This is the last of the Flying Dog beers that came in the sampler. It’s also my favorite one, but it’s been my favorite of their normal offerings for a long time. Pours out a rich mahogany with a small head. Grassy hop smells dominate the nose. Lots of hops in the taste, too, but it’s not overwhelmingly dominating when pared up with the medium malt. This is a well-rounded beer that goes well any time of the day or night and in almost any situation. Great with food, great by itself. I’m a big fan, obviously.

Dark amber, big head from the bottle. Mostly caramel in the nose with some small hints of hops. Very easy drinking, caramel and malt in the flavor, mostly. This would be a great BBQ beer alternative to the normal cheap crap that gets served.

Very slightly reddish brown with a small head when poured out of the bottle. Very strong resin-like smell from the hops. The taste is almost all hops, from the beginning to the end. This one could use some more malt to balance everything out - I’m burping hops, and lots of them. HOPS!

I just bought the Flying Dog sampler and as it seems the only thing my stomach can really keep down without hurting me today is beer, I’ll be writing quite a few of these up tonight I imagine.

The Tire Bite is a very light-golden colored ale that pours with a large white head that quickly goes away. Lots of sweet malt in the nose, but little else. Lots of hay flavor along with the malt. This one’s not nearly as aggressive as I would have expected from a Flying Dog Ale - it’s a lot more subdued. Leaves the mouth feeling that tannin-like feeling from a strong red wine. Nothing special to see here, move along. This is another one of those beers that I feel could just use MORE - of anything, really, as long as there was more of it.

Vintage 07. Pours out darker than sin with a thick, coffee-like head. Lots of coffee in the nose along with quite a bit of sweetness. There’s also lots of coffee and chocolate in the taste. I was expecting more hops for an “Imperial” style beer, but it’s pretty good and balanced, especially for such a high-alcohol beer. It could be a little less sweet, but it works well as a good old-fashioned sippin’ beer. Brewed as a tribute to the late Hunter S. Thompson, I’m all for throwing a buck towards the Hunter monument. I’m going to keep one of these around and see how well it ages over a year or so - I imagine it’ll be even better after that time.