The DuClaw Real Ale Festival just got bitchier.

Over the past few weeks, we asked you to vote on Twitter on the two firkins we’ll feature at the DuClaw Real Ale Festival Saturday, September 11 in Bel Air, MD.

The winners? Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA and Gonzo Imperial Porter. Matt Crow doesn’t like to be told what to do very often, but these selections brought a smile to his face.

Thanks for voting and we’ll see you there!

The Maryland and Washington, D.C. metro area was struck by a 3.6-magnitude earthquake at around 5 am this morning.

Earthquakes are very rare in this area. So most normal human beings thought they felt rumblings from a low-flying airplane.

Here are snippets from conversations we overheard this morning here at the brewery. Most of us didn’t think it was a plane:

“I’ve been having trouble with my toilet lately, so I was like ’shit, it finally took a dump on me.’ ”

“Wait, there was an earthquake? I slept right through it.”

“I figured the guy who lives above me brought a girl home from the bar and was really getting it on. He does that a lot.”

“We thought Raging Bitch was trying to escape from the fermentation tank.”

In Patrick’s Irish Pub, located in downtown Frederick, MD, there’s a little sign on the bar that reads, “All Nations Welcome But Carrie.”

That sign is referring to Carrie Nation, the infamous member of the “temperance movement,” a group that opposed (that’s right, opposed) alcohol in pre-Prohibition America.

Carrie, who was notorious for attacking bars with a hatchet (yes, a hatchet), once described herself as “a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn’t like.” If you want to learn more about this bulldog, check out the Wikipedia article on Carrie.

About 120 years later, Flying Dog releases Raging Bitch. And we think it’s the perfect beer for Carrie. But we want you to tell us why.

In the Frederick area? Come to Patrick’s on Thursday, July 7 at 8 pm. Our Frederick-area market manager Abby Casarella will buy your first pint if she likes your answer.

Can’t make it to Patrick’s? Tell us on our Facebook page. The only rule is that you must preface your response with “Raging Bitch is the perfect beer for Carrie Nation because…” Just like 6th grade English. And kind of like Jeopardy. But in this case, you’re Alex fucking Trebek.

On Monday, July 12 we’ll pick a few winners. Ladies will receive our new Raging Bitch Pride Tee. Gents, you’ll get our new Raging Bitch Pimp Hand Tee.

Chad Ober lives in New Hampshire, the land of “Live Free or Die.” And he wants one thing: Raging Bitch.

Unfortunately, the State of New Hampshire has banned wholesalers and retailers from carrying Raging Bitch. Why? Because one person (Chief of Liquor Enforcement Eddie Edwards) doesn’t like the name.

In protest, Chad started a Facebook page titled “BEER DRINKERS FOR FLYING DOG RAGING BITCH IN NH.” On the page, he requests that “anyone joining this group needs to have a desire for all beers to be available to the public, regardless of silly things like names!”

We could not agree more.

It is an outrage that one person can arbitrarily over-rule the rights of wholesalers, retailers, and beer lovers throughout an entire state. We are proud to have Chad in the People’s Republic of Flying Dog and wholeheartedly support his quest for the Bitch.

Mr. Edwards, if you’re reading this, our CEO Jim Caruso has called you a few times to discuss this with you. He would very much appreciate a call back.

Quite a few Flying Dog mutts have culinary backgrounds. And when their love for food and beer come together, the result is (usually) pretty damn tasty.

Brewer and cellarman Larry Pomerantz recently developed his own take on fish and chips, inspired by our 20th anniversary Raging Bitch:

Bitch and Chips

Serves 13 (6 oz. portions)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 36 oz (3 bottles) Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA
• 5 pounds firm-fleshed whitefish (tilapia, pollock, haddock, or cod), cut into 1-ounce strips
• Cornstarch, for dredging

Directions for Bitch Batter and Fish:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and Old Bay seasoning.
2. Whisk in the beer until the batter is completely smooth and free of any lumps.
3. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. (Note: The batter can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time.)
4. Heat oil in deep frier or pan to 350 degrees.
5. Lightly dredge fish strips in cornstarch.
6. Working in small batches, dip the fish into batter and immerse into hot oil.
7. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
8. Drain the fish.
9. Serve with malt vinegar.

