A little while ago I picked up Flying Dog’s variety pack and in between all of the holiday beers and whatnot, I’ve been working my way through them and their awesome Ralph Steadman artwork.
- In Heat Wheat: Sweet, light, crisp and wheaty – a rather typical wheat beer. More details here. B-
- Tire Bite Golden Ale: Light and crisp, perhaps a small step above crappy “fizzy yellow stuff”, but not by much. C-
- Old Scratch Amber Lager: Nice amber color, medium body, a little sticky and overall, it’s a very drinkable session beer along the lines of Yuengling lager (maybe even a little better, but that’s hard for me to admit!). B
- Snake Dog India Pale Ale: A nice west-coast style hoppy, earthy IPA. It does well on its own, but pales (pun intended!) when compared to other good IPAs (including Flying Dog’s own Raging Bitch Belgian-style IPA). B
- Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale: Solid hoppy pale ale, a little darker than the IPA, but a nice quality session beer and maybe the best overall beer in this pack. B
- Road Dog Porter: Dark and a bit roasty, it wasn’t quite as complex as I’d have hoped. I’ve never been a big fan of the style though, so that’s probably part of my distaste. It’s not bad, but definitely not my thing. C+
Overall, while most of them are quite drinkable and solid beers, none are really all that exceptional. This isn’t to say that they don’t make exceptional beers though: Raging Bitch IPA is actually a big step up from the Snake Dog IPA, and I’ve heard good things about the Gonzo Imperial Porter.