Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: SEP 14, 2005 Bottle: Lots of black licorice with some chocolate, coffee, and a moderate pine hoppiness. Pours a dark brown, virtually black, with a small tan head that diminishes quickly. Lots of black licorice and some light chocolate at first but as I drink the flavor strengths seem to reverse and the chocolate really comes thru. Finish has some piney hops, roasted grains, and light burnt flavors. Alcohol is slightly noticeable in the finish but seems to disappear as I drink. Seemed a little rough at first, but gets smoother as I drink and I begin to like it significantly more. Reminds me of a poor man’s Alpha Klaus. Definitely one Flying Dogs better brews.



Second time around, this was even better. Aroma seemed to have more fresh pine tree aroma and the flavors balanced much better. Pine hops are still there, but some grapefruit as well. Maybe I had it too fresh the first time a a couple months smoothed out the edges. Original rating was 7-4-8-4-16.

I loved HST and his writing and this beer is close to being a fitting tribute. Closer to a sweet stout then a Baltic imo. Very nitrogen like creamy body( not my favorite thing) with decent roastiness. A lot of sweetness in the finish though.

Bottle, from Julio’s. Good nose, Chocolate, caramel, coffee, both citrus (grapefruit/lime) and pine in there. Great looking beer, beautiful reddish dark brown color, perfect cocoa beige head that faded somewhat quickly to a hazy top with lacing. Sweet bitter flavors, Like aromas with the chocolate in front with citrus right behind. Medium body, lite creamy oily mouthfeel, sweet dry finish. Great brew, New favorite from Flying Dog, though that double pale ale was tasty too.

UPDATED: JUL 16, 2005 A jet black ale that has an intense hop aroma. The hop nose is very minty, but it works well with the beer. The head and lace are excellent. Upon the first sip I am little letdown, because the color, nose, head, and lace are first rate. However, the palate is a bit thin, sweet, and watery. The beer packs tons of finishing hops that wet the apatite. A summer Imperial Porter? The palate is one dimensional.

This is a very interesting brew. It has those slight coffee and rosted flavors of a porter with a ton, and i mean like Alpha King amount of hops. Some might think it’s overwhelming but i think it’s amazing. once you get through like half a pint you kind of notice an alcohol taste.

I may not be smart enough to drink this beer because the complexity overwhelms. I enjoy the flavor and can taste the burnt malty flavor but so much more going on.

Aroma and taste are quite unique even as Flying Dog beer’s go. The smell is sweet with a hint of freshly painted wood. The appearance is spectacular, it has the deep brown color and beige head more commonly associated with stout. If you are looking for the complexity so commonly associated with Flying Dogs, you will not be disappointed with this one. The flavor is sweet and bitter with coffee and turpentine. The palate is think and smooth with a creamy character. Interesting and certainly the taste is original.

Dark russet in the pour turns black in the glass. A large, creamy khaki head sits atop the beer. The aroma is a thick knot of resiny hops (citrus, pine and pepper). Chocalate and a light hint of espresso. Flavor has a tingling twang of hops but low bitterness. There was a big discussion on the atl-beer mailing list about whether or not this beer had the aroma of vinyl/plastic or didn’t. My sample didn’t really suggest vinyl or plastic to me, but the hops (mixed with the malt) could present something vinyl like I think. Since the people claiming vinyl didn’t notice it the second time around with the beer (different four-packs), maybe there’s a bad batch floating around, or maybe this time they noticed it was hops and not an off flavor. Good beer though.

UPDATED: APR 21, 2006 I went and bought tons of this and every subsequent tasting just confirms the beauty of this beer. That blast of hops in the fore melds so nicely with the huge chocolate/coffee blast that follows. it is such a great sipping beer and I need to get a lot more of it. <P> This has that new car smell. Literally. Smells like a mix of vinyl and new leather. It’s actually not a bad smell though just unexpected. Beautiful looking. Poured black like a stout rather than dark brown like a true Baltic porter. Wow. This may be the best Flying Dog beer I have ever had. Very coffe tasting on first sip then fading into a mild bittersweet choclate flavor. More an Imperial Stout than a Baltic Porter flavor wise. I really like this. Very good mouthfeel and great sippabilty. Yes it is definitely the Best Flying Dog beer I have had by far.

Nice porter. Dark, roasty, rich, and strong with a black color. A little bitter in the middle for my taste but overall nice balance.