Flying Dog Imperial IPA - El Dorado Single Hop

Brewed by Flying Dog Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Frederick, Maryland USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Draft at Mekong. Medium amber, decent head. Aroma pine and citrus, a bit of earthiness, and a good bit of caramle malt. Flavor was a match - the malt body more present than I would have expected. Not bad, but didn’t feel like the hop was particularly showcased, at least not as much as I would have liked in a single hop project. But balanced and tasty, the 10% is well hidden.

Botle picked up at SL... Smells good. Lots of citrus, grapefruit. Bright orange in color, with an average head. Taste wise: Kind of an earthy dryness with a hop flavor but not bitter. Some citrus and grapefruit but not the dominate flavors. Nice and soft on the palate. Easy to drink, the alcohol is warming but not noticable. Overall.. I liked it, but not what I was expecting from a single hop series.

Sampled after tour of the brewery. Poured a orange-coppery amber color with a thin white head. Aroma of citrus, pine, resin and sweetness. Taste was nice and heavy with pine and citrus dominating. Bitterness hung around for awhile too. Enjoyed.

Orangish amber with a big, frothy white head that fades a bit. Nose is sugary and boozy, very light citrus and pine. Just tastes very boozy, sharp hops, not much flavor other than candy coated vodka. Weak sauce.

Draft. Orange copper color, foamy head. Spicy bitterness, medium body, very good ipa full flavored.

Cask at Birreria Paradiso. Unfiltered orange-tan. Foamy off-white head. Balanced aroma, some pleasant hop tones and biscuity malt. Mellowed a little bit as per the cask, a very nice IIPA. The draft comes off much more resinous, dry. I prefer the cask though, as the mellowness really shines. A touch of honey in the cask maybe that I didn’t pick up in the draft. Very nicely drinkable.

On tap at Kloby’s Smokehouse: Pours a clear bright golden with a thin-lacing ring of white head. Has a sweet pale malty nose with some orange citrusy hop notes. Body starts with pretty good fullness and light caramel sweetness with some fruity melon notes and citrus hop bitterness before a drier, slightly warming bittersweet finish. Has some interesting flavors, but not necessarily what I prefer in a double IPA.

Served on draft at Brixx in Charlottesville, VA on 4/15/11. Pours a clear copper color with a medium sized creamy white head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of herbal, resiny hops. The taste is bitter hops... herbal, resin, peppery, minty and tropical fruit notes. Some sweet malts. Lingering bitterness that kinda burns.. in a good way. Medium-full bodied. Nice beer.

Draft at Black Squirrel’s new cellar location. The aroma on this one was pretty unimpressive, but it had a nice citrus flavor.

On cask at Rustico - Alexandria. Served in a pint glass. Pours a cloudy light apricot color with a really great white head and an incredible amount of lacing. The nose hits with quite a bit of hops and zero malt. It is a bit tropical with light citrus and herbal characteristics lingering in the background. I will say that after having a few El Dorado beers now, it’s not a great hop. The character is there throughout, but I don’t really enjoy what it brings to the brew. It’s not too bad, but certainly not the hit that Citra is. The flavor is just about the same as the nose--the flavor is all hops, but the hop character isn’t my favorite. This is a good effort, and I can’t fault them for anything other than selecting this hop to make a beer with. Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation for the style. A bit too hot as it warms, with the alcohol becoming a detraction. Serving type: cask Reviewed on: 03-28-2011