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Woof.
Rated 8.45 by 42 Beer Drinkers.
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Bark Like a Dog for Me -- Like a Flying Dog
by Belly Buddy Mark Stevens
At A Glance Beer: Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale Pros: Blast of Cascades hops, yet somehow BALANCED Cons: Brewery tries to hard to be "cool" The Bottom Line: Flying Dog Doggie Style is well-brewed, masterfully balanced, and eminently drinkable -- I can't wait to try it again and again. Recommended: Yes
Hate the labels, hate the ads, hate the web site, but love the beer!
That's my one-line summary of this review. My initial opinion was that Flying Dog was just another in a long line of contract beers that was long on silly imagery and puffery but woefully short on substance. Thankfully, that's not the case at all. Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale is a very good beer, and one that packs a few surprises for the beer drinker who thinks she has already tasted everything there is to taste in the style. Here's how Flying Dog does it... doggie style...
What I Want from a Pale Ale...
If you've been drinking many craft-brewed beers, you know this style. It's the house flagship beer at most brewpubs in the Americas. American pale ale is an average strength beer (about 5% alcohol) with a color ranging from somewhat deep yellow to amber. The biggest signature of the style is the hops: this is a deliciously bitter beer that often showcases the flavor characteristics of American-grown hop varieties. Sierra Nevada is the beer most brewers look to as the classic example of all that is good and wonderous in this style of beer.
Now, on with the review!
As always, I want to chose an appropriate type of glass to sample this beer. Flying Dog is an American pale ale, and those stalwart brewpub denizens always do well in the thick-walled bartender glasses that American beer drinkers like to call "pint glasses" (even though they rarely hold a pint) -- but I'll spare you that diatribe.
High-Wire Balancing Act in a Glass...
Pssssttt!!! The cap is off....and the beer is slowly poured...
Appearance:
This looks a lot like a million other "pale ales" and "amber ales" served up at a million different ale brewpubs. It's a light amber color -- maybe more of an orange than anything else -- with a tight head and aggressive carbonation. I'd probably clock this at about 12 on the SRM scale. Clarity is excellent with just the barest hint of haze.
Aroma:
Grapefruit and flowers. That's what I smell on a first pass. That tells me Cascade hops, or at least one of its near-cousins (could be Centennial, Columbus, etc.) Definitely an American hop signature, and one that's similar to most craft-brewed American pale ales. I also get some sweet, fruity esters in there, most notably a hint of pineapple.
Flavor:
Balance. It's surprising, but it's the most significant thing about the flavor profile of this beer. Most American pale ales tip their balance outrageously towards the bitter end of the flavor spectrum (which is one of the reasons I love the style so much), but Flying Dog doesn't do that.
Yes, the beer is hoppy. Yes, there is a definite lingering hop bitterness in the aftertaste. But, it doesn't whack you over the head like the masterfully brewed Sierra Nevada Pale Ale does. I'm surprised. I'm also ambivalent. You see, I really like powerfully hoppy American pale ales, especially Sierra Nevada.
Fortunately, the beer world is big enough for all of us, and I think beers like Flying Dog would actually appeal to quite a few drinkers who find the strong Cascade signature of Sierra Nevada to be just a little too assertive and dry for them. Flying Dog is a softer, gentler pale ale.
There is a very firm, sweet malt flavor to the beer that has some good complexity with a little bit of toffee and toast to it. This sweetness is the perfect balance to the hops, and it actually makes the beer taste lighter than its 13 degree Plato gravity might otherwise indicate.
I don't find any significant flaws in this beer, but I do see where some people could disagree. There's definitely a little bit of diacetyl here, but it's really coming across to me as an enhancement to the beer, making it feel a little more rounded. It's not overbearing in the least. I also pick up a very slight sharpness in the aftertaste, but I get that in a lot of beers made with hard water and in those with higher hopping levels, again, I don't feel it detracts from the beer in the least. Sure you could pick nits, and beer geeks would probably do that for hours over a glass of this beer. But hey, that's half the fun of being a beer geek!
Verdict:
I like this beer.
In my view, I can't rank it is a perfect example of the style because I really do prefer big hop signatures in my American pale ales, but it's a darn fine brew and a fine pale ale. I certainly don't begrudge Flying Dog the many honors and praise that they've earned. This beer is a smooth, drinkable, balanced beer. It's a definite keeper in my kennel!
About Flying Dog...
I don't really know much about where these beers come from (yeah, yeah, I know they're Dever-based), other than they seem to have an enormous amount of warped marketing skill behind them. I'd heard a few years ago that Eric Warner, formerly of Tabernash Brewing, was somehow backing up the Broadway Brewery and was putting out Flying Dog beers. Aside from seeing the beer listed as an award winner from the Great American Beer Festival (silver medal in 1999), I can't say that I've paid them any attention until sampling this brew.
There is a web site at www.flyingdogales.com, but it really doesn't list much information -- mostly just more hip and trendy image crapola. The only real meat I see about this beer is confirmation of what I can already tell by tasting it: Original gravity is 13 Plato (1052) and it contains Cascade hops (more precisely, a "shlt-load of Cascade" to use their own terminology).
Bottom line: I hate to judge a brewery by just one beer, but I can sure tell you that I'm impressed by Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale. The beer is very well-brewed, masterfully balanced, and a definitely drinkable brew that I'm looking forward to trying again and again.
Til next time, why don't you bark like a dog for me... Woof!
Price per six-pack ($US): 6
Beer Rating: A solid performer
9Kelley» Bought the Tire Bite Golden Ale because of the label. Went back for more because of the taste. One of my new favorite beers. 11Uncle Paul» HELL YEAH!!! Hoppy goodness...I love this beer. I bought a little keg of this @ The Liquor Barn in Louisville,KY....I was useless for three days. Excellent. I like it as much as Sierra Nevada. 10Jeff» My favorite Flying Dog beer is Old Scratch, I e-mailed em and they sent me a batch of their labels, cool. 9atomic dog» This is my favorite Flying Dog beer. 5Mark Sparge» Just OK -- I couldn't get past the diacetyl, but the beer was well crafted with appropriate hop levels. Buy it again? Probably not. 9jason» great beer, and how can you not like ralph steadman's art?! 9Hedgehog» Have always loved it... maybe it is just the name... 10Kat» wonderful, just wish they sold 12 packs in single flavors 7QUEENofBEERS» Drinking the Hefeweizen right now! Pretty good but not excellent. Needs more body. And I, unlike Brian, love the labels. 10Envinyatar» Excellent brew, A++. If you like wheat beer, try their in-heat-wheat.
Key:9 Rating RED» Guests GREEN» Registered Buddy
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"The smell of roasting meat together with that of burning fruit wood and dried herbs, as voluptuous as incense in a church, is enough to turn anyone into a budding gastronome." -Claudia Roden, food writer, Picnic (1981).
At A Glance