Directions for Homemade French Fries:

1. Use a mandolin slicer with a wide blade, slice the potatoes with the skin on.
2. Place in a large bowl with cold water.
3. Heat fryer to 320 degrees.
4. Drain potatoes thoroughly, removing any excess water.
5. When oil reaches 320 degrees, submerge the potatoes in the oil.
6. Working in small batches, fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they are pale and floppy.
7. Remove from oil, drain, and cool to room temperature.
8. Increase the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees.
9. Re-immerse fries and cook until crisp and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
10. Remove and drain on roasting rack.
11. Season with kosher salt.

According to Larry, all must be served with plenty of Raging Bitch.

2010 marks Flying Dog’s 20th anniversary. We’ve got lots of special things planned for such a momentous occasion, one of which is our 20th anniversary beer, Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. An American IPA augmented with Belgian yeast, our 20th anniversary beer jumps out of the glass and nips at your taste buds with its delicate hop bitterness.

We know we’re a month early, but we wanted to let you know that when you come on a Saturday tour, you can now purchase 750ml commemorative bottles of the Raging Bitch in our tasting room for only $20. These ultra-limited 750ml bottles of Raging Bitch come in a special protective tube and also are packaged with a numbered, limited-edition, celebratory poster. We are only selling 540 of these bad boys, so come on a Saturday tour and pick up our latest and greatest brew!

If you’re unable to get in on the action on the 750s, don’t worry. We’ll be selling 6pks around the world starting in early 2010.

* FYI: You can only buy 4 750s of Raging Bitch at a time, and only during our Saturday tour. Its the law.

We received more than 400 entries on our Raging Bitch T-shirt Tagline Contest, and have finally come to a decision on the winners. If you are a fan of Flying Dog Brewery on Facebook, you may already know the winners, as we announced them on Monday. For those of you who missed that…

Announcing the winners of our 20th anniversary Raging Bitch Tagline Contest:

Men’s winner: Steve Bode for “She’s mine, get your own Bitch!”
Women’s winner: Telleen Anderson-Lorzano for “If you think I’m a bitch, you should meet my beer!”

We asked Steve and Telleen for their favorite Hunter S. Thompson quotes, too:
Telleen: “Fear is just another word for ignorance”
Steve: “Res ipsa loquitur - Let the good times roll”

Steve and Telleen each win ten Raging Bitch shirts to give out to their friends. Now that we painstakingly picked a winner (it was tough to decide on!), we’ve sent the art to press and these shirts will be available in our online store before Christmas, so save a few bucks to pick some of these up for those lucky folks you’re shopping for!

We’ve been brewing great beer since we opened in Aspen in 1990, and 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of Flying Dog Brewery. So at our FBAG party (during GABF), we officially announced a very special brew commemorating 20 years: Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. To help celebrate this unique brew, we’re holding a t-shirt tag-line contest that you can enter and win.

To help us kick off Raging Bitch, we need two tag-lines to go on our shirts (one for women, and one for men). To enter, leave your answers at our official “Tag This Bitch” thread on Facebook. The contest will end Friday November 13th. Only answers added to the Facebook thread will be eligible to win. Keep your answers somewhat clean (although one of our brewery mottoes *is* “Good beer, no shit”, so…).

A specially hand-picked panel of Flying Dog employees will pick two winners, one for the men’s and one for the women’s shirt tag-lines, and those winners will receive ten raging Bitch shirts (5 men’s, 5 women’s).

Raging Bitch is a delicately hopped IPA augmented with El Diablo yeast (to create that “funky” Belgian-style taste). We also dry hopped this bitch with Amarillo hops, creating a wonderful subtle pine, herbal, and grapefruit citrus aroma.

Initially, Raging Bitch Belgian IPA will be available in very limited edition 750ml bottles sold only in our tasting room, but in early 2010, we’ll also be shipping out Raging Bitch nationwide in 6-packs of 12 ounce bottles.