Flying Dog Extra Special Gonzo

Brewed by Flying Dog Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Frederick, Maryland USA

Three cheers for Lumpy for providing this bottle. Deep dark body. Woody nose full of buttercream and brett. Flavours of brett, butter, lychee fruit treat the tounge. A lightly sour mouse like body contains a tiny saltyness with a warm twist of lemon on the final breath. Truely a work of art. And you only do art once.

GABF 2006. Bottle. Pours to a slick black body with no head. Nice viscosity. The aroma is hugely vinous. Sour lambic and interesting chocolate. Goes really well together. Intense chocolate and light sweet bourbon-like alcohol, nicely balanced acidity. Tart. Insanely balanced. Nice over powering tartness. Rich full feel. Bonus points for uniqueness and ability to pull it off.

[BCTC 07] Poured an opaque black color with a medium sized, tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of strong funky brett, dark fruits, roast, and chocolate. Taste was roasty, and chocolaty up front, with sour cherries, and a sour bretty finish. Hands down my favorite FD, and head and shoulders above any other version of Gonzo.

09.30.05 Tap at Falling Rock. I bought a couple glasses of the stuff, I finished the glasses of a couple people who didn’t want the rest, and I drank most of the pitcher Logan brought downstairs. I came upon a revelation during GABF weekend, and that is that funky and sour beers go amazingly well with big hops (NBB Le Terroir), add that to my previous realization that roasty beers go amazingly well with big sourness (Heavyweight Saison Black, Black Ghost, Lancaster Milk Stout, some foreign stouts). Well, you put that all together and you end up with this stuff. The thick vat of black is oily and slick looking and doesn’t present much in the way of head. Aroma is a wild mix of brett, citrus, bbq burnt meats, sulfur and eggs, bakers cocoa, resin, and vanilla. The funk is a shock at first whiff, but oh so inviting. Outrageously coating mouthfeel leaves a pine and citrus essence film that lingers and tingles. Deep and complex imtermingling of roasted malts, burnt caramel, toasted dark bread, milky sourness, toffee, sour cherries, and straight up funk. Finish is long and relentless; cherries compete with oak and grapefruit pith but the bitterness of roasted malt shines through and outlasts the rest. An absolute treat, this was one of the highlights of my Denver trip. Just awesome.

black pour no real head actually starts to lace a bit. Aroma made up of prunes choclates sour lambic notes hints of funkiness wood present w/ touches of vanilla... very odd and very nice. Well coated lightly tart nice pucker affect. Puckeringly sour fruit notes alcohol in the swallow light roasty malts hints of whisky and chocolates still. very different and very good.

Unlabled 750ml @ Falling Rock and more @ GABF 2006: I love Brett. Poured black with a minimal head. Awesome tart funk leather aroma over orasted malt and coffee. The flavor was tart, funky, and notes of coffee. Full bodied but silky soft.

Bottle at Papsø’s - Thanks to CaptainCougar. Black - brown head. Burned, licorice, brett - lovely mild brett, coffee, barrel, light bourbon, oakey, coconut, light sweetness. Lovely.

Beer has a bourbony taste and aroma with lots and lots of vanilla. Very enjoyable. One of the best beers I have ever had.