Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

Pours a dark brown black with a nice thick light brown froth. Looks a lot like espresso. Aroma is mostly chocolate and coffee/espresso. A bit of hop but also licorice and a tiny bit of dark fruit. Flavor is very coffee and dark fruit oriented. Nice bitter chocolate finish that lingers and warms. Full bodied and sticky in the mouth feel, this is a great cooler weather sipper, though I am drinking it on a 90 degree day, I couldn’t resist.

Black w/ small brown head. Burned malty nose, nice hops, liquorice, a bit syrupy. Quite intense, syrupy malty flavor, quite strong liquorice and hops. Medium bodied, sticky mouthfeel. I only had a few sips in hurry, but there was still some complexity missing here.

12 oz. bottle purchased from B&B in Grand Rapids, MI, ’07 vintage poured into trappist glass- poured non-transparent black, light brown head bubbled away slowly with whisps on top and some lacing, high-low carbonation. Aroma of dark chocolate, roasted malts, and some mild cherry note. Hits the mouth with a hard medium body, malt comes in and goes wild in your mouth, some gritty stickiness as you sip more, some hops in the finish but it just makes it that more good! Great brew!!!

Poured thick, no head at all, awesome aftertaste of chocolate and vanilla, but its good upfront. Was not expecting it to be this hopped. Great burnt malt. great hop. I don’t want champagne but this could use a bit more carb. Also, found this cheap/mispriced at the bottle shop, best $1.59 beer I’ve ever had.

So, I’ve just poured this into my trusty beer glass. It pours a wonderful dark chocalate brown. The aroma is sweet chocolate with subtle coffee notes. And then the taste is in line with the aroma, but with the obvious malt that all good porters should have. In comparison with Expedition stout, I think I like this better only because it’s more drinkable, where as expedition is more of a sipper. Cheers!

Very dark brown (light gets through upon close inspection) with a nice beige head. The aroma bursts into the room with a truly complex character: beautiful malt/hop balance with chocolate and minor roast, dirty plums, grapes, and pine needles. That complexity is reflected in the flavor, and this beer really toes the line; there are dark fruits, roast, and chocolate up front, but the hops pull you back before it ever gets dominant or bitter or oppressive like most imperial stouts and porters, and instead, you get a cloud of smoke that sits in your mouth like a cloud. The palate is totally in line with this (weighty yet silky), and it only starts to bite right at the end. Wow this beer is streamlined. Structure incarnate.

Bottle. Pours a dark black with a thick dark tan head. Tasts of dark malt, smoke and a bit of a brandy in the finish along with the hops. Nice.

Top presure tap at the White Horse, Parsons Green, London. Selling for £7 a pint! I expected this to be a bit special and it did not dissopoint. Black with a dense brown head. Aroma of dark fruits, chocolate and alcohol. Packed with multilayered flavours of malts, coffee, chocolate and resinous hops. Excellent!