Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA (2008 and later)

Brewed by Flying Dog Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Frederick, Maryland USA

Draught at Sorbon, Bromma (Stockholm) Pours amber with a creamy yellowish head. Floral hops. Well balanced.

Wow, what a nice beer. Golden orange thin white head. Citrus hop, sweet malt aroma. Well hopped. Good malt and hop finish.

Orange-yellow, some big bubbled head. Nice pine + toffee aroma. Very malty body and plenty of hoppy kick. A very nice IPA.

Poured a clear amber color with a tall creamy off-white head. The head went down to just a thin head in a few minutes. There was a good grapefruit/pine aroma right off the bat. There was a good hops bite initially with a bit of sweetness that mellowed it out in the middle. It rolled into a good bitterness on the finish that lasted well on the palate. This was a nice beer

2 May 2009. Dark golden with off-white head. Taste of orange citrus and hops. Spicy, herbal, hops flavour. Very bitter aftertaste. IBU 60. Very nice label, but not a favourite beer

Smell of hops hits right away, color is dark golden with a white head - taste is nice bitter hops finishes with a dry hoppyness - very nice beer

Typical IPA pour with a clear, orangey-amber pour and an average, off-white, pillowy head which settles to a small frothy layer quickly and leaves some drippy lace. Nose has pleasant notes but are a little muted for an IPA; notes of orange citrus is prominent, light grass and pine needle, and a faint herbal note with mild sweet malts in the background. Flavor is similar with spicy, piney hops dominating, orange citrus notes are lighter, and the same herbal and grassy characteristics gain more presence in the progression. The bitterness is more than moderate but the sweetness is approaching moderate with some sweet, sugary biscuits and faint caramel. Palate is lightly sticky, faintly drying, lively, and nearly light to medium. Finishes mostly bitter with the herbal, piney, and grassy notes almost becoming rustic or pine cone-like. I had the tried this in the past and was not pleased but the new version is not too bad. A solid, IPA from FD benefiting most from the complexity the malts added. One could argue that the additional malts are not typical for an IPA, but I feel they make the beer, regardless of style. One note, however; I rated this one very fresh and liked it but had the same batch some months later and it lost some its malt balance. Maybe it was a bad bottle.

Enjoyed via 12oz bottle. Pours the typical copper color. Nose of wonderful American hops. One is greeted with the trademark "catty" note of Columbus hops, which I feel is perhaps key in a great American IPA. Palate is undoubtedly hop-forward, but still has a nice background balance of character malt sweetness. Overall, one of the better American IPAs I’ve had recently. Another well-crafted beer from the people at Flying Dog.