Flying Dog Gonzo

So, this is the first review of our Gonzo Extravaganza. Gonzo is named after the Good Doctor himself, Hunter Stockton Thompson. You probably won't recognize his name, which is a shame and travesty on humanity. If you've seen Johnny Depp's movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you've been experienced to Hunter S. Thompson (as Thompson wrote the book that said movie is based on). Same with The Rum Diary.  The artwork on the bottles is done by Ralph Steadman, who illustrated many of Thompson's novels/articles.

Why is this beer called Gonzo? Thompson was an outlaw journalist, a non-traditionalist who lived by his own rules. His writing style was deemed 'Gonzo journalism'. He passed, by his own hand, on Feb 20th, so to pay tribute, this is the first in a 3 part beer review. Why wasn't it done on the 20th? Well, in true Gonzo style, we missed the deadline.

But enough about his history lesson on the greatest American ever, onto the beer review.

This is a harder-to-find year round brew. It is an imperial porter that is simply amazing. I first fell in love with this back in 2007, and it's been my fitting tribute to the man since. 9.2%, dark as the blackest night, with a head on it that looks like coffee with a bit of cream.

The aroma is uncharacteristic of most porters. You get tons of hops in the nose. The flavor, though, fucking eh, the flavor. There are dark roasted notes, chocolate notes, coffee notes, some slight caramel notes, and hops. The mouthfeel is a little thick, but finishes with an amazing bitterness, like getting a fresh cup of coffee from a barista, throwing it into the face of the barista, then chugging a high IBU IPA, punching an elderly lady and stealing her car to flee the scene.

This beer is simply amazing, if you do not go and pick some up, I will hunt you down and rip out each toenail, one by one, while pouring lemon juice onto them.

5/5 caps because that's as high as our rating system goes

-Nathan

I'll be a little less harsh, much as this beer is easy-drinking. This was the first porter that I actually liked. It's still my favorite (with Founder's being a close second, and I'm currently kicking myself for not picking up the Bell's Porter today, as I haven't seen that in a long time).

The hoppy finish on this is fantastic. It's a great beer, one which all porters should strive to be. It's not so heavy it makes you feel like you just ate a Hunter S. Thompson hangover breakfast in one beer. It's perfectly light-bodied, yet drinks as dark as coffee without any cream. Yet I find it a perfect balance of coffee and chocolate.

I'll try to hold Nathan back from the toenail affronts, but yes, please do go out and find some. Weiland's is the only place I've seen it in a long time.

5/5 caps because my toenails live in fear

-Jennie