Ah, no long ass work week would be manageable without a damn good, heavy IPA, or in this case, an Imperial IPA that clocks in at 10%. This to celebrate that Ralph Steadman's documentary, For No Good Reason, is finally coming to Columbus on July 4th. I've been waiting for this documentary for over a year now.
So with that said, please join me in the adventure of the mind and taste buds as I guide you through this limited release selection from the most Gonzo brewing company, Flying Dog.
"I ain't got a dime,
but what I got is mine.
I ain't rich, but Lord
I'm free." Whether
it's morning, noon,
or night, you're damn
straight that Amarillo
is where I'll be.
The flavor text on the side of the bottle. A reference to George Straight's song, "Amarillo." Eh, typically the flavor texts on Flying Dog bottles are better than this. I've give them a pass as it's being playful with song lyrics.
This pours a clear, golden amber color with a nice finger head on it that's slightly off-white. The aroma on this is a nice piney, citrus concoction with some herbal notes lending a hand to dunk your nose into the foamy head. Damn... this head is thick. When you start scraping head off your nose and suck on your finger, does that make you a connoisseur or a lush? I mean, after all, it is only Thursday night, one more long day of unbridled torture at the concrete prison that provides the money for drinking this. The same concrete walls that give me a listless outlook on life, the same metal dock doors that make me feel empty each and every day. The same cement floor that mocks my very will to live. I seem to be straying, typical, huh.
The flavor on this makes me feel like calling off tomorrow and having a 3-day-weekend long affair in a hot tub with different hop varieties. It's that pungent blast of hoppiness on the front that I need to get through the day. Citrus heavy toward the front, bleeding into a piney burst that starts to build along with the bitterness. Smooth toward the front with growing bitterness to where this leaves your mouth slightly puckered, with resiny goodness lingering as you try to catch your breath from the sucker punch of boozy that just hit you. The malt notes aren't really noticeable to me on this, some brown sugar flavors, but not the typical caramel/biscuit/toffee that I'm used to as a backbone for IPAs.
This finishes sticky, making your freshly lashed tongue long for more, much like some sort of kinky BDSM fetish. There's something of a fresh blast of the Amarillo hop as you breathe, all the while the stickiness keeps building until you satisfy the thirst.
Although not one of my favorite hop varieties, it's a great showcasing of a single hop. Not quite as good as their Single Hop Simcoe or Single Hop Citra, but this is my own personal preference. Get out there and get your tongue lashed.
4.75/5 caps
-Nathan-
Even at home, it's been a long week. So long that I thought tonight was Friday for about an hour. Meh. I'm ready for a beer that packs a bit heavier punch.
Perfectly clear, this golden amber brew still has some head lingering after it has had some time to warm from fridge temp. Dense lacing remains at the top of my glass. For me, the jury is still out on Amarillo hop strain. I like to use them for bittering, but I'm not that familiar with using them for aroma and flavor. I find the aroma to be earthy with almost a hint of fresh sage and mint atop the citrus and pine notes. The aroma on this is pure hops; I'm not finding much malt backbone here in the nose. Taking a sip as mine has warmed significantly, there is a really noticeable earthy tone in here that I don't prefer. Candidly, it tastes like there should be some dirt grit in here, as the earthy tone lingers throughout the taste. I find it kind of off-putting, but that may just be me. There are the citrus -- specifically lemon -- and pine notes that he-with-boy-parts mentioned, but I find them to be much too subtle for my liking. This beer is overly sticky and cloyingly sweet. I kind of want to go brush my teeth after each sip because it's so sticky on my tongue and lips. Yes, indeed, that is what she said.
Honestly, this is my least favorite brew from this series. It's too sweet, even for an IIPA. The hop characteristics are overpowered by the sweetness of this. It's a dessert brew, and I'm not loving this. It is my opinion that this is sweeter than Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout. I do enjoy so many of their other offerings, though, this won't turn me off. I'd love to get my hands on some of Flying Dog's El Dorado single-hop series, for certain, and usually I like their IPAs. This one, I feel, misses the mark and isn't up to their usual standard.
3.7/5 caps
Music Pairing: "Next Round" Frank Turner (yes, I've been listening a lot to him. It's great drinking music with deep lyrics set to punk/folk music)
Cheese Pairing: Habanero (or hotter) Pepper Jack
Food Pairing: Chile Rellenos
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