Flying Dog Extra Special Heller Hound

Pours copper with a thin tan head. Smells of caramel, fruity, some floreal hints. Tastes oaky and dry with a lot of sweetness. Barrel aging did not do this beer justice.

Bottle shared by MIBRomeo on 12/16/06: Pours a hazy copper mahogany with a thin ring of tan bubbles. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, light oak, and tart fruity cherries. Body has a nice balance of sweet caramel malt and tart fruity notes. An interesting and enjoyable brew.

Bottle. Pours a hazy copper with a ring of white foam. Malty lemon aroma with some brett. Medium body and carbonation. The taste has some wood, tea, nuts, apricot. I pick up a bit of oak in the finish.

Hazed dark copper color with only a few bubbles adrift atop. Light oak and pale malts filter through the nose. Hint of sourdough in the backdrop along with some mild fruits. Smooth and full in feel. Flavors of Door County cherries, with a linger of sourmash. I like it.

750ml thanks to MIBRomeo and "Magic Fridge 2006". Hazed vitamin B12 goodness having the sediment end of this rare treat. Much lighter brett character when compared to the Extra Special Gonzo. I’m not getting much of the heller bock aspect at all as the brett is still stealing the show. Light malts evident, 2-row coming through just barely. A little hint of oak and smoked character to round out the palate, but the wild yeast is definately the show in this one although not as well done as with its brother.

Bottled at the Magic Porch... thanks to MIBRomeo for scoring this brew! Poured a lightly hazy reddish/iced tea brown with only a few loose bubbles around the edges. Nose was of tart cherry and dust funkiness with underlying smoky caramel, toffee, and a hint of lemon... odd concept for a beer, but worked very well. Flavor was heavily laced with funky brett fruitiness.. really liked how it complimented the sweet toffee and smoked wood beneath. Sour on the palate with a light and somewhat grainy body.. felt good. This was a very unique beer that I am glad to have tried! Thanks Chuck!

Hazed and caramel-amber in color with only a few dust speckles on the surface. Pencil erasures, almond shell shavings, muskrit, cumin and maple sourdough take the nose for a ride. Apple candied toffee, sandalwood and dried cider vinegar discourage the tastebuds early on. Sweet granny smith apples are ripe from the picking, imparting a near citric-shine on the brittle bark. Brown sugar gets liquefied with some tart, accentuated oxidation. Barely a body, and no carbonation, leaving no room for the soured caramel and golden raisins to hide. Dry, waxy tongue and apple butter jam the exits. Thanks for sharing, Chuck!

Milwaukee YeHA! 2006

Thank to MIBRomero for opening this right after the other brett release from Flying Dog. Whereas the Gonzo offset the infection well, I think this one came off a little differently. Infecting a hellerbock was an interesting experiment but I don’t think it should be tried very often. If you had given me this without a label, I might have thought it was from Russian River.

Aroma / Appearance - Wheat, lemon, bleach and a sour aroma form the first wave of sensory assault. After that comes some caramel and honey all wrapped in a tart package. If your sinuses were not clear before, you should have no problems breathing after smelling this. The body reminded me of dark stained wood with almost no lacing present.

Flavor / Palate - Sharp tart berries infused with chocolate syrup washed across my palate. It reminded me of some of the ’ation’ Russian River beers in the way the normal tastes battled the sourness underneath. This was a one of a kind beer. I don’t know I would want to drink more than one glass but it could be interesting under the right circumstances.