Dogtoberfest | Flying Dog Brewery

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I am reviewing this beer as a Maerzen beer!
Poured into my crystal mug, the beer poured a nice clear medium brown with hints of amber. The head is a fizzy tan head, about one finger high. It dissipates fast, leaving no lacing.
The smell tells of roasted malts, caramel and faint hops.
Tasting the beer, the beer reminds me more of an ale, rather than a Festbier. Yet the roasted malt which is pretty much the front, is kept in check by some earthy hop. The middle is of a strong caramel, tofee character and makes this beer a sweet one. The finish is a combination of the above and makes this beer a very drinkable, medium bodied brew. I am just not so sure of the style, but I guess it not that important as long we can enjoy it.

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3.46/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

"Well it's a dog eat dog
Eat cat too
The French eat frog
And I eat you"

--AC/DC


Burnt apricot with brilliant orange lasers indicating the fiery morning sun on the opposite side of the glass. The toasted cream colored cap is a looker. It's creamy and firm at once with a finely pocked surface and the potential for lace that is already beginning to manifest itself on the upper few inches of glass.

The nose, however, can't come close to those heights. It's low on power for starters and is more grainy than appealingly malty for finishers. Since various varieties of Munich malt make up four of the five malts in use, the aroma is about as earthily Munich-like as it gets.

This is a pretty decent representation of the style even if it isn't much better than average beer in general. Of course, the same could be said for most of the Flying Dog line. The biggest negative is that there isn't a whole lot of depth in the flavor profile. Heavily toasted malt with a lightly fruit accent is all that's on offer. Some amount of spicy hop bitterness appears on the finish (Perle, Hersbrucker), but there isn't a great deal of hop flavor to be had.

There's nothing at all amiss in the body/mouthfeel department. I have no idea if this is a lager or an ale, but given the impressive smoothness, I'd have to say the former. Actually, the mouthfeel is the highlight of this pooch and proves that he passed obedience school with flying (dog) colors.

I'm not an Oktoberfest aficionado by any means, but even I can recognize that there are much better versions of the style than this one. Still though, it's an okay little seasonal that isn't too challenging and could be consumed by the liter mugful while munching on some bratwurst and sauerkraut.

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3.35/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a deep copper with a nice fluffy headthat took quite awhile to come down,big caramel notes in the aroma with some pizza dough scent so far so good on this one.Well the flavor of this doesnt quite match the aromas somewhat dull in comparison some lightly sweet caramel and and some lingering spice but pretty bland.Well like alot of Flying Dog brews this one left me wanting a little more,nice appearance and aroma but flat on flavor and drinkability.

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4.47/5  rDev +25.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This oktoberfest is definately on the dark side, but no less festive with a deep glowing amber-ruby hue. Clear as glass. Very respectable off-white head is perfumed with ale fruit, caramel, and toasted nuttiness.

This is one O/M with some oomph, or maybe oom-pa is more like it. Very light sweetness slides into nutty tastes and quickly darkens to deep malt/ caramel sweetness. There is an undersatated fruitiness in the forefront of this beer. Malt flavor continues to fill out as hop bitterness comes on strong in the finish. This can definately stand up to heavy food, which is important to me in this style. However, slight heaviness of this beer hurts drinkability, which is also important for this style. I wish the overall taste was brighter, but this is a special O-fest.

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3.51/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

4.16/5  rDev +16.9%

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer review from BA Mag Oct 2007.

There is more than one German in this wild pack of dogs. While the O-fest beer at the actual Oktoberfest is getting lighter, American brewers are still keeping their renditions dark and beefy.

Bright orangey brass-colored brew, clarity is perfect and the lace is not too shabby either. Toasty malt aroma with more bready notes than caramel in the nose, clean, fresh and inviting with a touch of herbal hop. Fresh toasty malt flavor grabs hold of the palate and does not let go; a quick flash of caramel--however toasted--seems to have everything everywhere covered. Hint of cooked corn though the beer is quite clean. Nice spicy herbal mix of hop bitterness and flavor to nearly match the malt. Finishes a bit on the dry side with lingering toasted memories.

"Ein Bier, das genug für Hunde gut ist, mögen uns." Meaning, a beer good enough for dogs like us. Certainly one of the more tame brews from Flying Dog--sometimes staying true to style goes a long way.

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3.42/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The Flying Dog Dogtoberfest..complete with wacky Ralph Steadman artwork pours from the bottle a deep ruby red/auburn with a small off white head that moves outward to form a ring around the top of the brew. Aromas of sweet biscuity caramel malts with some dark fruits and a touch of nuttiness. There's a nice herbal, spicy hop aroma lingering about as well.

First sip brings an upfront bready caramel covered maltiness with a backing of dark fruity notes. The mild spicy hoppiness comes in mid palate and rolls down the back of the throat with some nutty flavors. A well meaning U.S. brewed oktoberfest...but it just leaves me a little bored in the end.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice chewy creaminess on the way down. Asserts itself quite nicely. A fairly easily drinkable beer, however it just doesn't grab me to make me want to come back for more.

