Snake Dog IPA

Beer Name: Snake Dog IPA
Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery
ABV: 7.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This is from Bill's Flying Dog mix-pack since he doesn't like IPAs. Being a nice guy, I decided to help him avoid having to spite-drink another hoppy brew by drinking them myself.

The Snake Dog IPA is a golden orange colored beer. It pours with a pretty thick head (almost a full inch) that fades slowly, leaving a heavy lacing pattern behind. There is a strong aroma of citrus hops with sweet malt in the background. The scent is perfect for an IPA.

The aroma carries over to the flavor, which has a little bit of sweetness in the front of each sip and then kicks your tastebuds with hops. Lots of hops. It finishes with bitterness, but not the typical dryness that most hoppy beers have. There's a good amount of carbonation in here, and a little bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Final thought - This is another strong IPA offering. The sweetness of the malt works well with the bitterness of the hops, so each sip is a mix of flavors. The high ABV isn't even noticeable in there. Very enjoyable.

-Jon

Doggie Style

Beer Name: Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale
Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This marks the first Maryland brewery to be featured here. Welcome to the party, Maryland.

This also marks the moment I realized that I have "pale ale" and "American pale ale" as separate tags. At some point I really will need to go back and redo the tags, but that point is not now. If you really care, I'll show you how to do it and you can take care of the problem.

Doggie Style is a copper colored ale that pours with a quickly fading head. I drank a few bottles, and the amount of head was different every time, but it was always between a quarter inch and 3/4". Not that it matters much, because it's going to be gone in a few seconds. The aroma is hoppy and citrusy, and I would bet that the beer uses Cascade hops. There was a light lacing on the glass when I was done.

The beer has a very typical pale ale taste. It's pretty hoppy, but there is a malty taste in the background. The finish is dry and bitter, like most pale ales. The beer is very smooth, with only a light amount of carbonation. It finishes with a slight aftertaste.

Final thought - After going through a handful of these the last couple days, I have concluded that this is a nice beer for relaxing with a 6-pack and just hanging out. While it doesn't stand out as one of the best beers I've had, there's nothing bad about it. Overall, just a solid, easy drinking pale ale.

-Jon