Flying Dog Cerberus and Garde Dog

Posted on 12.30.07 2:36PM under News

Flying Dog is a beer brand that I haven’t had much of a chance to really dig into. I had the Dogtoberfest in my Oktoberfest spree a few months ago. I reviewed it on BeerAdvocate. At the time, 3.7 sure seemed a lot higher than what they now call B-. Seems more like a B+ based on my recollection and my notes there. Man, the new rating system skewed all my scores lower than I thought of them. Anyway…

Once I am done pursuing Dopplebock in preparation for the upcoming Session 11 this Friday, I am going to go down to good old Gordon’s Yellow Front Package Store and pick up a bunch of Dogs. Gordon probably has every variety (but sadly they’re long out of Collaborator).

Now I’ll have a few things to look forward to from the Flying Dog litter. Here’s the press release:

FLYING DOG BREWERY LEAPS EVER HIGHER
 WITH NEW STYLES, PACKAGES FOR 2008

A new seasonal and 4th new Canis Major style to hit shelves in 2008

Denver, CO – December 27, 2007 – Flying Dog Brewery has new show-stopping styles and packages for 2008. The brewery continues its tradition of offering award-winning beers in 2008 with the release of a Biere de Garde as their new spring seasonal and a Tripel as the fourth member of its Canis Major Series of high gravity beers.

“Garde Dog” Biere de Garde is unfiltered with a hazy, deep golden to light copper appearance. Brewed with domestically grown French Hops and German Pilsner Malts, it gives craft beer drinkers a very enjoyable, light-bodied, subtlety sweet beer with toasty malt undertones. Garde Dog is the perfect complement to lighter fare such as seafood, salads, cheese and Middle Eastern and Indian foods.

“Cerberus” Tripel is a bottle-conditioned strong Belgian Ale with slightly hazy appearance and mousse-like head. Brewing with Golding and Saaz hops and Pilsner and Aromatic malts yields a medium body and champagne-like carbonation. Cerberus pairs perfectly with turkey and other poultry, creamy cheeses, fruit pastries, desserts and crème brulee.

Flying Dog will also be launching two new and unique packages to their Canis Major Series in 2008. The first is a Mixed four-pack featuring one 12oz. bottle of each Canis Major style. The second is a Mixed eight-pack of 7oz. bottles, which will include two offerings of each Canis Major style. The Canis Major Series includes Gonzo Imperial Porter, Horn Dog Barley Wine, Double Dog Double Pale Ale and the new Cerberus Tripel.

ABOUT FLYING DOG BREWERY
Serving high-quality craft beer for more than 15 years, Flying Dog Brewery’s award-winning “litter of ales” is now available in 45 states. Flying Dog’s core value of “purposeful, provocative and irreverence” flows through the veins of the brewery’s founding owners, George Stranahan and Richard McIntyre. George and Richard ‘s friends have included “Gonzo Journalist” Hunter S. Thompson, who coined the brand’s tagline “Good People Drink Good Beer” and “Gonzo Artist” Ralph Steadman, who illustrates the brand’s packaging. For more information, log on to www.FlyingDogAles.com.

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For me, Belgian style beer was what really got me started into this whole journey of learning everything there is to know about beer, and sharing what I can. It turns out that my first beer along that path, the first (semi-)Belgian style beer was a 3 Monts Biere de Garde. Tasty beer if you never had it. Then once I had been through many of the Belgian styles (I almost said, “all the Belgian styles”, but that’s probably difficult or impossible) Tripel emerged as my clear favorite style. So needless to say, I am really looking forward to these two. Especially since I clearly prefer domestic beers to imports, I am always happy to welcome another American Tripel to the scene.

The other thing that they mentioned is the new packaging. I love the idea of small bottles of big beer. The concept of big bottles for big beer is just silly. It is a real commitment to finish a 22-ounce bomber of Imperial Stout. A 12-ounce bottle is much more achievable. Take that a step further, and a 7-ounce bottle is basically the same alcohol content of a 12-ounce bottle of “normal” strength beer. I think this packaging is a great idea, and others should do it. I’m not saying everyone should package their biggest beers in the smallest bottles, but please offer your big beers in normal-sized bottles.
Here’s a few gratuitous photos of the bottles for these new beers:
Cerberus_BottleShotGardeDog_BottleShot
For the record, I like the Cerberus label more than the Garde Dog.

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