So I really like this brewery called Flying Dog. Besides the fact that they make great beer, they use artwork from one of my all-time favorites, Ralph Steadman. The deal with Steadman is that he was a normal British political cartoonist when, at some point in the 70's (late 60's maybe?), he flew out to Aspen, Colorado to illustrate for a young Rolling Stone journalist named Hunter Thompson. As one can imagine, hanging out with Thompson can have its effects, and Steadman's artwork became more and more, shall we say, influenced?
Anyway, I was really surprised to find out that this brewery is nearly in my backyard (Frederick, MD). I would have figured a more likely location to be one of Thompson's old haunts like Aspen, or Los Angeles, or Barstow (on the edge of the desert...). Especially considering they use Thompson quotes like crazy and even have an imperial porter named for the guy. But I guess Frederick is as good a place as any.
Raging Bitch is one of the newer Belgian-American hybrids, and a really nice example. The Belgian yeast gives the brew that distinctive banana-y (is that even a word?) scent from the loads of esters and amides (I think, anyway). It has a super malty body. So malty, in fact, that the 60 IBUs barely make a dent. Really nice flavor, and the 8.3% ABV is sneakily hidden. Great brew, although I think Stone's Cali-Belgique still has the crown in the hybrid category.
-ty
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