Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

Pours pitch black with a very thick foamy tan head. Thick lacing and excellent retention. Very intense aroma of grains, roasted malt, caramel, nuts, and very slight hints of plum and tangerine. There is a hint of sharpness to the aroma that is slightly unpleasant but is washed away quickly by all the good stuff. Very nice complex dry flavor with lots of malts and also quite bitter, and a hint of sweetness around the corner. Very well balanced. Good carbonation and a very long dry bitter finish. Overall a very nice beer.

12 ounce bottle in pint glass. Vintage 2008 (like most craft beers currently on the shelves of Long Island’s Budverage Centers.) Says 9.2% on the label. Dark brown/black with lasting dense ring and lace. Rich roasted bittersweet dark chocolate earth and ash aroma. Roasted coffee dark chocolate, subdued dark fruit earthy medium bitter hop finish. Nice and rich and tasty. (Killed half of it just doing the rating.) Very good.

Bottle from Beer8 in Genova, Italy.
Poured a black body (very very dark red possibly) with a small tan/ochre thick head that went away at a medium pace. Agrumey aroma hop is dominating the nose, carrying some notes of caramel and roast with itself. Sweet and nice. The taste is roasty, caramel again, soy souce but in the nicest way possible, aroma hop again, quite piney and interesting. Light coffee. No real alcohol notes but it’s a little warming. Sweet but not too much. Damn balanced and lovely. Quote the notes, "tasty as shit". Might be underrating it slightly.

Pours dark as night with a medium tan head. Aroma is roast coffee, caramel and chocolate. Mouth feel is thick but lively with carbonation. Flavor is complex and delicious with just enough sweetness to offset the heavy roast characteristics. A nice hop finish tops off a very good beer.

Pours with a basically black color and quite a big head. Head retention and lacings are quite impressive considering the relatively high ABV in this one. A round and nicely composed smell. Lots of malts with a prominent chocolate character. Notes of dark fruit and vanilla. A pleasant hop kick. The alcohol becomes noticeable as the beer warms up. The flavor has lots of malty sweetness with just as much sweet dark chocolate. Big notes of vanilla. Some notes of dark fruits. Very restrained when in comes to roasted malts, which is the main thing setting this one apart from the imperial stouts. Quite a lot of spicy hops. The finish is quite bitter with gentle notes of soy sauce, wood and more somewhat spicy hops. As in the smell, the alcohol becomes more noticeable as the beer warms up. In general, it seems like the flavors get slightly rounder towards the end and the different components seem to get a better fit after a while. Full-bodied, nice smooth mouthfeel and an almost semi-dry finish, but it still manages to leave a sticky feeling in the mouth after a while. I like this beer, I just think it’s tasty. However, I’ve had the opportunity to try the older version a few times, the one with a higher ABV, and it was way better. The older version where more potent, more living and daring, and it had much more character. It’s a shame they turned it down a notch, doesn’t seem to be in line with the Hunter S. Thompson way of life. Wonder what he would have thought about such rerouting of a bold departure. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Bottle vintage 2009. None more black, with brownish, purplish head. Some hop aroma, which is rare for the style. Rich body, chocolate malt and a touch of roast. Some citrusy late hops. I wouldn’t guess 85 IBU, but there’s lots of malt to keep it in balance. So the hops dry it out, but don’t really make it bitter. They could have called this a stout.

Bottle- thanks Will. "Vintage 08" printed on the side. Aroma of cherry, chocolate, coffee. Color is black as night. Very fluffy head. Flavor is bitter and rich, heavily roasted malts. Great body. Smoky malt dominates- not much nuance here, but good nonetheless.

Pours deep black with good head retention. Can smell the roasted malts well on the nose. Dark and smooth on the tongue, not much carbonation but good amount of mouthfeel.