The nice folks at Flying Dog sent me their newly-released Gonzo Imperial Porter. In the past (although I'm not sure if on this blog and I'm too lazy to find out), I've noted that Flying Dog beers have been hit or miss for me. This one is a hit.
If you are as in to me and I am, you know that I love porters. That and stouts are my favorite beer styles and I'm in good company (you'll just have to trust me on this one). So I was happy when a man in brown shorts delivered this one to my doorstep. Unfortunately, at that time I had a cold and couldn't really smell or taste anything so I had to wait until I was sure I could get the full effect of this beer.
Here is the part where I paste in the details of this beer from the press release. I do this mainly because I am lazy but also because they did a nice, concise job of explaining what makes this beer special.
This unique version of Flying Dog’s popular Gonzo Imperial Porter was brewed and transferred into charred White American Oak whiskey barrels that the neighboring Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey had aged their product in for two years. After aging in the wood barrels for three months, the Imperial Porter was hand bottled, corked, labeled and conditioned for another six weeks before being shipped. According to Head Brewer Matt Brophy, the resulting taste will “remind you of sweet chocolate, dry oak and smooth whiskey. The barrel’s distinctive characteristics will compliment the Imperial Porter’s already robust, full-bodied flavor.”
I could definitely taste the oak and whiskey flavoring and it really stood out in the aroma and head. Speaking of head, here's some beer porn which shows how much I suck (sorry, irresistible pun) at pouring:
The barrel aging gives this beer a nice flavor but it isn't overwhelming but complementary. If you like porters be sure to check this out.
[tags]beer[/tags]
4 comments ↓
Just goes to show you there’s a right way and a wrong way to do a whiskey porter. I feel you on the cold right now. Definite case of the sniffles…
[...] produced, so there’s little chance of us small-timers getting our hands on some. However, Chris at Hail the Ale! has written a review on this sucker, as has The Brew Site. Both reviews give me the impression that Flying Dog did not, in fact, resort [...]
Howdy-Where/How would one find this in the Atlanta (metro)area? Many Thx!
@Fred: try one of the retailers listed on the Flying Dog site.
If that doesn’t work, you may be able to order it direct from their site.