Inspired by Blue Claws – Snake Dog IPA Review (Part I)
I have to apologize to Flying Dog Brewery. I have seen their product on the shelves of my favorite beverage center for some time now and because of their fancy-schmancy labels which they obviously paid an artist handsomely for, and because they took up so much shelf space, and because they had such array of styles to choose from, I assumed they were a mega brewery’s subsidiary trying to disguise themselves as a small craft brewer. I had even tried their Tire Bite at one point and didn’t care for it and thus made conclusions about them, and all their beers.
I’m sorry. I was wrong, and I should know that one bad sampling doesn’t mean they all are bad.
I had decided to give them another shot when I went on vacation and selected their Snake Dog IPA. I hope you like American hops because when you pour a bottle of this, *POW*, the aroma of the Columbus hops, with its citrus character, smacks you upside the head. (In a great way) The beer poured with a very nice, fluffy, white head and was bright amber in color.
Snake Dog turned out to be an excellent American IPA with strong hop aroma and bitterness that didn’t cross the line into way-to-bitter. It was clear, tasty, and left enough hop lingering in your mouth to make you want to have more.
I had paired this IPA with my sweet blue claw crabs and it was fantastic. The pairing worked well for that bittersweet contrast I love so much. It even worked well when the crab was spiced up with a little extra Old Bay.
Eating crab at the New Jersey shore is tradition in my family, a blog entry worthy to stand on it’s own as a follow-up. Look for it soon.
August 25, 2006 - 9:50 AM
What a coincidence.
It turns out that Flying Dog recently purchased Frederick Brewing Company, which is just up the road from me. They’ve renamed it Wild Goose Brewery (which was one of the brand names Frederick Brewing used) and will continue to produce the Blue Ridge and Wild Goose lines, as well the Flying Dog set of beers.
So the Flying Dog sampler pack that I picked up for my barbecue last week was locally brewed.
And, yes, they have some nice selections in their lineup.
August 25, 2006 - 11:11 PM
and yes Flying Dog is a micro brewer from CO no less, and yes they did pay an artist to do the label work..none less than the great Ralph Steadman who also honors Hunter S. Thompson on a beer that Flying Dog makes….good brewer in downtown Denver.