Brewer: Flying Dog Brewery
Location: Frederick, Maryland
Type: Baltic Porter
ABV: 9.2%
Welcome to the Final Three, denizens. These are purely indulgent entries for me. I’ve had these final three beers many times in many forms. As many forms as I can possibly have them. They are three of my favorite beers from what might be my current favorite brewery: hometown heroes Flying Dog Brewery.
Flying Dog actually started out in Aspen, Colorado, in 1990. They relocated to Frederick, Maryland, in 1994, and it’s been all upward and onward since for us on the East Coast.
I’m not going to babble on about the color or the head or the lacing or the nose or anything along those lines. You can’t even see the color on this entry, thanks to my totally groovy cobalt GEEK glass…although look at that head!! So luscious! You’ve been here with me for almost a month now. You know what descriptors I assign to good versions of these beers…and you know what the few meh or worse entries received in their descriptions as well.
[Loba Tangent: Those of you who actually have stuck around for this entire Darktober? Thank you so much…your indulgence of my random weirdness never ceases to surpise and delight me.]
Also, the selection of these final beers is based on my subjective responses to them. My palate is bizarrely my own…that being said, today’s beer is bar-none my current favorite. Of any beer I’ve ever had.
Is it the best? Probably not. But, oh, the overload it dumps into my pleasure cortex. It’s the liquid version of that crazy game that Commander Riker nearly broke the Enterprise crew with…thank goodness for Wesley!
o_O
I love Gonzo Imperial Porter. Do I think it’s an “everyday beer”? No. I wouldn’t want to drink something this decadent, this complex, this gorgeous every day. That would make it pedestrian, and that is a word this beer most assuredly does not deserve. This is a “treat beer,” in whatever form you can find it. Gonzo Imperial Porter, fresh from the tap, is like ambrosia to me. A must. Gonzo Imperial Porter, fresh from the bottle, leaves me feeling warm and happy. Gonzo Imperial Porter bottle-aged? Sweet merciful Hunter S. Thompson, this beer bottle ages like Helen Mirren: playful, distinguished, and breathtaking. Tonight’s bottle has been aging for about 14 months. Everything about it is…more. Perfectly, deliciously more.
I will say this: Aging this beer definitely turns it into a sipping beer. The intensity of the flavors make it a crime to imbibe it with any semblance of haste. This beer requires the respect of time.
There is another form of Gonzo Imperial Porter that I am sad to say I have yet to experience: Barrel-Aged Gonzo. Flying Dog makes this one in very limited batches, and the moment it hits shelves around here? It’s gone. People love this version of Gonzo. I’m willing to bet I would love it, too. I just need to get the chance…so if any of you ever see a bottle on a shelf somewhere, shoot me a text, okay? 🙂
