Beer Review: Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat Ale
I have to apologize for the light posting lately. I have a few things that I've wanted to post about on here, but I just haven't had the time this weekend. The upcoming week looks like it will be hectic too, so posting may still be light. Tonight, I'm enjoying a bottle of Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat Ale while watching Governor Mitt Romney on C-SPAN's Q & A. Yeah, I do see the strangeness of having a beer while watching the Mormon who I'm currently favoring for president in 2008.
Flying Dog is a really cool Denver brewery. They are well known for their cool bottles and packaging. Ralph Steadman (whose work you may be familiar with from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) does all of the art. The beer is pretty good too.
The In-Heat Wheat Ale (sporting a great drawing of some dogs about to... yeah) is Flying Dog's Hefeweizen. Like other hefeweizens, it has a cloudy, flat gold color. Skipping the filtration process keeps things nice and cloudy. It's very fragrant, sort of sweet and yeasty, yet fruity too. The flavor is a little different than most other hefeweizens that I've had. There is more of a fruity, citrusy flavor. The beer is incredibly light in your mouth. While that makes it very drinkable, it might be too light for people used to something heavier. The flavor tends to dissipate too quickly for my liking. That factor plus the lightness encourages you to take a drink more often. These beers go fast.
For a hefeweizen, I would say that this is average. However, American hefeweizens never tend to live up to the Germans, so that's something to keep in perspective. For a beer in general, I think this is great. It's got all of the makings of a good summer beer. It's light, refreshing, and perfect for a hot July night. I recommend Flying Dog in general. They're a cool micro with a decent selection.
Flying Dog is a really cool Denver brewery. They are well known for their cool bottles and packaging. Ralph Steadman (whose work you may be familiar with from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) does all of the art. The beer is pretty good too.
The In-Heat Wheat Ale (sporting a great drawing of some dogs about to... yeah) is Flying Dog's Hefeweizen. Like other hefeweizens, it has a cloudy, flat gold color. Skipping the filtration process keeps things nice and cloudy. It's very fragrant, sort of sweet and yeasty, yet fruity too. The flavor is a little different than most other hefeweizens that I've had. There is more of a fruity, citrusy flavor. The beer is incredibly light in your mouth. While that makes it very drinkable, it might be too light for people used to something heavier. The flavor tends to dissipate too quickly for my liking. That factor plus the lightness encourages you to take a drink more often. These beers go fast.
For a hefeweizen, I would say that this is average. However, American hefeweizens never tend to live up to the Germans, so that's something to keep in perspective. For a beer in general, I think this is great. It's got all of the makings of a good summer beer. It's light, refreshing, and perfect for a hot July night. I recommend Flying Dog in general. They're a cool micro with a decent selection.
