Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale

[steveh]

Flying Dog Brewery, LLC, Denver, CO - 21A04 coded on label - Bottling date? Drink by date? 12 oz. bottle.

Gold to amber color with a creamy white head that settled to a filmy collar.

Cascade citrus hop nose with some slight biscuit malt back. Mild DMS with warming.

Cascade flavor with piney Chinook bitterness back. Very pineapple to grapefruit tart flavor, though not as smooth or balanced as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Slightest roasted malts back.

Thin, effervescent body.

Very tart, sometimes near sour, beer. Unbalanced to the hops' favor, probably a great drink on an 80+ Summer's day, but I couldn't wrap myself around this one. Given a choice, SNPA or GI Honker's would better serve to the APA style.

Is anyone familiar with the label code above? It could be that this sixer was beyond its prime.

S.

[fretlessman71]

I've had hit-and-miss luck with FDA. When you get a good bottle of their pale ale, it's VERY good. But I've had a few - ahem - DOGS from them. I've got a call in to their brewery asking about the code; I'll let you know what I find out.

[fretlessman71]

The code reads, #/letter/#.
ex. 200 A 04 This would mean that the bottle would expire on the 200th day of 2004. The letter is always an A or a B. This is just the batch and is not important to the consumer. What IS important, however, is that you apparently drank a bottle of beer that was about 4 months old! Hopefully you'll get a chance to try that again some time?

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
What IS important, however, is that you apparently drank a bottle of beer that was about 4 months old!

Nice! No wonder I poured another last night and opted to dump the glass before I was half-way through. Blech.

I should take the rest of the six-pack back to the store and tell them that it expired back in January, but you can bet that no one would buy that a lowly consumer, such as I, would be privy to such secret information as a mysterious expiration code. :P However, there is an 800 number on the six-pack...

I also double-checked and noticed that the original "doggie-style" moniker is nowhere to be found on this sixer - bottle label or carrier.

S.

[fretlessman71]

Currently trading emails with Carolyn from Flying Dog. I sent her the link to this thread, and here was her reply back to me:

Wow! That is an old bottle of Doggie Style. It expired January 21st. Please do have your friend take it back to the store that he bought it at so they don't sell any other expired Flying Dogs. Could you get me the store name that he bought it at? Did he buy it in Illinois? If so, I will get in
contact with our IL distributor in order to help fix the problem.

Any other questions, please call us at the brewery: 303-292-5027.

You can reach her at carolyn@flyingdogales.com if you want to speak with her directly. Hope this helps!

Pretty cool of them to get right back to me, don'tcha think?.... :D

[Beaver]

Pretty sweet Fret! Job well done.

[fretlessman71]

Thanks Beaver! Hey... check your PMs.

[chazwicke]

Nice Job Fret! Glad to hear that they are so responsive. They know it is their reputation on the line.

[Stodbrew]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Nice Job Fret! Glad to hear that they are so responsive. They know it is their reputation on the line.

That is good that they are so responsive. As a brewer, its always good to hear feedback from consumers, both good and bad.

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Pretty cool of them to get right back to me, don'tcha think?.... :D

Yup.

I'll contact her directly, but for the rcord I bought the sixer in Wisconsin, at a large grocery store called Woodman's (Wodeman's?), I'll look it up. I've always been a little suspicious of the wide selection they have, and wondered what the turnaround was on their stock. They carry a lot of the smaller micros from WI as well, and I'll bet some of those are even out of date.

Of course, it could be a lousy distributor too. I see this place is now carrying Moose Drool - first I've seen it in the midwest.

S.

[davesarman]

Originally posted by steveh
Of course, it could be a lousy distributor too. I see this place is now carrying Moose Drool - first I've seen it in the midwest.

Don't know if you get up to Minnesota much, but Moose Drool is readily available here in the Minneapolis area, as are Big Sky Brewing's other beers....

[steveh]

Originally posted by davesarman
Don't know if you get up to Minnesota much, but Moose Drool is readily available here in the Minneapolis area, as are Big Sky Brewing's other beers....

No, don't get up that way too often. The only Moose Drool I've ever tried was carefully transported back by some friends visiting mutual friends out west.

Hell, I couldn't even find it in western Nebraska. :/

S.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
The code reads, #/letter/#.
ex. 200 A 04 This would mean that the bottle would expire on the 200th day of 2004. The letter is always an A or a B. This is just the batch and is not important to the consumer. What IS important, however, is that you apparently drank a bottle of beer that was about 4 months old! Hopefully you'll get a chance to try that again some time?

