Don't Lie...You Know Doggie-Style is Your Favorite Position
Written: Nov 27 '00 (Updated Nov 27 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good melon taste
Cons: uhh
|
|
|
| Teykaerts's Full Review: Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale |
One of the biggest problems that breweries face is trying to get people to give their beers a shot. Like everyone else, beer drinkers are creatures of habit. Most drinkers find a couple of brands that they like, and they pretty much stay with that particular brand of beer. Some people take this to an extreme, and refuse to drink any beer besides the one they have adopted as "my beer." A good example was a couple of weeks ago when I was at ARCO arena for a Kings game, and it was my turn by a round of beer for the guys. Having had my fill of the Coors Light that they had bought, I decided to take the quality of the beer up about thirty notches and buy a round of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, the pride of Chico, CA (Lord knows the University isn't the pride of Chico.)
As I handed the darker, more aromatic beer to my friend, he goes "What the hell is this?"
"That is actually a decent beer, unlike that barley pop you've been drinking."
A look of understanding crossed his face, and he sighed and started walking away, beer in hand. When I realized his intent, I darted after him, catching up to him at the last possible moment. He was about to throw the beer away! That's right, he would rather throw away $6.50 glass of pale ale than drink something that wasn't Coors Light! The beer gods had their revenge that night though, as he got a DUI on the way home(which he certainly didn't deserve.) Har har.
The point is that brewers have a tough road to hoe when it comes to getting beer drinkers who are loyal to their favorite beers to try new brews. One good way to get beer drinkers to give your new brew a shot is to have an eye-catching label, or an interesting, provacative name. Flying Dog Doggie-Style Pale Ale certainly fits both of those descriptions.
The Bottle
The label for this beer is one of the most bizarre and original I have ever seen. It is a cartoonish picture of an apparently rabid dog with lagre, multicolored bat wings, as well as a propeller on its tail. If you have ever seen the comic "The Maxx," then you know what kind of weird, nightmarish-type art I am referring to. I kind of looks like a Rorschach test: ("What does this look like to you? It looks like mankind's struggle to overcome its own existential crisis.")
The label around the neck of the bottle advises you to "Ask for it doggie-style." I always do.
The Brewery
Located in the beer-crazy city of Denver, CO, the brewery refuses to make its origins clear. It offers two versions of how it came into existence, each more preposterous than the next. In the first version, one of the original pioneers to come to the Denver area made his fortune by trapping and skinning flying dogs, and the beer is a tribute to his skill as a hunter of this beast. In the second version, one of the founders was on a mountain-climbing expedition to Nepal, and the combination of altitude and the fact that he was coked out of his mind led to him to believe that he was seeing flying dogs everywhere.
The only facts that I was able to glean for you, gentle reader, is that the brewery is doing well enough that they are planning to move to new facilities in the next year, and that their beers are available in 25 states. Thank you very much.
How Do I Like The Taste of the Dog?
Flying Dog Doggie-Style Pale Ale pours to the expected color of copper, maybe a little darker than normal, but certainly nothing out of the oridinary. The smell is lightly citrusy and fruity, a nice clean hoppy smell.
The taste is dominated by melon-like, mild fruitish flavors that derive from the Cascade and Chinook hops. The melon taste is reminiscent of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, but better balanced against a light, dryish finish. The mouthfeel is surprisingly lush and full, bringing to mind the feel of barleywine more than a pale ale. The tongue is coated with fruity, estery flavors, also in the style of a barleywine. With a mild IBU rating of 19 and 5.5% alcohol, this is very smooth, highly drinkable ale sure to delight all lovers of good beer.
Finish
A Gold-medal winner at the 91 Great American Beer Festival, and then a silver winner at the 99 one, this is a much lauded brew that was a very pleasant surprise for me. I would put on a level with Sierra Nevada and Mirror Pond Pale Ales, but not quite as good as Full Sail or Hale's.
The beer enjoys fairly wide distribution for a micro, so if you live the midwest or the West coast, this beer shouldn't be to hard to find. It is certainly worth giving a try.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Teykaerts
|
|
Member: David Teykaerts
Location: Sacramento, CA
Reviews written: 120
Trusted by: 60 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.