One of the downfalls to living in the Northwest (if you can really call it that since we are spoiled here), is that we don’t get many east coast beers at restaurants and supermarkets. I’ve been wanting to try some Flying Dog Brewery beers for awhile, but have had other beers on my list when visiting my local bottle shop.
Today I finally got the chance to try a bottle of Flying Dog’s 20th Anniversary Raging Bitch, which is a Belgian-style IPA. Cracking open the bottle, the beer poured a nice amber/copper color, reminiscent of most IPA’s out there.
I immediately got excited when smelling as I could strongly smell the Belgian style yeast as well as Amarillo hops, which it was dry hopped with. For those of you that know me, I have an obsession with Amarillo hops that flat out puts a smile on my face and makes me want to dance around the room.
This is a fairly hoppy beer, but not over hopped. I’d call it a hop nirvana, as it’s just right. Raging Bitch is not too bitter, but the bitterness is definitely there. It has an amazing IPA flavor that has been married to a distinctively Belgian flavor, producing a beer that I might have to say is near perfect.
I seriously am sitting here trying to think of what is wrong or could be improved in this beer and nothing comes to mind. Well done Flying Dog. You put a smile on my face today and make me wish this beer was more accessible where I live.
My Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Grade: A
Here are the details:
ABV: 8.3%
IBU’s: 60
Plato: 18
What’s your thoughts on Flying Dog and Raging Bitch?
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Great stuff man. I’ve recently had the pleasure of tasting some Flying Dog stuff and I’ve been raving about them ever since.
I love their Doggystyle pale ale and their Woody Creek White witbier, excellent stuff, I can’t wait to try the Raging Bitch, it’s definitely gonna be my next choice.
Cheers Logan.
I will definitely be trying out there other stuff. Their witbier looks good.
Flying Dog definitely brews some awesome beers. Don’t worry for all the great east coast beers you can’t get, we can’t get an equivalent number of the west coast brews. Keep up the good work with the blog.
Thanks Ryan. So many beers, so little time. 🙂
I had this a couple weeks ago. I found the aroma to be overwhelming out of a glass. The combination of the strong belgian yeast profile and abundance of dry-hops were just too much. I enjoyed it much more straight from the bottle.
I second Ryan’s sentiments about missing out on west coast beer on the east coast. Though I would have to say for all the breweries Oregon has, they are really lacking distribution here on the east side.