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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Bottle. Very hoppy aroma. Black colour. Small, creamy, brown head. Very flavourful. Quite roasted flavour, roast barley bitterness. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. Nice and mild carbonation. Creamy aftertaste.

Bottle. Nice creamy brown head with excellent duration. Color is black. Aroma and taste are rich with licorice, roast malt, coffee and chocolate. Some fruity notes as well.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2007 (Bottle) Pours a black body with a large creamy light brown head. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, pine, and grapefruit. Creamy texture with a soft carbonation. Flavor of hops and chocolate.

Bottle at home - shared with Mette - the last birthday beer this year. Black - brown head. Aroma: Dried dark fruits, raisins, hops, burned, berries. Taste: English licorice, burned, dried dark fruits, sharp hoppy, coffee. Soft mouthfeeling.

Bottle at Stockholm beer festival ... Deep black ... vey intence alcohol in nose ... light sharpness of high alcohol ... ok porter but alchohol is too intense. Need to age this to see what happens

Ok, first off we’ll skip all that crap about how much of a pain in the ass it was just to get this beer. Most of you are probably sitting there with your pud in one hand and a Gonzo Porter in the other thinking “Shit, dude, just go to the store.” And that’s the frickin’ problem. I live in Canada, man. There really is only one store I can buy this stuff. Hey, cheers to mgermani for posting about that. That’s community spirit right there. But yeah, Point Grey is pretty far out of the way for this eastside boy.

Been watching hockey all day – actually kind of funny drinking a Denver beer the night those wankers (except Sakic, he’s no wanker) get eliminated. What glass? Harvey Porter, too right. It’s my go-to glass for quality porter of all types. Don’t use it for stout. Don’t use it for bock. Probably should use it for bock. But don’t. It’s the porter glass and that’s all there is to it.

Pretty damn close to black. But not quite. Thirteen years ago that would be black. Beaumont taught me that black usually isn’t black. Nice creamy head and not a widget in sight. Nice to see somebody out there still thinks that brewing talent is better than technology. Did you know that the Vancouver public just voted Subway for “best sandwich”? Yeah. Those are the same dumb cunts who think a widget head is better looking than this thing. I think a lot of folks have forgotten that opinions should only come from experience and brains – the rest of the people should shut the fuck up. I don’t want to drink this mother until I’ve blown off a roll of film on it.

Now smell this. Rich dark and singed fruits like plum, dates, pomegranate and raisins. Burly roastiness, tempered by abundant malt sugars – so clean and simple but so effective. And a hint of woody, grapefruity hops. It’s all there, dude. Complex as all hell and bang on to style, such as “imperial porter” is a real style. More like a fun interpretation of a few older, established concepts. But that’s for another day, cause today I’m drinking.

Big and soft, this fills the mouth with decadence. The fruits are more pronounced with raisins and burnt plums taking lead. There’s some roast in there, too, and a ton of smooth, milk chocolatey malts. And then the alcohol washes over you. One of the best feelings in the world, ladies and gentlemen, that first wave of ETOH on the brain.

Really well-structured beer. Rich and delicious. It’s beers like this that remind me why I drink beer. Cause sometimes you find a beer that’s worth trekking across town and paying through the teeth for. Fuck yeah.

Bottle at London Gathering Nov 05. The label on the bottle sparked an interesting debate over Hunter S Thompson and is he over-rated. Black beer with farily non existant head. Nice aroma and goodish balance. Chocolate orange and coffee dominate throughout. Pretty good, but as Duff says, this lacks a bit of the intensity you would expect from an Imperial

UPDATED: DEC 31, 2012
Name: Gonzo
Date: June 09, 2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: dark brown, thin tan head
Aroma: rich chocolate aroma and flavor
Overall: hint of lingering alcohol, light bitterness, dry

Name: Gonzo
Date: June 11, 2005
Mode: bottle
Score: iii to iiii
Aroma: rich chocolate aroma with a hint of roasted and lots of sweet liquorice
Body: rich and creamy body
Flavor: incredible rich chocolate malt flavor, hint of sweet alcohol, touch of burnt malt bitterness in the finish that does not detract from the overall quality

Name: Gonzo
Date: November 15, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Appearance: black, thin tan head
Aroma: sweet chocolate aroma
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor with a nice roasted character, a bit of sweetness, nice vineous flavor

Name: Gonzo
Date: October 25, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: Twain’s
initially picking up a touch of the rubber life raft character that people talked about when it was first released but I never saw,

Name: Gonzo
Date: March 31, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: transmet athens
the sweetness is gone to be replaced by the dry dark chocolate,

Name: Gonzo
Date: June 24, 2006
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: huge scary pffft upon opening, pours with a huge brown head
Flavor: still the rich chocolate flavor, maybe not quite as good as it once was

Name: Gonzo
Date: January 01, 2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: pours black with a robust tan head leaving drops of drippy lace
Aroma: still the big chocolate and sweet vanilla aroma with a touch of licorice
Body: creamy body
Flavor: very rich chocolate flavor, sweet vanilla, touch of roasted for balance, touch of dark fruits, light fruity tartness
Overall: aging very nicely

Name: Gonzo
Date: June 28, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: Green’s
Vintage: 2008
Score: 4.3 to 4.2
Aroma: sweet dark chocolate aroma
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor with vanilla and licorice sweetness
Overall: great as ever but the bar is always increasing

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+ /4

Bottled at Plain Kitchen, Gothenburg. Dark black (!?) beer with a large, dense, tan head. Chocolate, coffee, licorice and some alcohol in the aroma.The flavor has chocolate, coffee, licorice, burnt malt and sweet, fruity notes. The body could be fuller, but it is definately not thin. Quite mouth-drying with a very long coffee-bitter finish. (060824)

(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.