Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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I guess Baltic porter is as fair a classification as any for this odd beer. Black with a hop aroma. Flavor is primarily hops but there is rotting fruit and a hint of smoke as well. Heavy palate. Good and fairly innovative; it doesn’t fit well into any style.

there’s scarce little i can find about this beer that isn’t perfect. beautiful rich deep garnet color, dark brown whipped head. smooth body, hops are paired with the black and chocolate malts and sweet crystal. rockin’ beer. the fusel-alcohol burn is noted, but hidden behind the big black flavors. in twelve months, this bad ass will turn tables.

UPDATED: JUL 4, 2007 Dark oily black with a beige head. Looks more stout than porter. Big bitter/citrus hop aroma up front. Once it warms you get more alcohol, and dark fruits. Flavor is everywhere. dark fruits, cocoa, alcohol, dark roasted grain. Nice medium/thick mouthfeel. Lot of different layers in this beer. Very well done. Re-rate ’05 bottle consumed 07-04-07. Aroma still has some hop residue, otherwise mostly chocolate. roast and slight oxidation. Flavor again, plenty of sweet chocolate and roast, faint alcohol in the background. Lots of residuel sugars. Flavors have blended a bit, scores about the same though. Original 3.9 bumped app and overall 1 pt each.

Slow pour produces a viscous black body with a thick creamy tan head, looking more like an Imperial Stout. Huge Cascade hop aroma dominates along with some bread like yeast and roasted chocolate malts. Body is medium to full and lightly syrupy. Very stout like in flavor with an extreme hop bitterness and a puckering bitter and slightly dry finish. This one sticks to your mouth. Flavor is ganged up on by loads of hops yet the roasted malt with hints of coffee and cocoa do appear. Overall, an interesting brew if nothing else.

This is a great looking and tasting beer. The alcohol is hardly noticeable in the taste but you can feel it’s warming effects right from the start. Very dark brown in color with a tan lasting head. Very complex flavors including chocolate and fruit. Another outstanding beer from this brewery.

(12oz bottle) The creamy brown head atop the black head reaches to the lip of the pint glass on the pour, and retains itself fairly well, ultimately leaving nice lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, chocolate, grapefruit. Taste is moderately sweet, grapefruit, chocolate, some roasty. Smooth medium-full body that is quite drinkable and dangerously conceals the alcohol very well.

12 oz bottle. Thick, black, viscous and chunky as I poured it into my glass. Seriously. Chunky. Examing the glass only reinforced my thoughts. A whole bunch of sediment rested at the bottom of the glass. At first whiff, you’d never guess that this was as dark as it is. Hops dominate. Ah, let it warm, though ... the hops give way to coffee, burnt malts, chocolate, vanilla and brandy. Complex, but thin. Drink it too cold, and you’re blasted with a hops overload, as dry and piney as the best IPA. But again, let it warm. Let the coffee and burnt malts take over. It gets remarkably smooth the closer you get to the sludgy sediment at the bottom of the glass and becomes infinitely better with every sip ... licorice, amaretto and a nuttiness all enter the picture. Very good, and I’ll bet this gets much better with age. Check back in a year.

07.27.05 12oz bottle. Opaque, near black, brown with tall chestnut brown head that lasts, laces in a web. Oily and coating. Sharp hop nose, fresh and burnt flowers and grapefruit. Cascades I guess. Fusel alcohol. Tar - hot tar. Body is medium thick but slick and coating. Way over the top with the hops and I really don’t get this interpretation of the style. Hunter is a hero for me, this porter is not.

Bottle from the Flying Saucer, Nashville. Black, with a huge dense brown head. Really nice smell of coffee, cola, and chocolate. Very tasty - the first flavor I notice is sorta similiar to coffe that had been in the pot for too long - this is bad in coffee, but works here. Then burnt toast - so far this taste like a bad breakfast, but a good beer - then a clean, crisp finish that sweetens out a bit, with a hint of molassess. I liked this one quite a bit.

Pours a completely pitch black witha a dense dark brown head. lots of lacing. Smells (oddly enough) of citrusy hops and roasted malt. Tastes of roasted smoky malt up front and then lots of citrusy hops, tangerine, mandarin orange flavors. Full bodied and rich but this nice hoppy finish. Really tasty, could drink these all night. Very smooth for the alcohol content. A keeper. Flying Dog should focus on these big beers more...