Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

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.

Bottle. Deep dark brown in color with a nice tan head. Malty and hoppy aroma. Roasty Coffee like aroma. Malty hoppy flavor. Roasty. Well balanced. Full bodied. Creamy. Decent.

This was a pretty freaking big beer!

Poured a big black buck of a body and a lofty tan cap of froth. The aroma was huge with chocolate malt and a heavy shovel of practical hops. The first sip was a smack of oily black coffee with a blast of pine and coco on the tail end. This was rather bitter and chary, I found some bittering bakers chocolate working it’s way across my palate... some date on the side. It seemed to be a relatively nice porter but with a light bourbon like kick to it. I can guarantee that 6 months in the bottle will do a lot in toning down that massive hop bag floating in there. Needs some time in the cellar, IMO…. But a nice beer! It’s a freaking black IPA is what it comes across as right now.

Bottle at RFD - Coal black, dark tan rocky head. Nose was interesting and pretty complex with roasty, vinous, boozy, soft chocolate and coffee notes up front, and a late soft vanilla, citric hop, and smoke tone as it continued to warm. A good hopped up citric bitterness hits you up front flavor wise, but it melds nicely with the chocolate, roasted coffee, and vinous notes that are found throughout. Nice balance if you’re asking me. Ultra full bodied, soft carbonation, smooth ,velvety, bittersweet finish. I seem to be going against the grain here, but I thought this brew was very good, and I’m certainly no fan of FD. This could be their best effort to date...

Dark black with a big thick brown head. Aroma of resinous hops with roast and chocolate malt in the background. Full bodied. Flavor of coffee, chocolate, sweet malt and pretty strong hops. Really good.

UPDATED: FEB 7, 2008 A truly magnificent creature of technology, the sleek silver train sits pensively at the station, crouched and ready to jump. A deep black-brown hue with an oily presence and a creamy, tan head with a smattering of large bubbles pleases my eyes. At first, superficial pleasantries abound. Leather seats, plush sleeping cars, auto-matic doors. Waves of succulent malt flavors emanate from my snifter. Dark chocolate, espresso up front with molasses, caramel, and burnt grain closely behind. The acrid nose of the burnt malt segues into a sharp, if not unwelcome, hop profile of resin and grapefruit. As the train began to gain speed, realization dawned that the old and warped rails would limit the joy of this ride. A few agreeable esters meet the nose; raisins, cassis, and a peppery spiciness. A misaligned section of track jolts the train from it’s course and hurls the silver beast from the tracks. Unfortunately, the aroma is eventually derailed by misplaced sweat and leather yeast characteristics as well as ruthless butter, soy, cola, and solvent traits. A sip later I realize there will be no rescue operation as the train is not tumbling along the ground but rolling through the sky, the rickety bridge getting smaller and the earth getting larger with every stomach-churning rotation. Elephantine sweetness is matched by biting acidity and unwavering upfront bitterness. Swallowing reveals a backend marginally less sweet but more aggressively acidic and bitter. There is no reprieve from the unpleasantries of the aroma. CRASH! BANG! KER-POW! I see a light, at the end of a tunnel, and I enter it. I’m in a hospital now, but I haven’t been rescued, no…I’ve just been…birthed. Viscous, motor oil feel in both texture and weight. Carbonation is barely able to fight through. A solid dab of alcohol limits any recompense to be found in the mouthfeel. Ah, well, at least I shall live for another lifetime. Sometimes, it isn’t anything major that causes great problems, just the sum of minor faults, y’know?
12 oz bottle, snifter.

Bottle. Very dark brown, rich light brown head. Roasty chocolatey apple aroma. Big thick palate, with roasty chocolate and coffee flavors. Some apples. I pick up the alcohol in the flavor and aroma. This I think will come together a bit with some time, for this is a huge beer.