Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA (2008 and later)

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

Made-in-Usa at the first smell. Citrus and malt flavor really interesting and intriguing. A bit of herbs too. Taste: Medium to heavy bitter, with some vague sour. Palate: Light body, medium astringency. For me a really nice meet. Well balanced beer.

I just sampled this on draft at Union Jack’s. It’s a lot better than the original. I recall not appreciating the original all that much. But like I said, this newer offering is much better. It pours a dark golden color with a slightly off-white head. The head leaves a sticky lace around the edges of the glass. The nose is quite balanced, with a good amount of floral hops and biscuity malt. The body is a little too carbonated, but still makes for a decent session beer. The flavors are well-rounded and balanced, with a great mix of grassy and citrusy hops and bready malts, with subtle hints of grass, hay, grapefruit and pine. The finish is quite dry, with again a nice mix of maltiness and spiciness.

I admit I am a huge lover of hoppy beer, but wouldn’t consider myself a hop-head. I admire balance, and that’s a word that’s not in the Concise Dictionary of Hop Heads. Snake Dog IPA is for me THE perfect example of what an American style India Pale Ale is all about - or can be all about. It jumps up and down on the tongue, and leaves an increasing desire for a next sip with every sip you take, and that’s an achievement... Okay: I admit it, I love this IPA. It’s such a great beer that I actually drink all night long and still feel perfectly good. Foam: lace like, long lasting. Color: a perfect golden sunshine. Palate: one of the best balanced, full bodied and hoppy ales I know. One of my top-five beers ever.

Citrus dominates the aroma, but there is a toffee "warmth" to it, as well. Orange-amber in color, though it’s a bit transparent. Thin, ephemeral head. Grapefruit hops dominate, though a sweet and biscuity malt tries to battle it on the way down. Hops win. Rather yeasty, too. Crisp, perhaps a bit thin -- could use a more malt balance (i.e. could be sweeter). Out of bottle.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber with a nice thick white head with thick lacing. Heavy citrus and apricot aroma, a slight touch of grassy hops in there. Sweet malt and caramel with a pine hops finish. Easy to drink, easy going down. Decent.

355ml bottle. Wicked deep amber colour with a crisp white head. Looks good in the glass, complex with a great aroma of hops and a sweetness coming through. Tastes as good as it looks and smells. Smooth with a long finish and string alcohol kick.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy golden orange color with a decent creamy off-white head, good lacing. Aroma is caramel malts, grass, and citrus and resin hops. Flavor is sweet malts, a touch of fruit, orange, and pine resin. Mouthfeel is creamy, medium bodied, and bitter. Pretty good beer, fairly well balanced.

Large tan head atop a clear amber body leaves very good lacing. Pungent, citrus and resinous hops lead off the aroma with a wee bit of fruitiness if you inhale long enough. Citrus hops hold sway on the palate, but with sufficient sweet malts to help balance things out. Medum bodied, nicely carbonated mouthfeel, with a bitter, lingering finish. Pretty much what I look for in a better than average IPA, especially one that is decently priced and widely available.