Flying Dog Wild Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo

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

Looks awsome, should get a six. Flavor is very sweet, so much so that it’s too much for me. Vanilla, woody, nutty but just not my bag.

Thanks to TomDecapolis for sharing this bottle on brew day with egajdzis... Appears a dark brown, near black with red edges when held to the light. A fluffy tan head slowly fades into a soapy head of foam. Mild foam is left around the glass. Smell is of oaky caramel, cocoa, rum, nice bitter woodsy hoppiness. Taste is of the aromas with a standout of cocoa, oak, vanilla, fruity black grapes, and brown sugar. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spritzy, sweet up front, complex with wood, cocoa nibs, and vinuos uunder tones.

Bottle; poured a dark brown/black with a large, long lasting brown head. Aroma was similar to the original version, but with some light wood tones....that means, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and roasted malt. I found the barrel aging mellowed alot of the flavors; but it worked fairly well. Mouthfeel was good; a light creaminess.

Pours a deep black with a large foamy brown head that left some lacing. Aroma of chocolate, woodiness, whiskey, cherry, some vanilla, caramel and roasted almonds. Flavor of cocoa, whiskey, wood, vanilla, molasses, roasted malts, dark fruits and some bitterness.

Sampled with Stegosaurus during our second Boston Tour. Bottle from Julios. Blck pour with 3 finger thick ten head. Chocolate/bourbon and roast aroma. Mild taste of molasses tickle your tongue while the bourbon and roast warms your soul. Nice body , Nice brew.

750ml bottle. Blackish brown, gigantic foaming brown head. Massive lacing. Aroma is ripe with dark alefruits, raisiny plummy, with perhaps a blueberry note as well, all along with really big oakiness and milder roasted malt chocolatiness. All in all a nicely complex aroma. Flavor is less appealing, dominated by a slightly astringent oakiness, with dry chocolate roast towards the finish. Virtually no residual sweetness, and very little apparent fruitiness. Palate is almost too fizzy from carbonation, but a beer this rich needs to keep moving across the palate. Moderately thick mouthfeel. Even with the carbonation, the heavy oak coats the palate and lingers quite forever.

Bouteille verte de 750 ml dégustée en compagnie de Dmac621, Dickinsonbeer, Cathschlag, MartinT, Beerbuzzmontreal et Glouglouburp. Arôme: Odeur de chocolat et de petits fruits rouges avec une pointe de vanille. Apparence: La couleur est noire opaque. Présence d’un mince col beige mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de café et de chocolat avec une pointe de vanille. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est plein avec une texture légèrement onctueuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. (Rating #1255)

My Bottom Line:
Roasted malts and vanilla-tinted bourbon barrels roam within the characterful molasses sweetness of this well-crafted Imperial Porter. Perhaps not as serene and relaxing as their masterful non-barrel-aged version, but this Gonzo still manages to please greatly.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam seeps into the brown-sleeved black.
-The barrel character is overt, yet there is a great beer underneath to support it.
-Carbonation is comfortable, and the body wealthy and filling.
-The sweet vanilla spiciness carries into mint territory at times, surely helped by some mild hop push.
-Alcohol warms the throat, but does not bother the flavor profile.

Bottle.