Tag Archives: wild goose brewery

Wild Goose XPA

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Beer-a-Day #302 Wild Goose XPA

The Extra Pale Ale is a new addition to the Wild Goose family of English-inspired ales. The XPA’s nose has herbal-like undertones of citrus and pine. A refreshing light to medium-bodied ale with a balanced malt sweetness and spicy, citrus hop character. A clean, crisp finish makes for a great session ale for people who prefer maltier styles.

Five percent may be a bit high for a session beer, but I am glad that Flying Dog kept around the Wild Goose line.

Pretty light amber and clear; head is fizzy and drops fairly quickly. I get some floral and earthy aromas. Flavor is light with a pleasant bitterness without being a tongue-stripper. I could see having a bunch of this, especially at a barbecue.

Wild Goose XPA: Extra Pale Ale


Wild Goose Snow Goose Winter Ale

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Snow Goose six-packBeer-a-Day #186

What do you know? Another winter beer on clearance.

Snow Goose is a Winter Warmer that has become a Mid-Atlantic tradition. Snow Goose pours a clear, deep, rich mahogany with a creamy, off-white head. The aromas are warm, toasty malts and caramel with just a hint of hops. Finishes clean
and dry.

Medium-dark brown with orange highlights; beige head. I can definitely smell the caramel and a bit of vanilla.  Medium body with nice roastiness and more caramel. I rather like that.

Wild Goose Brewery Snow Goose Winter Ale

Flying Dog Dog Schwarz

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Flying Dog logoBeer-a-Day #33

As usually happens once a year or so, my FOAM meeting this month was held at the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. For the trivial cost of $5 for a glass, I could sample everything they had on tap.

They had a couple of Wild Goose offerings on tap, as well as a large portion of Flying Dog’s “The Pack”, “Canis Major” and the spring seasonal: Garde Dog Biere de Garde. Three offerings caught my eye today:

First was the Wild Goose Pumpkin Patch Ale. Pumpkin ale is a bit out of season, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine so I decided to have that first.

Then I found out that on the hand pump was the Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout. Not only was it on cask, which was unusual enough, but this batch had been further dry-hopped. The silky-smooth hand-pumped oatmeal stout combined with the spice of dry hops made for an interesting combination.

But what made the biggest impression on my was Dog Schwarz, part of their Wild Dog series. I don’t usually like smoke beers, but this one was nicely balanced. Frankly, from the first sip I was craving bratwurst.

You don’t need to join a Maryland homebrew club. Flying Dog offers tours and tastings every Saturday.

Membership has its privileges

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So, I’ve been a member of F.O.A.M. for the last year and a bit. I’m still not brewing as much as I would like*, but they’re a good bunch of guys (and gals) who love to talk about beer and brewing, and would never deign to make fun of anyone still using extracts.

Anyway, last night was our (postponed) February meeting, which for the last few years has been held at the Wild Goose Brewery. E.T. behind the bar was cheerfully passing out samples of several labels from Wild Goose and Flying Dog, as well as a tap for Backfin Pale Ale. Bob the head brewer came ’round to let us know that their Belgian Trippel (made with Westmalle yeast) and Biere de Garde would be coming out within the next four to six weeks.

I got to sample the last of Test Batch #69. They were very coy about whether this might become a commercial product or not. I thought it was interesting. The Gonzo Imperial Porter and Double Dog Double Ale were popular (and delicious) but I limited myself to one sample of each. (At ABVs over 9 and 10 percent respectively, it’s for the best.) I didn’t get to sample everything they have on tap. Good thing, too, or I wouldn’t have gotten home until the wee hours of this morning.

I also got to wander around the brewery a bit. One of the brewers—just moved out from Colorado—was showing some other folks around, so I tagged along and learned a few interesting things.

Afterwards, fellow F.O.A.M.er Rick and I stopped in at Barley and Hops. They had their new Barrel Aged Jim Stout on the hand pump (Oatmeal Stout aged in Jim Beam barrels), which was quite good. I also had a couple of glasses of the Schifferstadt Stout, a nice dry stout that was just smooth and creamy. It was excellent, and just what I want when I think “stout”.

A good meeting.

* Heck I’m not writing here as often I would like. I’ve been darn busy.