Brewery: Flying Dog
Beer: Wild Dog Collaborator Doppelbock
Vitals
ABV: 8.3%
Plato: 19.5 degrees (original gravity ~ 1.080 – a pretty big beer!)
IBUs: label says 30 but website says 24
Malts: Munich “Type I” 2240 75, Munich “Type II 550 19, Cara-Munich 55 2, Cara-Amber 55 2, Melanoidin 55 2 (I know this is more than most people care about but I love the trend towards revealing more about ingredients – see more about beer labeling here.)
Hops: Warrior, Mount Hood
Collaborator pours from a 750ml champagne cork finished bottle and settles into a deep copper (about 12 or 13 on the SRM scale) with a frosty skull cap on its head. The lace lasts long enough to be a welcome guest but doesn’t stick around sleeping on the couch after the holiday festivities are over. Sticky sweet red fruits burst through over the biscuity base like jam on soft brown bread. Sweet cherries linger, toying with the tonsils before another swoosh of red juice washes down the pipes with a fresh burst of flavor.
This is a near masterpiece of holiday cheer.
Extra points for the 100% post consumer recycled content paper hang tag. For the back story on the open source beer project, read more here.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this beer here in CT. I haven’t seen it out in stores yet, but I’ll keep looking.
Just one note: the 19.5 plato is the original gravity. See the recipe and specs <a href=”http://www.opensourcebeerproject.com/2007/07/15/open-source-beer-recipe-finalized/”here. That would make this about 8% ABV.
Keith – I knew my math was fuzzy. I’ve corrected it above. Thanks for catching that.
Happy Holidays,
Chris
Awesome beer-tasting prose, man.
Dave – Thanks, it must be due to the inspiring beer.
[...] Earlier this year Flying Dog beers started flying right into my mailbox, making me one happy beer blogger, particularly when I get to taste things like their Wild Dog Collaborator Doppelbock. [...]