Flying Dog Brewery Old Scratch

**Aroma:** “Medium strong malt aroma with toast and biscuits. Caramel with some melanoidin character. Subtle hops in the background. Some earthy and woody notes. Clean lager profile.” **Flavor:** “Rich, sweet melanoidin malt. Caramelly and full, the crispy toast malt is followed by ethanol and reasonable hop flavor. Hop bitterness balances the malt nicely. Hop flavor is somewhat piney. Finish is dry with some warmth. Less of a malt bomb than the nose implies.” **Overall:** “Slightly harsh, lingering hop bitterness combined with the rather sweet malt profile makes this beer fully flavored. Beautiful in the glass. Very pleasant, but a bit alcoholic. A well-made Vienna lager.”

**Aroma:** “Intense tropical fruit notes with medium cattiness over musky and floral notes that complement the other hops flavors. Toast and biscuit malt character in the back with a hint of grassiness.” **Flavor:** “The intense citrus and tropical fruit flavor shine, while the malt does enough to keep it interesting and balanced. Similar flavors as displayed in the aroma. Bitterness is spot on. Juicy and complex hops flavors come through as resiny, dank and a touch musty. Incredibly balanced and finishes clean, making it extremely drinkable.” **Overall:** “A fine pale ale that showcases the hops very well while still providing a malt counterweight to keep the beer drinkable and engaging. A very prototypical pale—this beer was put together well. It’s a great APA with tons of hops complexity beyond the typical citrusy varieties common to most APAs. Very drinkable and extremely well executed.”

**Aroma:** “Big dark chocolate and coffee aroma. Big plum, dates, moderate cherry, light acidity, moderate caramel, light umami, light earthy hops, some brown sugar notes. A backbone of bready malt. I’m sitting by the fire with a snifter of...not barleywine, but this beer. Rich malt complexity with sherry, dried figs, and raisins, and warming alcohol. More caramel than roast, but the coffee and chocolate are there.” **Flavor:** “Lovely complex malt sweetness—like chocolate-covered Fig Newtons, or maple syrup, with a touch of earthy hops to help balance. Like a shot of strong expresso, no cream. Complex and deep, but a bit intense so sessionable is not part of this section. Big cherry, light plum, big chocolate, moderate coffee, light hops bitterness, touch of alcohol, moderate caramel. Aftertaste: big chocolate, touch of coffee, light bitterness. Starts out like a thinner-bodied barleywine, but the hops and roast bitterness crack that illusion. The promise from the nose is here, but it doesn't quite mesh as well in the flavor because the lingering hops and slight astringency add some harshness. Hops flavor is as big as the roast. Sherry, malt, dried fruit and esters are still nice, though.” **Overall:** “Very tasty, but could use a bit more carbonation to help the flavors pop. Love the fruitiness. Fun dark-fruit dominated imperial stout. The chocolate, caramel, and roast notes are present throughout with just enough hops to balance. It is fairly well carbonated, but that works to bring out the brighter fruit notes. The nose had me, but the flavor not so much.”