Just picked up a 6er of FDA Doggie Style Pale with the code 288 A 04. These don't expire until the middle of October, which gives me 3 months to enjoy them. Great beer - they're the poor man's Sierra Nevada! :)

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by steveh
I see this place is now carrying Moose Drool - first I've seen it in the midwest.

S.

Really? I've been getting a steady supply in my area for quite a while now...it is a very nice brown ale, one of my favorites of the style (and you can't go wrong with the name!)

[wortchillergoal]

I had the Flying Dog wheat beer last week. I found it to be very enjoyable. It is of the hefe style, love that cloudy glass.

[fretlessman71]

Yep - In Heat Wheat is just about the only hefe that I actually LIKE. Don't know what's wrong with me, but it's pretty good anyway!

[davesarman]

I picked up a sixer of Flying Dog's Heller Bock a couple weeks back on clearance for $4.99/sixer. I know this place takes good care of their beer and have gotten some excellent deals on beer there before, so I thought I'd give it a go. I've had a few of FD's beers before and have been satisfied, but not overwhelmed. The Heller Bock was quite good however. Nice and malty and quite an aggressive beer. The first bottle I drank straight from the bottle (I don't normally do this), and I found the taste to be quite impressive and a very rich traditional bock. The 2nd bottle I poured into a glass and was surprised to find it was a blonde bock! (I guess the name "heller" should have tipped me off!) For such a light beer, it had a really nice, big malty profile. Just goes to show you can never totally judge a beer by it's bottle!

[steveh]

Originally posted by BluesHarp
Really? I've been getting a steady supply in my area for quite a while now...it is a very nice brown ale, one of my favorites of the style (and you can't go wrong with the name!)

What's quite a while Harp? I've looked for it since we starrted talking about it at a past Battle of the Beers (where I definitely didn't agree with your penchant for the name - blech). Armanetti's in Mundelein has never carried it, and I was surprised to see it at the Woodman's.

And even though I thought the name was less than appetizing, some friends sent some back to me from Montana and I found it to be quite the tasty brown, with just the right balance of roasted malt.

S.

[fretlessman71]

Oh, I see... "Moose Drool" makes your stomach turn, but "Doggie Style" doesn't bother you a bit.... ;)

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Oh, I see... "Moose Drool" makes your stomach turn, but "Doggie Style" doesn't bother you a bit.... ;)

Don't forget -- I didn't give that six pack a favorable review! In fact, there's still 3 bottles left, but the funny thing is - they don't say Doggie Style on 'em. Did FD have to take that off?

S.

And no, I don't want to think I'm drinking moose drool, do you? :P <--blech.

[ontap78]

A local bar here in New Ulm, MN has Moose Drool on tap and one of our liquor stores has it in bottles.I guess I'm not a big fan of the drool or any other of their beers. Although I've had pretty good luck with the Flying Dog Pale Ale. It must turn over good here. Maybe it's their bizarro packaging that's catching the buyer and keeping the beer fresh.I also like their scottish porter.

[Beaver]

Originally posted by steveh
Don't forget -- I didn't give that six pack a favorable review! In fact, there's still 3 bottles left, but the funny thing is - they don't say Doggie Style on 'em. Did FD have to take that off?

S.

And no, I don't want to think I'm drinking moose drool, do you? :P <--blech.

Here's a link to their label:
http://flyingdogales.com/02_litter_brews/litter_doggiestyle.html

[steveh]

Originally posted by Beaver
Here's a link to their label:
http://flyingdogales.com/02_litter_brews/litter_doggiestyle.html

Yeah, I was wrong (maybe I can blame it on my ever-failing close-up eyesight), I checked the old bottles last night and saw the nickname printed tiny to the right of the inimitable Mr. Steadman's "bizarro" illustration. ;)

S.

[steveh]

Straight from the source via Mr. Fret - label date code: 283A04 Mid October? I must have read the label wrong, must be 233 - Early August...anyway,

Deep gold - nearly amber color with a nice light cream colored head.

Mellow citrus fruit nose with mild biscuit malt back. Very faint DMS.

Grapefruit/pineapple initial flavor with mellow biscuit malt in nice balance. Hop bitterness lingers in the aftertaste with smooth, light caramel/toffee maltiness in the finish.

Light to medium body with a crisp mouth feel.

The balance of this beer is very sublime, just as the hops fade the malts follow through with a tasty smooth finish. A comparison to SNPA would prove the FD edging to a more malty side due to the use of (more) caramel or maybe special-B malts (their web site says Carastan malts - I'm unfamiliar with the variety - anyone?).

