Flying Dog - Snake Dog IPA

Flying Dog Brewery
Snake Dog India Pale Ale
Maryland, USA
approx $7 per stubbie

Now you've probably guessed that I'm a huge fan of the IPA style. I just love that mean hoppiness and really rich fruity mouth feel.

This beer doesn't disappoint, it's a little milder on the hop bite but that works extremely well. It's chock full of fruit cake spice with a really long lasting taste. I'm sure I could still taste this the next day.

I really like the quirky packaging on these beers, not many people do, I suppose it's a bit garish. And I don't know about putting the token Hunter S Thompson quote on the bottle just because you're using David Steadman pics on the labels.
Whether you like the label or not these are all great beers.
Graham

XXXX Bitter 750ml

This is about as aussie, aussie, aussie as I get.  It's been a long time since I've had a XXXX bitter in a tallie, or in any other format for that matter.  But it is after all a Qld icon and it would be somewhat remiss if I didn't at least refresh my taste buds.

So, as I was a little frightened, I chilled the tallie to near frozen just in case I couldn't handle the Qld bitter.  

This is a truly Australian taste.  I don't think I have tasted beer like this from any other country. It truly is.........simple beer.  However, with a very cold edge and a touch of nostalgia it's really not too bad. The hops, quite frankly, taste cheap and there's no real signs of any complex fruit or fine bead but it is a reasonable and refreshing beer when it's served icy cold on a Friday night.

Using words like crisp, fresh, fruit, hops (and all the other things we like to say on this site) are really not necessary. This is just BEER, simple, cheap and i would have one over a crown lager or a VB any day. Heres to big pineapples, hail storms and the Broncos.

Cheers.

Dan