Tuesday 13 August 2013

Flying Dog Gonzo Porter

Flying Dog Gonzo Porter
Style: Porter
Alcohol content: 9.2%
From: Frederick, Maryland, USA
Purchased from: Rays Wine
http://flyingdogales.com/

The Flying Dog brewery is currently located in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Originally opening in Aspen, Colorado in 1990 as a brewpub, it became the first brewery to open in Aspen in over 100 years, and one of the first brewpubs in the Rocky Mountain region. Flying Dog Brewery is noted for using the unusual art of Ralph Steadman, best known as the illustrator of the works of Hunter S. Thompson, on its labels. In 2005, the brewery created a new beer in Thompson’s honor, Gonzo Imperial Porter. Initially in limited-release in 750 ml bottles, the Gonzo Imperial Porter is now one of the regular offerings of the brewery. I must admit, that i love the label designs and it makes the beer more appealing. I can not wait to taste this beer. Oh I'm excited!

But what is an imperial Porter i hear you ask? These are stronger versions of the traditional porters which where first sold in London. These porters were sold successfully in markets such as Scandinavia and the Baltic states. These porters then inherited their current title due to their strength and their favoritism in the royal courts. History lesson over, lets get on with the review.

Really love the art work on every bottle
Colour: Jet black with a brown/tan head. The head is very thick and stays around thought out the life of this drink. So far this is shaping up to be the perfect porter.

Aroma: This beer is very interesting on the nose. From the hops used in the making of this brew (Warrior, Northern Brewer and Cascade), you get smell a mix of oranges and elderflower. Smelling deeper you can also pick up notes of chocolate and coffee. These smells come from the crystal and black chocolate malts used. The smells are not overly powerful and rather surprisingly for an imperial porter, you can not smell the alcohol.  

Body: As with many drinks of this style, the body is quite thick, but unlike a Guinness, this beer is not very creamy.  The drink will cling to the back of your throat with every sip that you take. This is actually rather pleasant session as it forces you to take your time over this beer.

Taste: On your first sip you are slapped around the chops by rich hints of coffee and dark chocolate.These will dance around on your tongue then unleash the faintest hints of liquorice. As the drink warms up, you will notice that there is a sweetening to the dark chocolate notes. Its almost as if the chocolate is getting milker and milker the warmer the glass gets. There is a sharp acidic and some what bitter after taste. This comes from the strength of the alcohol.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/dark-star-espresso-beer.html
Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/st-austell-proper-job.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery

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