Name: Flying Dog Brewery

Location: Frederick, Maryland

Type: Production brewery

Available in DC Market: Yes

What you need to know: Flying Dog has a unique history in that they completely picked up and moved their production brewery across  the country from Aspen, Colorado to Frederick, Maryland in 2008. As often occurs with breweries, the demand drove a need to increase production, but as doesn’t occur that often, the increased production came in a cross-country relocation, not just a brewery expansion. For Flying Dog, the rest is history. Until very recently, Flying Dog was the most local beer for the DC Metro Area, and while it isn’t brewed in DC proper, Frederick isn’t too far and they’re still a force in our craft beer scene. Widely known for their “good beer, no shit” mantra, Flying Dog consistently produces fine ales and seasonal releases that are widely anticipated.

Sponsorship

Beer #1: Chocolate Fever Chocolate IPA (IPA / 7.3%)

Beer Advocate: N/A
Rate Beer: N/A

Notes: This beer is being made specifically for SAVOR. It’s a collaboration with Frederick’s The Perfect Truffle. The beer is brewed with real chocolate, but no word yet on exactly what kind of chocolate that is. If it’s extremely dark chocolate, look for something akin to a India brown ale with some sweet undertones and the bitterness of the chocolate complementing the hops.

Beer #2: Wildeman Farmhouse IPA (IPA / 7.5%)

Beer Advocate: 86 (27 reviews)
Rate Beer: 97 overall, 93 style (91 ratings)

Notes: Originally brewed for Amsterdam’s famed taproom In de Wildeman, Flying Dog’s citra-laced farmhouse IPA was such a hit that it’s not part of the regular line-up. Deliciously fruity, refreshing, and blending some of the best aspects of a saison with an IPA, this is a great beer.

Summary: Flying Dog makes delicious craft beer, and they’re always pushing the envelope (see: the Brewhouse Rarities series). It’s no secret that Flying Dog has been avid supporters of what we do here at DCBeer. Their love for all things beer and local community involvement is something that resonates strongly with us.  We tend to jump on the various hype wagons and rage over out of market beer, but at the end of the day local craft beer is king. Flying Dog was king for a long time for DC and still maintains a strong presence here even with DC’s own production breweries now here. While they don’t have a DC ZIP code, they should still be considered a “local” brewery for everything they’ve done for our scene.

This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR 2012 Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2012 SAVOR participants.

Beer Review Disclaimer: The beer reviews found on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer do not represent the opinions of this site. We provide these in the hope that they will serve as a resource showing what some craft beer fans have thought of the beers. These reviews can be a helpful guideline, but are not the be-all end-all about a beer’s strengths or weaknesses.