Notes on beers brewed by
Massive thanks go out to BEERchitect for the chance to finally try this beer! 750 mL, corked & caged bottle, from September 2004, this was bottle #1466. Thick, heavy green glass with dimpled bottom. Substantial bottle. Pretty much exactly as I anticipated to be honest. The beer pours with a large amount of cloudiness and a significant amount of yeasty, floaties. Some carbonation seems to have dropped off (only a small pop on opening and it drinks with little life), but the head and retention...
12 oz bottle. Not quite sure why this did not/has not made it to GA, perhaps it HAS but I've not been looking for it. Was it in the Canis Major mixed pack? Anyway... Hazy, orange body with low to mid-carbonation and a little head and some retention. Not much lace at all. Nose offers some light hop character, a bit of sweetness and perhaps a touch of Belgian yeast. Tastes are reminiscent of the nose, but crank some of the aspects up quite a lot. The sweetness comes first, followed by the yeast...
12oz bottle for a $7.99 four pack from Tower on Piedmont. I've been putting off trying this for a while, not sure why. Dark orange almost amber pour into the Duvel tulip. Head is scant and short lived, to leave a few bubbles and some spotty head on the surface of the beer. No lace on the glass. Definitely a "triple-like" beer but ends up coming up a little short, and you can tell this is not an authentic, Belgian Tripel. Body lacks something, and although the nose and taste both have some...
Courtesy of Bob at The Brick Store - from notes either late 2007 or early 2008 (not sure of the exact date). The sample pour is a simple dark, dark brown with obviously no head or lace to speak of. Aroma is very strong which I think I would really like if it not for the slight smoke and the overwhelming oak - I prefer a simpler, liquor like nose without the smokiness. Very sweet and the sugary notes carry this. I quite like it, and the fact that the sweetness sort of overcomes the alcohol is a...
12oz single from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Part of the $7.99 mixed sixer that they peddle. Pour is a simple, dark urine colored body underneath a head that is gone very quickly to reveal virtually no lace. Small bubbles of carbonation do persist, but they do not seem to contribute to the head in any way. Grassy and grainy nose, with a similar taste along with some extra sweetness. Some herbal hop notes, but the whole package is pretty muted. The macro-lager sweetness is a little cloying...
Purchased on recent trip to SC, at Green's. $13.99, 750 mL corked & caged. Great looking, clear, red pour with a small head and some lace. Looks liek an Imperial Red Ale. Fruity nose with plenty of apples. Smooth with a little alcohol in the dry finish. Alcohol is not as pronounced as I was expecting, and this drinks pretty easily. Malty (obviously), but with a small bitterness in there to balance the whole package. A little more reserved than I was expecting, especially in the recent wake of...
Got lucky and picked this up as a single as part of the $6.99 mixed six pack at Macs, Atlanta, GA, USA. Attractive bottle in the usual Flying Dog/Steadman style. VERY bready nose comes from the cloudy yellow body. A classic Wit color. Mild spice and mild acid meld well together. A sharp, citrus finish but it sits well. Some very, very mild white pepper. Drinkability is high and I found this extremely refreshing. A nice example of the style.
=== Updated 12/15/07 === Re-visited this after 6+ months in the cellar - still nasty IMO. Close to undrinkable. === Original Review 05/04/07 === Cloudy, rusty orange colored pour with a big initial head that fades to give a minimal head and ring on the surface of the beer. Plenty of soapy hops in the nose and not much else. Astringent bitterness up front that lingers and lingers. Resinous, biting pine and not at all balanced. Malts are waaay too limited to hold up such a huge hop presence....
12 oz single, Jax, Sandy Spings, Atlanta, GA, USA. First time I have seen this in Atlanta in several years, despite the multitude of other Flying Dog brews we get here. Very bright, seriously golden pour with some good head and a little lacing. Lots of clarity - good carbonation. Much lighter color than most Bocks, but I think this is a reflection of the Maibock style rather than this beer in particular. Very flavorful and fragrant nose. Lots of sweet malts and a grassy hop smell. Very smooth....
Michael's, Marietta, GA, USA. 750 mL Corked and caged part of the Flying Dog limited release series. Just got this in GA. HIGHLY carbonated. Enormous initial head that fades very quickly to virtually nothing. Head and lacing is thin and light. Butterscotch clouded yellow. Alcoholic pepper in the nose. Aroma is consistent with the style. Mouthfeel is the missing component here. Too thin for the style and a little too sour. It lacks the depth and the funk of many similar beers, and in that...
