Flying Dog / BrewDog International Arms Race

Brewed by Flying Dog Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Frederick, Maryland USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Pours golden orange with a fleeting white head. Smells of grass and spices. Tastes mellow, with spices, mint, and pine. Watery on the palate. Not a big fan of either of the International Arms Race beers, but I have to say that Flying Dog’s is better in my opinion.

Tap @NBF’13 oranje en niet heldere kleur, ruikt en smaakt naar PEPER, kruidig, prikt op je tong, licht fruitig smaakje, maar de peper overheerst de smaak

Tap @ NBF13. Very hazy, opaque orange with a medium, creamy white head. Smells a whole lot of pepper. Way too much. Blows away all other smells. Tastes bizarre. A mix of non-warming peppers and green twigs/leaves. Herbs. Medium body, soft carbo.

New Beer Distributors, NY 355ml ($3): Pours a weird cloudy orange with no head. Aroma is ginger, juice, and more ginger. Taste is a bit sweet. Heavy ginger undertones mixed with a berry flavor. This doesn’t really taste like beer. It wasn’t bad, but I think we need to experiment a whole lot more before hopless beer takes off again, which I hope that it does. Perfectly drinkable though and alcohol is covered well.

33cl bottle side by side with the Brewdog version. Orangée trouble, col jaunâtre disparaissant vite. Arôme donne de suite le rythme avec un bouquet généreux d’herbes et épices. Le laurier et romarin se font bien présents sur un zeste de pelure d’orange. Parfum est agréable avec en effet pas de houblons et une versions dont le malt reste bcp plus en retrait que la version de Brewdog. Palais est ici aussi poussé sur les herbes et épices avec le romarin et laurier et une subtile pointe de baies de genévrier. Le tout domine le palais obstruant de ce fait les malts plus dans les notes carapils. Amertume reste modérée même sans les houblons. Note douce tirant sur un mielleux. Reste ici plus proche d’un gruut ancien. Sympa à boire.

Bottle from Slowbeer. Deep copper, berries, cinnamon, nutmeg, taste is slightly dusty/musty. Not great, I think they come second to BrewDog’s version.

Bottle from Stirchley Wines, Birmingham. Poured a dark amber colour with a bubbly, broken, thin. glass-hugging head. The aroma smells a little like ginger and spicy. The flavour is a little ginger too, but ultimately weak and watery on the palate. A truly awful beer really, but marginally better than the Brewdog version I feel.

Wow, why such low ratings? Too unusual perhaps? I liked it! Aroma of strawberry rhubarb pie, grass, a dash of lemon, and a touch of brett or other Belgian yeast perhaps. Superbly extreme brewing assignment - a zero IBU IPA - huh?? Which I guess means no hops? There must be an interesting blend of leaves and spices here. This would be a really nice summer brew. Pretty darn special to be truthful about it.

Bottle from Utobeer Stall in Borough Market. Pours hazy copper/amber with a transient head. Aroma is sort of pickled peach. That can’t be right, there’s no vinegar, but the spice sort of fits. Near full bodied. It’s a little peppery spicy, and it still reminds me of pickled peach. There’s certainly a hint of sour. After awhile it seems to go to pepper and fruit. There’s a continuing pepper/sour/fruit flavor. This is really different. Maybe it’s really, really good. I am torn. Certainly A for creativity and effort.

Foam gone in secs to perfectly still terracotta-orange, ever so slightly veiled beer. Very spicy nose, especially laurel/bay leaf emerging; bit of rosemary and (despite not mentioned/used) allspice. Meaty/meatsauce. Again laurel explosion in the mouth, as chewing on a bay leaf from the pot. Retronasal, it gets clearly mixed with mint. Finish has some vague (red)berry-like flavours. Quite dry, very light body. Spiciness is too high to be refreshing, even served quite cold. Warming up, it gets simply peppery. Ridiculously overspiced stuff. Finishes like an Ersatz-cola. Oh, and elderflower is vlierbloesem in Dutch...