Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA (through 2007)

Formerly brewed at Flying Dog Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Frederick, Maryland USA

12 oz bottle. Poured a copper color, very clear and bright, thick foamy white head that stayed around for a minute or two, some light lacing present to the bottom. Aroma is all floral hops, a little faint, but a rather nice smelling IPA. Flavor and palate is where this one falls short. Body is just too thin and watered down. Not bad if you’re looking for a session beer or something to pair up with your pizza. Nothing really wrong with this one, but not something I’d recommend for someone to seek out.

Pours golden amber with a frothy offwhite head that lasts a while but drops down to about a 1/4 of an inch. Aroma is hops the typical IPA smell. The malts come out in the flavor more than other IPAs I have drank. This one doesn’t seem balanced as well. Somewhat bitter finish makes it drinkable. Not outstanding but a solid IPA to drink on the deck.

Bottle: Hazy orange with a thin white head, big biscuit aroma with some light pine, light body with prickly carbonation ends with a bitter taste.

Bottle Code 119A06, Sampled October 2006
Pours with a lightly hazy, amber tinged, copper color and is topped by an initially two and a half finger thick, billowy, pale tan colored head. The aroma is definitely hop focused with notes of grapefruit intermingled with pine and a sort of raw, almost dank hop note. Underneath the hops is a toasted grain character mixed with a touch of caramelized malt, which gives the beer a sweet finish to the aroma. There really is a sort of musky hop note here, almost like an herbaceous garlic note or something.

This beer starts out dry, and bready with a toasted grain edge to it. It quickly becomes quite hoppy with a bit of balancing malt sweetness. Solidly bitter, but also with flavorful hop character that has touches of pine, a solid citrus-like note of grapefruit, and even some of that herbaceous almost garlic like note. There seems to be a green apple like note here as well, it sort of melds in with the citrus character. The beer finishes with a raw, herbaceous, biting bitterness that lingers on in the palate well after the beer has left my mouth.

This beer is quite a bit more aggressive than I was expecting from Flying Dog, their other beers in the regular lineup are much more subdued. While the flavors may not be perfectly integrated (it does seem a touch disjointed at times) in this beer, I do like the raw, aggressive hop character. This is still fairly light and quaffable, and is certainly enjoyable. Flying dog is certainly turning out to be a better brewery than I have given them credit for.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.58degrees.com/>58 Degrees & Holding Co., Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

Mmmm, a nice, not-so-subtle hops bite make me think of a school yard bully demanding a hapless chap’s lunch money. The hops take control from the start, and they don’t let go until the end of the beer. Nice fruity flavors give a slight respite from the hops, but not so much that they wimp-out the beer.

Bottle from Bottles of York. Much better than the classic pale ale. Upfront citric floral hops which are well backed up by malt in the body which fades to allow the bitterness to shine in the finish.

Burnt Beer Night: Amber Coloring. Very Small Head. Hop Aroma and Flavor... Not Too Strong..pretty Balanced and Enjoyable.

Bottled at Bishops Arms, Järntorget, Göteborg, Sweden. Clear bronze with medium fluffy off-white head. Fruity and caramelly malts are accompanied by floral and herbal hops. Medium bodied and smooth. Very well balanced with a nice long bitterness. A bit weak for an IPA though.