Tunes: Monolake - Zero Gravity

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4/5  rDev +12.4%

3.65/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

An OK beer. Copper color with a modest white head. Decent aroma of caramel and flowers. The taste was a little disappointing. Some caramel and a little bit of hops at the end. I thought it was thin in the mouth. Drink this on a hot day, after you've mowed the lawn.

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2.36/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

12 oz bottle. Pours a copper orange with a small white head that quickly recedes to a thin collar.

The aroma is biscuity malts and a little fruit and alcohol.

The flavor is sweet caramel and biscuity malts with a harsh medicinal bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium to full.

Overall, oktoberfests are not one of my favorite styles and this is a pretty subpar version. The flavors are a mish-mash and not appealing to me.

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4.42/5  rDev +24.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a small mug. The label has a brief description, ABV (5.6%) and IBUs (30). There is no freshness date but it is a fall seasonal so I know it's still fresh.

Appearance: The beer has a very deep red amber color with a tall creamy beige head. The head slowly settles down to a thin cap that makes some silk lacing on the glass.

Smell: The aroma is kind of light I do pick up nice roasted caramel maltiness with a touch of nuttiness and herbal leafy hops.

Taste/Palate: The flavor is right there after the aroma. It has a good deep roasted malt character with caramel and bready sweetness. The hops show up with some herbal and leafy bitterness to add some balance. It finishes fairly quickly with a mix of hop bitterness and caramel malt sweetness. The palate has a decent medium body with an average mouth feel.

Notes: This is one of the better dark Oktoberfest beers I have had this year. I can see this pairing very well with traditional Oktoberfest food. I know I am craving a big pretzel with mustard right now.

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3.2/5  rDev -10.1%

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%

4/5  rDev +12.4%

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz brown bottle with a freshness code that you can't make out.

Uniform two fingers of off white head stay around long enough to count. Bright copper color. Hints of toasted malt and a kiss of caramel and grape skin with a light herbal tone form the hops make up the clean aroma. Smooth and crisp with a medium body, a little thin on the malt but the toasted character does come around hard enough to keep things going. Slight grape skin and herbal hop with a quick sting of bitterness middle to end. Finishes semi-dry with a mellow toasted grain flavor.

Compared to where some of the mass produce o-fest beers from Germany are going this one held its own. Not a bad pick for the style.

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3.65/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear copper body with a frothy, one finger tan head. Good retention and lots of patchy lacing.
Caramel malt dominates the aroma, with a hint of earthiness and a nice whiff of German hops.
Mouthfeel has ideal carbonation which supports a medium body.
Bavarian style malts have a caramel sweetness that is well balanced by the German hops. This is a smooth drinking festbier, but it seems to thin out toward the finish.
One of the better efforts I've had recently from Flying Dog, and a very respectable festbier.

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3.64/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle. Initially Looked pretty typical for an O'Fest brew, except the head is on the larger bubble side, quickly departing and not all that impressive. Seriously bready nose, smell like the inside of a plastic bag thats recently been the home of a nice rich whole wheat loaf. Fairly respectable tasting for the style, malt carries the freight. Not overly sweet, with some balancing/drying going on late. Always has been a yawner of a style, IMHO. This one seems about as good as the next middle of the road Octoberfest/Marzen

I do like to have some sweeter beer like this one on hand, cuz its a natural in my typical spicy/sweet chicken thigh marinade concoction

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4.36/5  rDev +22.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

3/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours a dark amber color with a white head. The beer gushed out to the top of the bottle when it was opened and took a few minutes to settle down.

The aroma is very malty. I get a lot of toffee and iced tea notes, as well as a little bit of grassyness. The flavor is more of the same with lots of toffee, caramel and grass. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

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2/5  rDev -43.8%

4.25/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4/5  rDev +12.4%

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I bought this as a single at Union Jack's on the Manatawny. I drank it in a pilsner glass. On the label is stamped 336A05. I think it's a date of some kind, but I don't know what it means. How fucking hard is this to do?

Pours a bright copper color, with a one finger head of cream colored foam. Carbonation looks medium. The head falls to islands and a ring, with intermittent drips of lacing.

Aroma is light toasted malts, clean, with a slight spicy hop note.

Flavor is like the smell; clean toasted malt, light brown sugar, a good amount of bittering hops, and a faint but there spicy hop taste. Not so sure the brown sugar is supposed to be there for the style, but it's a tasty beer nonetheless. Aftertaste is sweet toasted malts.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, with a nice tingle on the tongue from carbonation. Finish is smooth and semi-sweet.

Might be a little sweet for the style, but it's a damn tasty beer. This brewery has a tendency to go overboard from time to time, but this is a good beer. I'd do this anytime. Recommended.

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