The first leg of the Friday morning beer run led me to the beloved Morris Beer Store once again. And once again I received a big welcome from the chorus behind the counter as I plodded through the door. Gail, the Beer Maven, was on her way out but stopped to chat about about previous beers reviewed and new arrivals.

“Raging Bitch came in!” she exclaimed smilingly. (Tom Swift, anyone?) I was taken aback by the sharp tongue of this woman, but she led to a place on the shelf where there was space taken up by a concoction from the Flying Dog Brewery out of Franklin, Maryland. In keeping with their dog-style (!) themed beer names, this beer was called Raging Bitch Belgian-Style India Pale Ale.

Gail had a smile which exposed even her wisdom teeth. I grabbed a bottle and examined the label. On the front was a seemingly obscene illustration of a wild dog by Ralph Steadman who does all the label artwork for Flying Dog. Down at the bottom was a small, terse statement: 8.3% ABV with IBUs of 60!

In those quick microseconds it took to make a decision, I thought IPA, Bleah. Belgian-style, interesting. High ABV, even more so. I also thought that I should investigate the IPA style of beers with a new head of steam. I checked the price. $10.49 for the sixpack. Gail saw me looking at it and said, “It’s a little expensive but we’ve already sold two sixpacks.” Hmm. There were two sixers left on the shelf. I grabbed one and said, “I’ll buy it just based on the name.” Once again, I got a glimpse of wisdom teeth.

Back home, I was able to examine the label closer. The bottle label artwork may be considered by some as obscene, but after all, it is a picture of a female dog, as anatomically correct as Steadman can depict. On the side was the “brewery-speak”, touting the care and effort which went into the making of this beer.

“Two inflammatory words… one wild drink. Nectar imprisoned in a bottle. Let it out. It is cruel to keep a wild animal locked up. Uncap it. Release it….stand back!! Wallow in its golden glow in a glass beneath a white foaming head. Remember, enjoying a RAGING BITCH, unleashed, untamed, unbridled- and in heat- is pure GONZO!! It has taken 20 years to get from there to here. Enjoy!”
Ralph Steadman

How profound! How scary! Perhaps we have a beer that will attack the tongue with fury unbeknownst to mankind. Like a raging bitch. I’m sure we all know someone who qualifies for that title. It’s a fact that along with Steadman, Hunter S. Thompson had some influence on the Flying Dog Brewery as well. Check out this link from their website. Link.

So what are we looking at here? Keywords are Gonzo, Steadman, Hunter S. Thompson, India Pale Ale and raging bitch. This should be quite the adventure. Let us begin.

The beer poured with a slightly orange hue carrying a nice off-white head of about a good half-inch. Lots of large bubbles slowly made their way to the top. The liquid itself was nice, crystal clear. The beer had a very slight aroma which briefly reminded me of caraway seeds in rye bread.

The first sip had a very pleasant flavor of yellow grapefruit accompanied by a bit of maltiness. The beer was light to the tongue and went down rather easily. The 60 IBUs of bitterness did not end at the swallow but rather at the back of the tongue, just before the plunge.

I couldn’t get over how the combination of the malts and the bitterness of the hops made for this nice, pleasant grapefruit flavor. I don’t know whether it was the intention of the brewmaster to make a beer that tasted like grapefruit, or if that’s what you get when you get the proper ratio of hops of to malts. I also don’t know if the Belgian yeasts are responsible for this nice, crisp, grapefruity taste or whether it was the type of hops used in the brewing process. Don’t forget this is only the second IPA I’ve ever reviewed and I’m getting over my trepidation of buying and sampling these high hopped IPAs.

Towards the bottom of the first glass, the bitterness remained but became more subdued. The drink morphed into a rather nice, citrusy kind of brew, still tasting like beer all the way down. A subtle sweetness came forward at the front of the tongue. The more I sipped, the more I liked the taste of this beer.

I may not be over my leeriness of IPAs just because of the memories of Celebration Ale, an IPA from Sierra Nevada. As I remember, it was a beer that tasted like a mouthful of rubber bands. But, then again, I was a little wet behind the ears at the time and not that knowledgeable of beer styles. Perhaps now, after brewing beer in the kitchen and knowing all the ingredients and steps involved in the process, I’m starting to appreciate the more esoteric tastes of these “exotic” beers.

In my opinion, Raging Bitch is a beer for a change of pace. For once, try to get away from the ales and stouts and try something light, but with a little taste kick to it. The bitterness of this beer is it’s forte, but it doesn’t dominate the taste. It makes for truly unique flavor that some would consider hard to pull off. This is only a grapefruit beer for the first half glassful. After that it’s a pleasant, tasty beer with a crisp afternote. Your tongue will thank you later for the nice workout.

The SixPackTech ratings for Flying Dog Belgian-Style India Pale Ale are:

Taste: B+ > Another dimension for the tongue.
Smoothness: B > Sips slip silently south.
Drinkability: B- > A coupla more would do just fine, thanks.
Bang for the buck: B- > Under two bucks a bottle is tolerable in this case.
ABV: 8.3% << Keep this in mind.
Wife’s all-encompassing opinion: (Sip) MM. Oh, it’s perfumey. (sip) OOK. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s gotta tang but.. (sip) I don’t like it. It’s like what Avon perfume would taste like. (Ding-Dong! Check the front door; see who’s calling.)

