Today's Beer
Name – Doggie Style
Brewer – Flying Dog
Classification – Classic pale ale
Strength – 5.5% ABV
Verdict - At A Glance
On the eye – Pale? Not so sure. But brown is beautiful, and this beer proves it.
On the nose – Creamy, yet seriously intense. Deep, sharp, zesty. A truly huge aroma.
On the tongue – Smooth bodied, with masterfully crafted flavours.
On the subject – This airborne hound was born in the Rocky Mountains, but in more recent years the lovable mutt has been shipping his beer out of Maryland. The Hunter S. Thompson-themed branding, though splendid, should not mask the painstaking care which clearly goes into these beers. Unlike the famous 'Gonzo' journalist, I reckon the folk who oversee the Flying Dog brewing process are all extremely clear-headed.
On the market – A growing global presence, but in the UK it will tend to be the more specialist or select oulets. This dog flew from Newark's Real Ale Store.
On the whole – 9/10
Full Review
There's just no danger of this being anyone's least favourite beer.
Now, I realise there may be seven-and-a-half-billion chances of someone disliking this more than all other beers – but I'd stake my reputation on that opening statement all the same.
But a very different question is – how many people would name this beer as their most favourite, and am I about to become merely the latest person to do so?
Believe me, after a couple of sips... I knew there was every chance of that happening.
Well, before I give the game away, let's look at exactly what we have here.
A gorgeous looking pale ale (my oh my, aren't pale ales looking dark these days!) which has the fruitiest, maltiest, most elegant bodied characteristics anyone could wish for, and all of its attributes – in all departments – are pitched to near perfection. Nothing is over or underdone.
There is a traditional feel to the drink, but at the same time there are subtle flavours at work here which I'm certain are quite unique to this brew. There's some old stalwart themes such as grapefruit and cookie dough, but is there also ginger? And isn't that marzipan?
This beer literally toys with the tongue. In fact, it plays the tongue like a grand piano, and it knows some very catchy tunes.
The American beers I've included so far in the The Year are relatively few in number, but as you will see from the chart – every one of them has leapt straight into the top ten.
This brew is merely the latest to do so.
Our friends in the US are truly on the march. Right now, no other nation is producing new beers as consistently exciting and delicious as theirs.
Is that a provocative, controversial statement?
Only to those who've not yet discovered American craft beer.
To anyone else, it's just a fact.
If only the American's would ship out less of their beers in these child-sized bottles.
That way I could start to seriously enjoy them.
That way I could start to seriously enjoy them.
2 comments:
good post, great beer. Pity tesco stopped stocking it.
Agree with he bottle size comment too.
How much do they sell for i wonder in the US, and what that is in £'s ?
I'd be interested to know that, I'll look into it.
One way or another, I reckon the small sizes benefit the brewers much more than they benefit us - which is not at all, of course.
Volume by volume, we all pay a little bit more money for a little bit less beer.
The greatest sadness is that so many of the 'groovy' brands over here have now cottoned on.
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