By far a much nicer experience than the very stale sixer I picked up earlier, I'll need to keep the FD in mind at the paint store from now on. Thanks Fret.

S.

[chazwicke]

Several varieties of the FD beers make it to the Right coast. Those that I have sampled have been unimpressive. Maybe they were dated as well. I can't recall which I have had but I generally stay away from them now. I glad to hear that it is probably just a freshness issue.

[fretlessman71]

Hooray! I'm so glad that you weren't disappointed in the second bottle you got to have. I really enjoy their Scottish Porter, but I really didn't care at all for their Snake IPA - would you believe they rate it LESS malty AND LESS hoppy than their pale? Weird...

[Seymour]

This is heartening for those of us down south, as well. I had their Scottish Porter while visiting family in Alabama, and REALLY didn't like it. I assumed at the time it was a "tourist" beer, dummied down to please the masses. I was a little turned off by the label anyway, with the Picasso-like dogs. Turns out from the way you talk I probably just had some old product. Next time I'm in the Rockies (god, let it be soon!), I'll give it a re-try if I see it.

[Beaver]

Originally posted by Seymour
This is heartening for those of us down south, as well. I had their Scottish Porter while visiting family in Alabama, and REALLY didn't like it. I assumed at the time it was a "tourist" beer, dummied down to please the masses. I was a little turned off by the label anyway, with the Picasso-like dogs. Turns out from the way you talk I probably just had some old product. Next time I'm in the Rockies (god, let it be soon!), I'll give it a re-try if I see it.

How can you not like Ralph Steadman? :)

[chazwicke]

Maybe the labels are better than the beer? :D

[Beaver]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Maybe the labels are better than the beer? :D

I think there is some truth to that. I think the labels are awesome, the beer is just pretty decent.

[fretlessman71]

IMHO, their best brews are the Pale Ale, Wheat, Porter, and Amber Lager (which is really a steam beer). Haven't had the K-9 Cruiser yet, but it looks enticing.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Beaver
How can you not like Ralph Steadman?

Yeah - lordy, don't call him Picasso! ;)

The Dogtoberfest is pretty doggone good too. Sorry, hadda.

S.

[fretlessman71]

On your glowing report I'm more than willing to give the Dogtoberfest a second try. I suppose I shouldn't expect it to taste like Paulaner, eh?

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
On your glowing report I'm more than willing to give the Dogtoberfest a second try. I suppose I shouldn't expect it to taste like Paulaner, eh?

Rich, malty, and complex - yes. Melanoidinous - no. Yes, I just made that up. ;)

Sprecher, Capital, Summit, Goose Island, and Sam Adams aren't utilizing imported malts either, but all of their Oktos are still worth drinking this year.

S.

PS - Harp, still haven't gotten my hands on any Lake Front this year, maybe at Quivey's.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by steveh
Rich, malty, and complex - yes. Melanoidinous - no. Yes, I just made that up. ;)
I like it! Entering it into the mental vocabulary as we speak.

Would you believe we're getting Lakefront stuff here now? What do you recommend? I enjoyed their Pumpkin Lager...

[chazwicke]

I think it should be put down in black and white. Added to the dictionary! That is great Steveh. And I thought I was being clever talking about feeling Oktoberfesty.

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Would you believe we're getting Lakefront stuff here now? What do you recommend? I enjoyed their Pumpkin Lager...

Eee -- ooo -- yuck! Sorry, not a pumpkin beer fan.

AFA LF goes, look for their Riverwest Stein - it's my favorite of theirs. Sort of an amber brown lager with a rich flavor. Klisch (the name of the 2 brothers who own the brewery) Pilsner and Eastside Dark are good and their seasonals are always good too.

S.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by steveh
Eee -- ooo -- yuck! Sorry, not a pumpkin beer fan.
If I had stopped at Buffalo Bagel's Pumpkin beer, I'd would've had to agree with you... :(

[Minor_Deity]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
If I had stopped at Buffalo Bagel's Pumpkin beer, I'd would've had to agree with you... :(

Who's Pumpkin Beers do you favor?
I had one at a friend's I really liked last year and didn't get the name. Had a BB's last week and did not care for it. Heavy on a spice I didn't care for (allspice?) and it didn't have the pumpkiny flavor or smooth mouthfeel I liked in that one last year.

Going to try to brew one this weekend, but would still like to try a good one or two for camparison. I am in the San Antonio/Austin area.

Got ta get back at it.
Work rears it's ugly head.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Minor_Deity
Who's Pumpkin Beers do you favor?

Please use the previously started post on Pumpkin Beers for any response or further discussions... here (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4574).

S.