Tour of the Flying Dog Brewery in 5 parts – Yes, Gonzo is a keyword here.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Two weeks ago, while at the Four Seasons Beer Store, I saw a four-pack of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout right there on the shelf. Ting! Something triggered my memory shoals. I made a mental note of the look and feel of the carton and price (!!) and went on my way. I did some research on this beer and it seemed as if everyone was waiting for this new batch. What was so special about this beer?

I visited the G.I. website which produced this snippet:

Recipe Information:
Style: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Alcohol by Volume: 13%
International Bitterness Units: 60
Color: Midnight
Hops: Willamette
Malt: 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, Debittered Black

A bourbon barrel aged (think Dragon’s Milk) 13% ABV black beer with chocolate, caramel and roasted, bittered extra ingredients brewed as a stout. The price? Twenty Dollars U.S. Cash. Holy shit. A four-pack of high-alcohol beer came to 5 bucks a bottle. However… (there’s always the ‘however’) the online ravings about this beer piqued my interest and my love of the dark beers, so I dug deep into my pocket and cringed as I paid the man. Hating myself for a while, I plunged the beer into a dark corner of my bedroom.

Tonight’s review selection happens to be probably, the most expensive beer I’ve ever purchased. But it serves two purposes: to diversify my own taste experience and to verify what has been said about the beer in question. RateBeer recommends this beer be drunk from a snifter. I think not. The snifter is a bit unwieldy to handle but you can’t beat it for the aroma presentation. I prefer a British pub pint glass. Tonight, a compromise: I broke out the Sam Adams pint glass with the somewhat snifter opening. That would do nicely. (BA)

I grabbed the first bottle of G.I.B.C. Stout, the Sam glass and fired up the Mac. While things were warming up electronically, little did I realize about what would be warming up later. I popped the top noticing that this once a year beer has twist-off cap as if it was a daily drinker. Hmm. Knowing that stouts traditionally don’t pour with a lot of head, I filled the glass with no tipping involved.

The beer poured out of the bottle resembling a thin chocolate syrup, rich and very, very dark. The head came up a nice chocolate brown as well. Holding the glass up to the light, it was impossible to see anything through the liquid. The aroma was a nasal wonder, having notes of deep, dark roasted malts, chocolate and perhaps a tinge of bourbon.

The first sip came with a gigantic WOW! Thick to the tongue, the beer slithered in from the glass. The dark roastiness of this beverage was almost overwhelming. Hints of molasses and maple syrup accompanied all of the above. Then there was the after-swallow roto-rootering of the nose. Man, oh man, what a mouthful!

By the third sip the suds had gone away. The beer sat in the glass taunting me, “Go ahead, punk. Have another sip.” It was as if it was a bubbling cauldron of way over the top flavor. Eye of newt, bat wing, tongue of frog, that sort of thing. This was most assuredly an extreme beer.

The liquid actually felt thick in the mouth. The roastiness and the dark flavors filled every tiny nook and cranny of the mouth with a dark spackle. With each sip, the roasty-toasty scent filled the nose before the liquid even entered. The front, middle and back of the sip was a rush of taste.

As the sips progressed, they got smaller and smaller as if the mouth and nose said, “Please. Make it stop.” But the tongue said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another.” The stomach lit a fire and began singing “Kumbaya”. My mind was also starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

At three-quarters of the way through the first glass of this monster beer, I realized why it was priced so high, why it was so eagerly anticipated by craft beer drinkers and why it only comes out once per year. Also at this point, I was thinking, “Holy Shit. I hope I can get through writing this review.” This beer was the heaviest, tastiest, most alcohol ridden beer I’ve ever had the opportunity to taste. Holy Cow! as Harry would say.

Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout is second only to Sam Adams Utopias in my tasting experience so far. There may be others, but this one even beats Sam Adams’ Double Bock in mouth flavor, taste complexity and depth. This beer is extreme, way out there, over the top and a taste which you must experience at least once in your lifetime.

This beer is not for the faint of heart nor for the novice craft beer drinker who likes Guinness and other dark beers. This beer is special for special occasions. Thank the gods that it will develop in the bottle for five years. The first purchase of this TNT Stout could be good for the next three years.

Unbelievably rich and dark with deep roasted malt flavor and hints of molasses and maple syrup and other heavy, creamy tastes, this beer will blow your mind. And a small part of your wallet as well. It is a taste experience few will have in their lifetimes. Extreme to the nth power, where n= where no man has gone before. Let the superlatives flow… unbelievable, out of this world, outrageous, out of body experience. You must try this beer! It’s the Darth Vader of stouts.

The SixPackTech ratings for Goose Island Bourbon County Stout are:

Taste: A+ > The most extreme darkness your mouth will ever behold.
Smoothness: A > So slick, so encompassing, so much!
Drinkability: N/A <  Sorry. This will be up to you.
Bang for the buck: A > Yes. Each bottle has 5 bucks worth of taste.
ABV: 13% <- The warning Be Careful! is not strong enough here.

Goose

Island

Bourbon Street

County fair

ezout

Interview with Goose Island’s head brewmaster during a visit to New York
(To be taken with a grain of salt.)