Gonzo
Flying Dog Brewery

GonzoGonzo
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From:
Flying Dog Brewery
 
Maryland, United States
Style:
Imperial Porter
Ranked #128
ABV:
10%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,605
Avg:
4.02 | pDev: 10.95%
Reviews:
1,526
Ratings:
3,065
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 28, 2024
Added:
Jun 04, 2005
Wants:
  169
Gots:
  391
Too weird to live, too rare to die, Gonzo Imperial Porter is bold and forceful, like the man it was brewed to honor – Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Complex layers of roasted chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, and vanilla malt flavors are balanced with a one-of-a-kind hop bite that hits you like a homemade firecracker. Buy the ticket and take the ride by pairing this rich and creamy porter with blue cheeses, smoked meats, BBQ, chili, chocolate and coffee desserts. Best shared with your closest circle of friends— real or hallucinated.

Malts: Caramel, Black, Chocolate
Hops: Northern Brewer, Cascade
Yeas: American Ale, English Ale
IBU: 85
ABV varies
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bwan15:
Photo of bwan15
Reviewed by bwan15 from New York

3.34/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Appearance: Pours black as midnight on a moonless night. I can see my reflection in the glass. Tan head is luxuriously thick and foamy, shrinking from two fingers to half a finger over the course of a couple minutes.

Smell: The bouquet is underwhelming but has hints of sweet, pungent cocoa wafting up. There are also trace notes of alcohol stabbing through the relatively mellow nose.

Taste: Initial impression is of an astringent top-layer shrinking the middle of my tongue. Roasted malt reeking of burnt coffee anchors this beer at the bottom, and there are hints of brandy or whiskey stirring around just above it, but they are faint. There is a ghost of salt lurking in there somewhere.

Mouthfeel: Not crazy about the acidic tongue-buzzing. Otherwise smooth and pleasant; coats the mouth and palate just enough to live up to its Imperial claim.

Drinkability: The last time I had this beer I was sitting in a life-guard chair on a deserted beach just near Montauk, watching a roiling blue sea fade to grey with the dimming autumn light. Maybe it was the romance of the place, or the fact that I was pretty high, but I was fucking in love with this beer. Now, over a year later, I am underwhelmed. It's interesting and big (not huge), but lacks complexity and nuance. This porter was brewed in honor of Hunter S. Thompson, the best-known champion of Gonzo journalism, which was a type of writing in which the authors immersed themselves in whatever their subjects were so that they could write from an experiential point of view. It was all about putting your ass on the line and your guts into the writing, and I think that if the fellows at Flying Dog want to truly honor Mr. Thompson, they should go stir up their guts by picking a fight with the Hell's Angels, partake in a protest in the Pacific Northwest, and experiment heavily with several psychoactive drugs. That way, when they drag their broken heads and bodies back into the ol' brewery think-tank, they'll have some heady fodder to ferment into something worthy of the late great Hunter S.
Dec 03, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.91 by sewerchewer from New York

Feb 28, 2024
Photo of Nass
Reviewed by Nass from Florida

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5
there is no date on the bottle. The pour is cola colored. The taste is roasted malt, black licorice, and some earthy medicinal notes. In addition to, the 10% abv is well hidden. Cheers! A-
Nov 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by Jdells09 from New Jersey

Aug 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by headfullofacid from Maryland

May 01, 2023
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Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

3.96/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottle stamped VINTAGE 22 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 10% ABV. The beer pours dense, dark brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind a web of lacing. Aroma is mild with dark chocolate. The taste is bittersweet malt with a dark toasted, but not roasted touch. Hints of chocolate and coffee. Moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good.
Apr 26, 2023
 
Rated: 3.77 by KT3418 from Colorado

Mar 20, 2023
Photo of MadMadMike
Reviewed by MadMadMike from France

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12 oz bottle poured into a hotel coffee cup.
Long rating short: this is a beautiful example of the way an Imperial Porter is supposed to be - on all levels.
Buy the ticket and take the ride.,.
Mar 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by avisong from Virginia

Feb 28, 2023
Photo of izraelc
Reviewed by izraelc from New York

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours dark. Tan foam. Oaky aroma. This one is interesting. Heavy roasted malt body followed by a big hop presence. Slightly sweet chocolate finish. Big bold flavors. It's a little muddled but not bad.
Jan 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.1 by KC_beerman from Missouri

Jan 22, 2023
Photo of Pivopijak
Reviewed by Pivopijak from Washington

3.8/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
bottle into glass
really sustaining, thick tan head. Completely opaque and nearly black look. Quite restrained, dark roasted grains with a lot of a medicinal and astringent aroma. Sharp, nearly burnt grain and wood flavor that persists throughout the taste, on to the finish and makes up the taste.
Jan 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.13 by ThinkAgain from Canada (ON)

Dec 14, 2022
Photo of AzfromOz
Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia

4.59/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Received from @Turkeysdrinkbeer in February 2022. Drunk in December 2022.

Drunk on the first 30+ degree day of the summer (that's 86F for you Americans out there). I shouldn't have enjoyed this so much, but damn...

L: It looks like a stout. It's as thick as custard and as black as the ace of spades, with a thin, mocha-colored head. No carbonation is visible. It's really very pretty!

S: There are big roasted notes with molasses, rich toffee, and an umami-like savoury note.

T: Taste is great! It's quite bitter, but it's balanced by the big roasted, burnt molasses notes it's pumping out. There's booze that hangs around the side of the tongue after the swallow and a very pleasant alcoholic warmth. Underlying everything is a tangy toffee/caramel note that hangs it all together.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and silky, perfectly counterbalancing the bitterness of the brew.

O: What a great beer! Everything works together in perfect synergy, producing a beer that wears its alcoholic big-boy boots in plain sight yet hides them under a tasty, complex and moreish beer with a calm, angelic insouciance. I would definitely have more than one of these if I could, but I'd come out at the wrong end of that battle!

Cheers!
#155
Dec 11, 2022
Photo of BubbleBobble
Reviewed by BubbleBobble from New York

4.06/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pours near black, 2" tan head with very good retention and strong lacing. Nose is brown sugar, vanilla, molasses, light soy sauce, floral hop. Taste leads with strong roasted peanuts, with boozy vanilla, barrel, and black licorice as it warms. Feel is moderately chewy and full with very light carbonation. Alcohol is well hidden. A really solid beer.
Nov 13, 2022
 
Rated: 3.93 by Pens1967 from Louisiana

Nov 06, 2022
Photo of NeoClassicist
Reviewed by NeoClassicist from New York

4.56/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Doth mine eye deceive me?
Pours with an even two finger head at each attempt into an Imperial Pint glass. Deep black, not inky, not burnt brown. Foam fades after about five minutes, is light brown in color. Smell is perplexing, too much going on to pick out individual smells. Tastes strong but not forceful, the myriad flavours of hops, chocolate, malt, charcoal, and their many companions joining to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Goes down thick and rich, even at the last sip of two bottles. Never heavy, never oily. This is a porter, you say. I don't care what it is or what you call it or how many people get offended by the packaging. This is really good.
Jun 30, 2022
 
Rated: 3.54 by petrusek23 from Ohio

Jun 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.09 by Bogdawg from Massachusetts

Jan 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.23 by CheapBeerBuzz from California

Dec 30, 2021
Gonzo from Flying Dog Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 3065 ratings