Tropical Truth
Flying Dog Brewery

 

12oz bottle
for optimal freshness enjoy by 12. 15. 22
L: clear copper colored ale; thin yet persistent ivory colored head
S: mango, tangerine, grapefruit, light caramel malt, passion fruit
T: juicy & tropical as expected; mango, grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit, caramelized grain, pine
F: medium body, ample carbonation, sweet to start but bitter to finish
O: a very flavorful DIPA with fruit added. Happy to see Flying Dog making a bit of a comeback in the Midwest

 

 

 

A whole lot of Mango going on here!! They took the traditional "Truth" and fruited it up...substantially...a tad too much me thinks.

Golden yellow with a 1/2" white head, which lasts. Moderate lacing.

Beautiful aroma of tropical fruits: pineapple, mango, guava.

Taste follows nose, pineapple, mango, guava.

Medium body, moderate carbonation. Semisweet finish.

Wow! Very fruity tasting IPA.

Flying Dog Brewery "Tropical Truth"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "FOR OPTIMAL FRESHNESS ENJOY BY: 12.13.21B".
$2 @ Wegmans, King of Prussia, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: Great label from Ralph Steadman as usual. Oh! And it's an Imperial IPA with mango and passionfruit puree at 8.7%! The mango and passionfruit are obvious in the aroma as I pour it. It's a clear deep golden-amber in color beneath a full head of white foam. There's some sweetish and grainy maltiness to the aroma as well as the fruit. The flavor is just as good as I'd expect it to be, and even fruitier. It's a little sweet upfront but I associate that with tropical fruit, and want that, and there's enough bitterness there (@ 55 IBUS) to dry it in the end. A touch of spiciness helps the bitterness but I can't figure out if that's from the passionfruit, the hops, or the alcohol itself. It's not hot or boozy, but maybe it's a combination of everything. Or not. Beyond that I get some candied orange, a little bit of peach, and some floral character. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed by this. It's got a nice, rich and bready maltiness to it, and that's balanced really well between the fruitiness, bitterness, and spiciness. It's medium-full in body with a very fine-bubbled, median carbonation that leaves it smooth and somewhat creamy. I've still got a thin but creamy surface covering left on it halfway through, and it's completely solid without even a thinner area to it. That's pretty good head retention! The lacing is pretty damned good as well with wide streaks and splashes surrounded by spots all the way down from where the head began. I wasn't expecting to like this that much but I really do. If someone else were to criticise this I'm guessing they'd say it's too sweet, and/or too fruity. Maybe even too one sided, but I feel they'd be wrong in that. As for the sweet and fruity, it's called "Tropical Truth" and I think it lives up to that. If there was anything more that I'd want from this is would be more hop character in the aroma but I also feel that would probably mess up the sweet tropical fruit aroma that it already has. I'm tempted to score the aroma as a 4.5 as it actually smells like fruit juice to me, but I'm going to hold off on that, at least for now, and give it a 4.25.
Review #7,614

 

A fairly basic IPA. Pours a beautiful clear dark gold color with a medium size head that fades fast. thin bands ol lacingon the glass. Aroma and taste include some tropical fruit with little else. Bitterness is light, not much else beyond some slightly sweet tropical fruit. I thought I might have bought an old bottle but the freshness date said 12.14.21. Mouthfeel is a bit light for 8.7% .abv. On the whole, I didn't get a lot out of this beer.

12 ounce bottle poured into a tulip glass. Best by 12/13/21.

L---Crystal clear, light Amber color. Medium white head faded quickly to a ring and left nice lacing.

S---Well, they advertise it as, "brewed with mango and passionfruit puree", and it's obvious on the nose. Nothing else penetrates that.

T---Same as the nose. Sweet. They hit what they were aiming for.

F---Medium body with light carbonation.

O---A nice one. Maybe a bit sweet for me.

 

Served in a teku glass from the bottle.

Appearance: Semi hazy but in reality more translucent with a bubbly body and a white head which rose half a fingers length off the body.

Smell: Hard aroma of mango and berries, feels like the rhythm of kiwi hovering the nostrils.

