Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

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

12oz bottle-pours a creamy brown head and black color. Aroma is sweet, dark fruit, chocolate-dark malt. Taste is sweet, dark fruit, chocolate-dark malt, vanilla, secondary hops bitterness.

Hugh brown head bursts into a lasting lacy patchwork of irregular big bubbles. The body underneath is deep brown and opaque. Burstingly hoppy (cascade?) nose becomes very perfumey as it warms, bordering shampoo and definitely green fresh hops to the point of feeling vegetal and salty at times. Cocoa component is all I get from this vague, so-so maltiness that reveals its poor structure in mouth. Dominating roastiness suffers from a strong wave of citric, pine-sol and ashey character, thankfully no lactic aspects, but that the astringence remains limited within those conditions is beyond me. Dry and hoppy palate where unenvelopping dark cocoa and anise-floral loose malts get abashed by growing whispers of alcohol. Medium body, very effervescent. Fair as it is, but forget balance, round malt fruitiness was traded away for a hop putsch.

Roasted malts, sweet red wine, very powerful stuff. Taste is similar very balanced for somethign this strong.

Bottle... Pitch black ale with a small, creamy, well-tanned head. Excellent retention. The nose is chocolatey, woodsy and lightly smokey. Well-balanced flavor is lightly sweet and chocolatey up front. Tangy, burnt and lightly bitter with a pinch of salt on the backside. Medium to full-bodied and silky with lively carbonation. Lengthy, lightly bitter, chocolatey finish. Nice brew from a brewery specializing in less-than-brilliant crossover beers... a diamond in the rough this one.

2nd Rerate of original batch: Aged 2.5 years in the fridge: More oxidation and plum character showing up with most of the aroma hops gone. Still some mildly grapefruity flavor hops, but nowhere near as much. More smooth bittersweet dark chocolate flavor throughout. Seems to have aged quite well.

Rerate: Aged for a year in the fridge: Not too much change here. A little smoother, but the hop presence is still prominent in the aroma. And the flavor has a good sweet, roasted malty presence. This is truly unique, just like the person it is named after.

Pours a rich dark opaque with a thick, frothy, well-lacing tan head. Aroma has some heavy caramel, lightly roasted malt and lots of cascade hops with hints of dark fruits. Definitely hoppier than most other Baltic porters. Body starts rich, thick, malty and sweet with a nice roasty and hoppy bitterness coming toward the somewhat thinner finish. Hopped too much for the style and probably with the wrong hops which tend to produce the plastic notes others have mentioned, but still an enjoyable, complex big brew.

bottled, thanks to Per - It has a very dark brown, well almost black colour; the foam is solid, creamy and slightly brown-tainted, leaving a nice lacing; powerful aroma of dark cherries and prune with some notes of cocoa and alcohol, a strong spicy aroma (ginger and anise) comes out as the beer gets warmer; very creamy mouthfeel, thick and oily, a robust malt body and an impressive bitterness; dry, long and very bitter, spicy finish, and now the fruity tones are staying in the background - very good though not quite true to the style (to say the least)

Bottle. Quite a tasty beer, but a bit dissapointing for the style i guess. Nice smooth chocolate and raisin, smooth roasted mocha finish, and also a fair amount of aromatic hops in there aswell. The flavour last quite a while, but it was lacking the assertiveness i associate with the style.

Dark yellow brown head, smallish, over fully opaque brown beer. American hops, dry and a lot of caramelized sugars, plus licorice. Dry stout taste, like dry, non-sweetened drop, even with the little salt the Dutchmen usually add. Real "sweetwood" flavour retronasal. Well bodied, very slick. Aftertaste suggest something heated above an Irish (Welsh?) turf fire. But it tires a bit - nothing else available.