as "craft beer".  Sam Adams embraces the value that beer should be full of flavor and brewed with the best ingredients available.  They use the slogan "stretching the definition of beer" to venture out in search of new beer recipes and styles that haven't been produced by other craft breweries before.  Today's beer review defines that slogan.

Infinium is a collaborative beer brewed with the Weihenstephan brewery in Germany, the oldest brewery in the world.  Founded in 1040 by monks, this "Vatican City of brewing" is widely considered to be the pinnacle of brewing knowledge.  The goal of this beer was to make something that has never been brewed before while also staying within the confines of the reinheitsgebot, the German purity law of 1516 saying a beer can only contain four ingredients: barley, hops, water and yeast.  After two years of collaboration a champaign styled beer emerged from these two well known breweries.  Brewed with noble German hops, American barley and water, fermented with American ale yeast and bottle conditioned with Belgian style yeast, Infinium is a beer that has a great story to tell.  I'm looking forward to this treat.

This champagne-minded brew pours with a light head of carbonation which eventually collapses and laces the side of your glass.  The color is a pale gold and crystal clear with lots of bubbles rising throughout the glass.  My first smell reminds me of champaign but not overly fruity.  Noble hops are prominent in the nose and a mild malt aroma backs up the floral characteristics.  Sipping this one is not what I expected, but thats not a bad thing.  Very smooth with lots of carbonation tickling your tongue.  Mild fruits compliment the subtle malt flavors that you may find in an american blonde ale.  As it warms the fruity esters become more prominent. The ABV is 10.3% but barely noticeable.  The alcohol helps dry out the finish in tandem with the heavy carbonation.

Overall 5.25/6.  This is an extremely well crafted beer.  You need to be a fan of champaign in order to fully enjoy this though.  It is a very delicate, light, mildly hoppy and easily drinkable bottle that will go down quickly if you are not careful.  Infinium is a treat to enjoy.  Buy a bottle of this instead of a $20 bottle of champaign this holiday season.  It will be a nice change of pace and give you the opportunity to taste something truly unique.

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.