Flying Dog Double Dog

While perusing the selection at the local beer distributor, I came upon a six pack of the Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale. I have been very much into high ABV beers recently (always), especially high ABV beers that work magic with their malt and hop profiles to create a well balanced beer. Also, it's nice to have one beer, feel a little "nice", and then just call it a night. Sometimes, calling it a night isn't the case at all, and it's nice to go slightly overboard without feeling like a bloated slob. I digress.

The point here is that high ABV beers are very interesting on many levels. What a lot of beer drinkers rarely realize is that the alcohol that is a result of the fermentation process adds just as much to the flavor profile of the beer as the malt, hops, and yeast. I always tell my friends who are just starting to get into craft beer to make sure they sample high ABV beers, along with session beers to see how complex, and differentiated the flavor profiles become. You see? High ABV beers are about more than getting you wrecked. In fact, if that's the only reason you drink these beers, well, then you might be missing some interesting magic that happens during the brewing and fermentation processes.

So, here is my review of the Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale. Honestly, what really caught my attention in the store was the ABV of this brew. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the 11.5% listed on the six pack container. I thought to myself, "That is far more than a Double Pale Ale." I was overwhelmed with excitement to try this one. Well, here's the review...

Brewery: Flying Dog
Beer name: Double Dog
Style: Double Pale Ale
Location: Frederick, MD
ABV: 11.5%
Packaging: 12 oz bottle
Price: $16/6 pack of 12 oz bottles

Appearance: Beautiful, bright amber color indicative of a true Pale Ale. The head on this one is a creamy white, one finger thick head. There is minimal, spotty lacing on the glass. The lacing and the head tend to fall quickly on this one, with very little residual lacing remaining on the glass.

Aroma: A surprising amount of spice on the nose, as well as a malt forward presence. The hop presence is mostly pine and resin. There is also a slight pineapple presence on the nose, as well as a slight amount of citrus,

Taste/Mouth Feel: On the heavier side of medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a generous mouth coating from this brew that lingers for quite a while after the initial sip. A surprising amount of spice up front. I got a bit of pine and resin on the front of the tasting (but not a strong presence, and not for long), followed by a very distinct and strong sweet malt center with hints of toffee and caramel. The finish of the beer has a very distinct alcohol profile, creating a burning alcohol taste in the throat and the back of the mouth.

Overall: 7.5/10 Although this beer is a Pale Ale in appearance, I seriously have an issue with it being referred to as a Pale Ale, being that this is far more along the lines of an American Strong Ale. The hop profiles are present, but not enough to give you the tastes that are associated with Pale Ales. There isn't much going on hop wise on the nose, except for a sight pine and resin presence. I would've expected a hop forward presence on the nose and taste, but they simply weren't there. The sweet malt characters and blatantly present alcohol characters are the stars of this show. Enjoyable, but definitely more of an American Strong Ale than a Pale. Cheers!

Long Trail's Double White (with guest reviewer Alissa DeLucia)

Every great man (yes, I am a great man) has an amazing woman to share his life with. My girlfriend Alissa and I have been together for almost 4 years now. She is the woman I plan on growing old with, there is no question about that. Well, after being with someone for four years there are a few things you discover about them. One of the things I quickly discovered about this wonderful woman was her complete disdain for the taste of beer. I've also discovered how far she is willing to go to show me she loves me. Despite her distaste for malt beverages, she has still accompanied me to many beer events, and countless beer bars just so I can sample and enjoy the brews I hold dear to my heart. There is only one person in this world I love more than beer, family, and friends...and that person is Alissa. So you can imagine the enthusiasm that engulfed me when she said she would review one of the only beers she can tolerate on this blog.

Alissa accompanied me (and a group of 20 friends and acquaintances) this past summer to Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY for the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown event. This is where Alissa's taste buds were finally tantalized by a beer she enjoyed. In fact, Alissa visited the Long Trail booth at least seven times to get a refill of their Double White Ale. Quickly she realized that in the diverse world of beer there is something that even she, with the most scrutinizing of taste buds, could find and enjoy. Alas, I give to you the guest review of the one, and only love of my life, the beautiful Alissa DeLucia! I have not doctored this review at all. It's all in her words, and her descriptions.

Beer name: Double White
Brewery: Long Trail Brewery
Location: Vermont
Style: Belgian Double White Ale
ABV: 8%
Packaging: Bomber bottle
Price: $6/bomber

Appearance: Hazy golden orange, with a one finger thick white head.

Aroma: Citrus (lemon zest and orange peel), coriander.

Taste/Mouth feel: Yummy! Not super carbonated, and not gross like other beer. This is lighter than most beer I've had, not as heavy in your mouth. Not a lingering aftertaste with this beer, and a very low carbonation.

Overall: I love this shit! I hate highly carbonated drinks, which is why I enjoy this so much. Is doesn't make you bloated when you drink it, and it's very easy to drink.  I love the citrusy taste and the lighter body. I highly recommend this beer for people that normally hate the taste of beer. I used to really like Blue Moon when I would drink beer, but this beer kills that beer! So if you're into Blue Moon, you've got to try this!

Struise Brewery's Elliot Brew

 

 

Anyone that is into beer knows full well that Belgian Ales are some of the best in the world. Even the though the United States is catching up very quickly, and U.S. breweries are making some great mock Belgian Ales, the truth is there is no substitution for the history and skill that exists in Belgium. That being said, I had never (before now) sampled a beer from Struise. My brother had gotten me two of these 11.2 oz bottles as a Christmas gift. I drank one two days after the holiday, and saved this one to sample further down the road for a review. I was amazed with how much the nose on the beer changed in just three months, and the overall taste of the beer. So, here' my review of Struise's Elliot Brew. Enjoy!

 

Beer Name: Elliot Brew-Vintage 2011

Brewery: Struise Brewery

Location: Woesten-Vleteren, Belgium

Style: Double IPA

Packaging: 11.2 oz bottle

Price: $8+/11.2 oz bottle

ABV: 9%

IBU's: 216 (holy crap)

 

 

Appearance: A dark, coppery amber hue (reminiscent of a red ale), with a large, pronounced creamy white head that is 2-3 fingers thick. A ton of lacing on this brew, and the head takes forever to dissipate. The lacing sticks firmly to the tulip glass, with a generous coat all the way around the glass.

 

Aroma: A lot of candied sugar on the nose, as well as caramel, and spice notes from the Belgian yeast (clove, pepper, and nutmeg). Not getting much as far as hops on the nose at all.

 

Taste/Mouthfeel: A medium body, with a moderate amount of carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Up front there's a lot of the candied sugar, followed by sweet biscuit flavor profiles. However, the dominant sweetness quickly recedes to a very bitter, dry, and hoppy finish. There is an excellent candied sugar coating on the roof of my mouth, coupled with a dry finish over the tongue to the back of my mouth. A nice combination of sweetness and dryness on this brew. The hops are only present for  me on the back end of the tasting, and they're more of a bittering agent in the brew than a floral/aroma hop presence.

 

Overall: 8.5/10 This is a solid Belgian style brew, but it's not a DIPA as far as "American" IPA's go. I didn't get a lot of aroma hops, but the hops are surely present on the finish of the beer (bitter as all holy hell). I would've thought that with 216 IBU's the bitterness would have been present throughout the brew, but the candied sweetness really quells the hop bite, and holds it off to the very end. The beer is very spicey, due to the Belgian style of yeast.  It makes for a very interesting brew, and a very complex flavor profile (spicey, sweet, and bitter). I would more classify this brew as a Belgian dubbel, but definitely not an DIPA. Overall, a very good brew. Cheers!