Taste: has a soft citrus sweetness to the beer with doses of mango and passion fruit. Has a special summer quenching sweetness to the brew which sticks to you.

Mouth: medium carbonation with a sticky body and lingering tropical slushee flavors.

Overall: Good brew, loved every bit of it. Looks light but creeps on you. Always in a glass, salud.

Wow this beer is amazingly balanced for the ABV great tropical fruit hop notes and a smooth finish. In fact I think I prefer this over the regular version. Will try and seek out a six pack its very affordable as well!

I have a few bottles that have recently sprung up as holdouts against the rising tide of CANs. I CAN usually let bottles go at this point, but I have an affinity for both Flying Dog, dating back to a visit in their Denver days & Ralph Steadman's art, dating back to a shipmate turning me onto HST's writings.

From the Bottle: "I Do Solemnly Swear"; "Tropical Truth Imperial IPA"; "India Pale Ale brewed with Mango and Passionfruit Puree"; "Big hop aroma. Exotic tropical fruit flavor. This is the Holy Grail of IPAs, now on Island Time."; "You think you can handle the Truth? You can't. 'Cuz the Truth is, under this suit we're rocking a banana hammock."

Oh my! In just Pop!ping off the cap, I was struck with an intense passionfruit aroma before I had even begun the pour! I continued with a slow, steady C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. The room began to smell like I had used passionfruit air spray! 8=O I got just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head for my efforts, slowly falling away to a skim of wisps atop the beer. Color was a solid-Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Leaning in for a sniff, the nose remained nearly all passionfruit with just a hint of mango. 8=O Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The taste was truthfully tropical, very much of passionfruit with mango as an understudy, rather than the star. My only bugaboo was my usual with this sort of thing - low bitterness with a good bit of alcohol heat in its place. Phew! Finish was dry, but more because of its alcohol presence than a perceptible bitterness. Fair dinkum, but I was left feeling slightly unfulfilled. YMMV.

12oz bottle into a half pint glass. Enjoy by 1/13/21, so plenty fresh.

Looks outstanding in the glass. Faintly hazy pale golden yellow body. Slow, light streams of carbonation. Small white head persists throughout leaving very nice lacing

Excellent aroma. My nose isn't that good, but this one bursts with tropical fruit, non citrus edging out the citrus.

On tasting, well, I love original The Truth and this one is certainly no slouch. Big tropical fruit flavors, lots of melon, light pineapple, a very pleasing warmth from the abv. Good bitterness, and well balanced overall.

Mouth between medium and full, finish tropical fruit with the sweet ever so slightly edging the bitterness.

Overall, very good beer indeed. Big flavors and aromas. Nice one FD.

Look: Clear orange gold with a one finger head, a medium amount of bubbles rising at medium speed
Aroma: Sweet tropical fruit, mango, passionfruit, pineapple, coconut, banana
Taste: Sweet on the tips sweet and bitter across the palate with a lingering bitter sweetness at the back
Flavor: They nailed the tropical drink on a Caribbean Island flavor. I was wondering how they got the flavors because some of them are not very hop like. It is made with mango and passionfruit. I guess there is no reason for me to smell coconut, but I swear I do. I am tasting the same sweet tropical fruit, mango, passionfruit, pineapple, coconut, banana, there is citrus under the sweet fruits, orange and tangerine.
Feel: Medium mouthfeel, soft carbonation, A slight alcohol burn that is a perfect complement to the flavors
Overall: WOW! This occupies a niche of its own. I like it, I’ll buy it again. I swear I taste something like coconut Lifesavers in it. It really is worth a try!

 

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Nearly crystal clear, lovely white lacing on top that puts on a show all the way down the bottom of the glass. Huge aromas of mango and passion fruit, can't smell much else other than a sliver of alcohol. Bitterness kicks in at first sip, there is a creaminess within the smoothness. Loads of fruit flavor from the additions mix well with the rind like flavors from the hops. There is some grain, bread, toast, and grass from the malt but you really have to delve into it to pick it all a part. First and foremost, this brewski is really friggin fun to throw back. Well done Flying Dog, well done!!!