$4.25, 12 oz single, Taco Mac, Decatur, GA, USA. Also as part of a $6.99 mixed sixer from Mac's, Atlanta, GA, USA! Potentially one of the better/best of the Flying Dog range. Great dark brown/garnet color with a nice size head and plenty of lace. A pretty good looking beer. Bigger than I was expecting in the nose and the initial tastes. Plenty of malts and significant hop bitterness. Quite a package. Caramel malt notes and a nice finish. To me this drinks bigger than it's advertised ABV, but...
Above average drinkabilty in this "Hefe" (self proclaimed). Head was disappointing but good color with what appears to be a butterscotch chill haze. Good banana/clove sweetness and a very refreshing taste. Kind of beer that hits the spot in the right circumstances, that is when a thirst quencher is required.
A decent and drinkable Marzen with mid amber color and a good clarity to the pour. Not much head or lacing. Some bubblegum notes in the nose. Nice malty beer that serves a very simple purpose. Simple fare and average tastes, but you could do much worse. Mouthfeel is not big, but satisfies. Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed.
750 mL in a corked and caged bottle. In general it's $11.99 in the Atlanta area. Lovely looking, red bronzed pour in the Tucher Weizen 0.5 L glass with a equally good looking head and some substantial lacing. Cloves, banana and caramel in the nose. Mouthfeel is great, with a creaminess and some real sense of a substantial alcoholic body. In terms of taste there is delicious alcohloic, ripe banana base, all against a massive malt backbone. Super, substantial and satisfying. Drinks much like a...
Nice looking pour, with a good head and some nice lacing. Golden orange color, but really one of the lighter colored American IPA's that I have seen. Very light and easy drinking hop bitterness in the taste and the aroma. Not at all heavy, which is both a good and bad thing. It makes the beer very drinkable, but it lacks the hop punch of a typical American micro IPA. For that reason, added to the Flying Dog artwork, availability, price and marketing, you have a great crossover beer. For the...
This gives me some things that I really like in a Porter, and some things that I don't. I prefer my Porters to exhibit a mild, creamy overall experience with a classic black appearance and a smooth texture. The appearance criteria are nicely fulfilled by this brew - a jet black body, small tan head with a little lacing, but that's where the Porter style is left behind and the beer then departs on some wild hop extravaganza. Fine if you like beers that get hopped out of the style, but less...
Dark orange pour, typical for the style with minimal head and some, but very little lacing. Typical BW appearance. Aroma is all dark fruit. Smells a bit like a doppelbock with those very distinct dried fruit aromas coming through strong. Mouthfeel is very viscous and lubricant like. Slightly off-putting, you probably couldn't drink a lot of this beer for that reason alone. Lots of alcohol all over the place and it is quite prominent, but I don't mind that (in fact I expect it) in this style....
This really was disappointing. The reason I say that is that my other Flying Dog experiences have been generally very positive. The pour is a really pale yellow color with a non-existent head, a very ordinary looking beer. Taste was a little tart with plenty of alcohol flavor up front that faded to make it drinkable, but singularly unspectatcular. Super-average in the mouth with very little character or excitement. It's a shame, becasue Flying Dog often do much better than this. I hate to say...
Guess what? This Amber lager is...well....amber in color. The appearance is average with some head and lacing, but only after a quite aggressive pour. This stuff is very drinkable, with the only slight let down being a average mouthfeel - a little too thin for my liking. It is a very sweet beer on my palate. There is not a huge amount of maltiness either, which keeps the sweetness in check. I guess that it is also some hops coming through that helps check the sweetness, but I didn't feel the...
Well, it's OK, I quite like it, but it's not a very good Porter. If you really want to investigate Porters this isn't where you want to be. I note that BA has this as a Scottish Ale so perhaps I'm getting the wrong end of the stick anyway, but whatever, the name is misleading to say the least. Alcoholic aroma with a light brown body, too light for my liking if this really is a Porter? A good color, but a weak head and way too thin. A taste that is on the creamy side, but again way too weak for...
$2.00 bottle, Buffalo Wings Bar & Grill, Douglasville, GA, USA. Pours brown with a very nice head, good lacing and some first class retention. A simple American Pale Ale. By that I mean a brew that stands out from the micro crowd by a mile, but is lost amongst hundreds of other similar examples. Very drinkable, very nice, but little to report overall. Some good up front, lasting hops, enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.
A rather light, watery Hefe this one, with very pronounced lemon and citrus flavors. This has the effect of making it rather more refreshing than some beers of a similar style, but tends to remove some of the real flavor that I was expecting. Very mild banana and cloves. Like some other BA's I felt there was a hoppy undertone that I was simply not expecting. Once again, if wheat beers are your thing, I'm sure you will enjoy, if not you'll still probably find this OK if not stunning.