Brew Review: Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale

Alright guys, this week I'm reviewing Flying Dog Brewery's Double Dog Double Pale Ale (that's a mouth full). This monster of a beer has double the ingredients of a normal pale ale and double the alcohol content (10.5% ABV). With that said though, this is a really smooth beer. It's by no means a session beer, however...one made me a little light-headed.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not normally a big fan of Flying Dog fan. Whether its Roger Steadman's (the guy who did the art for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) crazy gonzo art on the bottles or their too-big-to-keep-up-with beer line, they've never struck me as a serious brewery. This beer, though not great, has convinced me to give them a second look.

Double Dog is a thick, hazy beer. It's almost neon yellow. Even though the smell is a little thin, it has a nice fresh, citrusy aroma. Add that to the bottle art (rabid dogs running amok) and everything about this brew screams over-the-top. It really isn't though. While it it is very potent and definitely not for the faint of heart, it is a genuinely tasty beer.

At first it has a piney, citrusy taste -very abrupt and bright, maybe even tangy. That flavor stays with the beer all the way over the palate, but calms down a little toward the middle and back. The pine notes strengthen after each swallow too, making Double Dog enjoyable from beginning to end, if not leaving it slightly unbalanced. It is a double pale ale after all. Balance probably shouldn't be expected. The aftertaste was dry and bright and probably account for the strong pine aftertaste. The dryness did leave me hanging though, so this was an unintentionaly quick drink (I had to quinch my thirst, guys).


Terrapin makes a great double pale ale too, Rye Squared. It should be coming out in the spring. Sweetwater also has a good India Pale Ale (not quite double) and Atlanta Brewing makes a good regular pale ale called Peachtree Pale Ale. If you like Double Dog you'd like these too (and vice versa).

So with all that considered, I'm giving Flying Dog Double Dog Pale Ale a 3.5/5. This beer is a great example of a "super-beer," but it falls short in creating a complex taste. The taste notes are wonderful, but pretty straight-foward and without variety. Given the nature of the beer though, it may be hard to expect the subtle notes that other Pale Ales achieve. I'd only suggest this to folks who enjoy Pale Ales already or people who lean towards more hoppy beers.