For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be drinking a Flying Dog Raging Bitch produced by the Flying Dog Brewery located in Frederick, Maryland.

For years Flying Dog has been a brewery that has churned out very solid beers and I have reason to believe that this offering will hold true to form.

The Raging Bitch is classified as a Belgian Style IPA, so this may be a tad different than a typical IPA.

From the website, flyingdogales.com, we find this blip about the Raging Bitch.

Raging Bitch was brewed in commemoration of our 20th anniversary.  It quickly became one of the hottest craft beers of 2010.  And once you let a Bitch out of its cage, there’s no controlling it.  Raging Bitch became a part of our regular Canis Major lineup in 2011.

In the glass it goes…..

This Flying Dog brew has an ABV of 8.3% and comes in a 12 oz. bottle.

The appearance was a deep orange to amber color with some burnt orange and yellow highlights around the bottom of the glass.  The pour produced a very large, off white head that was mostly soapy, but had spectacular retention.  It took forever to calm down.  The lacing was mostly patchy, however a few cobwebs grazed the side of the glass as I sipped.  Once the brew warmed a bit it started to clear up very nicely.

The aroma started with a strong hint of grapefruit combined with a little bit of that familiar Belgian yeast.  It didn’t provide a whole lot, well, not as much as I was anticipating anyway, but I could definitely tell it was there.  As the brew started to warm and develop, I began to get hints of orange citrus, a little bit of sweet caramel and fragrance of clove.  I, for sure, wasn’t expecting the spice.  The bouquet is fairly well balanced and even.  Smells pretty good really.

The taste mirrors the aroma very nicely.  Flavors of grapefruit, orange, some breadiness and the sweet caramel.  Again, a spicy clove flavor that, truly, compliments the savor very well.  The yeast provides a nice undertone and helps create a “roundness” that I found enjoyable.  It has a nice, solid hop bite and the bitterness is not too strong or over the top.  Overall, well balanced and harmonized. 

The mouthfeel was medium, dry and smooth.  It seemed somewhat chewy even.  The palate is drenched with plenty of flavor to hold me until the next sip.  The carbonation was good, which completed an all around solid feel.

I tell ya, I think this beer is good to very good.  I liked the little twist from the spiciness.  It sets it apart from most typical IPA’s.  It’s a very easy drink at 8.3% too.  I definitely think it’s worth a try if you have not sampled it.  In fact I think I would like another.  This brew, like most Flying Dog Ales, is a solid and well rounded drink.  So the next time you see it sitting on the shelf, pick it up and give it a go and let me know what you thought of it.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting everyone.  Have a great day.

Cheers.

Score:  4.0 out of 5
Grade:  B+