Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Truth IPA

The press release from Flying Dog started out like this, "Full disclosure: This beer came to fruition because we saw a gap in our portfolio and we wanted to increase our market share." Well, being an avowed capitalist, of course I had to try it out. Okay, that, and it's an Imperial IPA.

Flying Dog The Truth pours a copper color with a very thin, and short-lived head. The aroma is sweet and a little boozy. The flavor is like grapefruit pith, citrusy and bitter at the same time. The initial sip caused a bit of a cheek pucker and eye blink, but that may have been more from surprise, as the aroma didn't prepare me for the big flavor. I recovered quickly and went in for another sip. And another. And another. Well, you get the picture. The subtle, sweet malt backbone helps to pull it all together. A bitter, dry finish rounds out the enjoyment. The Truth checks in at 8.7% ABV, but other than a hint in the aroma, it was pretty well hidden behind the robust flavor profile.

This is a big beer, and one that will appeal to fans of bold IPAs. Needless to say I enjoyed my single bottle of The Truth. Finishing the glass was bittersweet (no pun intended) as Flying Dog is being released on August 15, but only in Washington, DC and Maryland. Since this is a year-round addition to their beer portfolio we can hold out hope to see greater distribution in the future.

In classic Flying Dog manner, the brewery stirred up a bit of a controversy with a short-lived ad campaign for The Truth. I saw the ad poking fun at all the breweries expanding operations to North Carolina, and frankly, I laughed. We've covered the recent growth in that state with much anticipation. It seems there are some humor-impared beer fans in North Carolina. But, those sensitive types probably couldn't handle such a bold beer anyway. (And probably stopped perusing these Musings a long time ago.) Their loss, seriously.

Notice for the Bureaucrats: Flying Dog sent me an unsolicited bottle of The Truth. It is through my own free will that I enjoyed the beer. No compensation, other than the pleasure of tweaking some sensitive types in NC, was received for its review.

1 comment:

  1. Not being a native the anti-NC logo didn't offend but it did puzzle me why a company would go out of it's way to piss off an entire market. Had the logo had Virginia instead of NC would you have taken so light-hearted, I don't know.

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