Flying Dog Wild Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo

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

Smells great, dry bourbon. Wow. Pours very dark a little like motor oil with a thick tan head. Excellent flavor with a little bit of coffee in there. A fine brew.

wow!!!! good tan head kinda rocky, dark brown color, nose is bourbon barrel dry dry beer oak and malt mesh well some coffee. good mouthfeel , one of my now favs.

Thanks Jason and Mike. One of the few barrel-aged to be widely available. Great aroma, dark colour, a bit sour as you expect from a baltic porter, smooth. Some coffee there, significant bitterness, a slow sipper.

Tallahassee, Fl. - Liquor Loft - caged cork 750 ml bottle. Black, motor oil like pour with a khaki tan head; sticky lacing. Roasted marshmallows in the aroma, some bourbon, roasted coffee notes as well. Smooth flavor, with some roasted coffee, bourbon, potting soil, candied sugar, roastiness...a bit of everything. thick creamy mouthfeel. I like the way the whiskey was blended in well without being overwhelming and cloying. Worth the $14.99 price tag - will last the whole evening. Excellent winter warmer.

bottle. black with thick frothy tan head. rich aroma of great bourbon, rich chocolate, dark fruit and coffee beans. rich and creamy. roasted coffee. nice bourbon is mellow but defined. creamy chocolate. very nice.

Big thanks to Crizay for sending this brew down for the tasting. Pours dark brownish with very tall mocha head. Nice lacing too. This is a good looking beer. The aroma comes off roasty and without really much sweetness. Still the maltiness smells rich and inviting and then the barrel aged aspect commands the imbiber to drink. The flavor attacks my palate all at once from each competing note. There’s roastiness, a wood – bourbon combination, astringent malts, alcohol and molasses. The notes seem to compete too much and don’t really meld and play well together. Maybe it could use additional aging. Darn tasty anyway.

Bottle. Nose shows lots of hop character. Citrus with a sharp sweetness sits on top of a strong malt backbone of chocolate and toffee. Beautiful black, ruby tints and a most impressive fluffy brown head. Very interesting interplay between hop and malt flavors. Hops show up first, providing some citric acidity, and fold into more appropriate porter characteristics, lots of chocolate and coffee. Definitely scores high for the balance and complexity. The sourness lacks a crispness in the palate to support it, but it’s hard to take point away from such a solid brew. This one has tons of depth, not just in flavor, but conceptually. It bridges a gap I perceived between the first runs of the Gonzo, which I remember as smokey and dark, and the newer batches which I think came across more hop-heavy. I’ve never seen so much citrus in a porter, and so much malt flavor to a hoppy beer of any style. Fantastic.

Caged and corked. Poured midnight black with an erupting head of tight, bubbles of tan. The aroma is pleasantly woodsy and vaguely liquored. The drink is a powerful hurricane of thick, robust flavors of licorice, whiskey, smoked peat, and fermented raisins. I actually prefer the regular Gonzo, but this is a big ol’ beer for a big ol’ appetite. (#3154, 10/23/2007)