Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA, Flying Dog Brewery; Frederick, MD

"We were in Bethesda, somewhere on the edge of the beltway, when the drugs began to take hold..."

 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

Stone Cat ESB, Mercury Brewing Company, Ipswich, MA

So I am sitting by the fire on Christmas morning enjoying the last of the presents, when my beautiful and loving wife (Deb, btw) says "I've got one more gift for you.  I think you're going to like it."  My first thought was "gee, I hope this is appropriate for gifting with my parents in the room."  My second thought was "gee, I sure hope it's brewing equipment."  Well my friends, she did one better.  A 3 month subscription to the Beer of the Month Club (BOMC)!  That's right, 3 full months of kid-on-Christmas-morning-like joy.   You can imagine both my unbridled excitement  and my complete bewilderment.  Now that's a wife!!  So today, as I am in the drudgery of the fifth hour of sitting in front of my computer, I get a call.  "Guuueeesss  wwhhhhaaatttt?"  "What?" I say, dreading a mid-day visit to the veterinary office or perhaps the dreaded we're out of milk call.  "We got a delivery today.  UPS.  I'm putting them in the fridge now."  As you can imagine, the rest of the day was pretty much a wash.  OK, on to the beer...

So the first beer in the pack was a Stone Cat ESB from Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  The flyer says its from "historic" Ipswich.  If Ipswich is "historic", I have no idea what for, and I have never heard of it.  Maybe its near Salem, where they burned "witches".  Hey- that's a neat idea, maybe someone could start a brewery in Salem and call it "Holy Inferno Brewery".  They could brew in "cauldrons", and their first product could be "Torquemada's IPA (Inquisition Pale Ale)".   Anyhow, on to the beer...

ESB is one of my favorite styles (if you read my posts more than twice, you will quickly find that I have A LOT of favorites).  I really think "Bitter" is a misnomer with this type of ale, as I find them to be fairly warm and pleasant.  This one is an excellent example of the style.  Super malty nose- not quite smoky, but you sure can smell the roasted malts.  It looks unfiltered, but I don't see much yeast.  Maybe it's just sediment kicked up by shipping from "historic" Ipswich.  The hops are really an afterthought (as I think they should be with the style), but you can taste a bit of tanginess.  I would guess English hops- not too spicy and perfect with a big roasty, malty body.  (Just like the English to be milquetoast with their hops).  The taste is excellent, with a fair amount of caramel and lots of toasty bread.  The aftertaste is what really sets this one apart- not bitter at all, warming, and a slight alcohol twinge.

All in all, a lovely brew.  On first taste, I like it better than Red Hook ESB, and to me Red Hook makes the best ESB out there (caveat- there aren't many).  If this is the start of the BOMC, I can't wait to see what they send next.  I'll review the other ones in this set later on this week.

-ty