This month’s Session topic is “How it all started for you” - so we decided to go back in the Flying Dog Productions archives and pull out this interview with our Founders and Owners, George Stranahan and Richard McIntyre.

George and Richard originally started Flying Dog as a brewpub in Aspen, CO in 1990.  It was the first brewery in Aspen in over 100 years.  The brewpub was the culmination of a life-long dream for George, who decided he wanted to be in the beer business since his first swig of Budweiser when he was 12 years old.  It was also the realization of a vision George had after a mountain climbing adventure up K2, seven years before, in 1983.  After George and his group finished their expedition, they found themselves in a Pakistani tavern where George found a painting on the wall of a dog bounding through the air.  To George, the dog looked like it was flying.

That “Flying Dog” became the icon of their trip.  George’s take was that this dog could fly because he didn’t know any better and they climbed K2 because they didn’t know any better.  Years later, when it came time to name their brewpub it only made sense to call it “Flying Dog” - they didn’t know how to open and operate a brewpub.  But then again, they didn’t know any better.

Technorati Tags: flying dog, the session, may, brewery, craft beer, george stranahan, richard mcintyre

Barley wines can come in many colors but one thing remains constant, they will knock you on your ass if you’re not careful. Brewed to a minimum of 8.4% (often far stronger) most barley wines take a few months to complete fermentation because of the copious amounts of sugar the yeast needs to process. This leaves Barley Wines with a sweet, rich flavor profile. American-style Barley Wines are often power hopped with American hops to over-power the residual sweetness whereas English-Style Barley Wines tend to accentuate that sweet malty profile.

Flying Dog’s Horn Dog Barley Wine is a traditional English-Style Barley Wine and the senior member of our Canis Major Series of hi-gravity brews. Winner of a World Beer Cup Silver Medal, Horn Dog has the hardware to stand up to the World’s best Barley Wines. The aggressive nature of this beer make it an ideal candidate for barrel-aging. The bottle on the right is a very limited Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Barrel-aged version of Horn Dog that spent 13 months in oak and is only available in the Flying Dog Brewery tasting room. Check out the stats below for all the technical specs on Horn Dog Barley Wine.

Alcohol by Volume: 10.5%, O.G. 1.107, IBUs 45
Specialty Malts: 120L Crystal, Munich, 30-37L Carastan, Chocolate, 2-Row Pale
Hops: German Perle, Northern Brewer, Cascade

Technorati Tags: The Session #12, Barley Wine, Horn Dog, Barrel Aged, World Beer Cup, Flying Dog

Another month has passed and it is time for The Session once again. This month’s topic is Doppelbocks and we have a pretty unique one to throw into the discussion. It is rare that home brewer’s get a chance to influence the outcome of a commercial brew but with our Open Source Beer Project that is exactly what Flying Dog did in Fall of 2007.

Wild Dog Collaborator Doppelbock gave amateur brewers a chance to give our brewing team recommendations and feedback on the everything from the grain, hops and yeast to the brewing process itself. We combined their feedback to create a unique Doppelbock recipe.

Collaborator has a full body with a sweet malt profile and a slight roast character. The complete recipe and printable labels are available for download at http://www.opensourcebeerproject.com/.

Alcohol by Volume: 8.3%, Plato: 19.5, IBUs: 24
Specialty Malts: Munich “Type I” 2240 75, Munich “Type II 550 19, Cara-Munich 55 2, Cara-Amber 55 2, Melanoidin 55 2
Hops: Warrior, Mt. Hood

Technorati Tags: The Session #11, Doppelbock, Wild Dog, Collaborator, Flying Dog

Naturally, we feel no discussion of winter beers would be complete without our K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale. With its debut in the winter of 1999 K-9 was our first seasonal and remains a strong part of our seasonal lineup. Seasonal drinking has long been a part of beer history and winter ales are typically rich and malty with a higher a.b.v. to help warm you through the cold winter nights. Below is a full beer description for K9 Cruiser.



K-9 Cruiser
The psycho in the pack … K-9 Cruiser is a dark, sweet and malty winter warmer that will captivate any adventurous craft brew drinker. A true Flying Dog original, K-9 Cruiser is the perfect brew to warm you up in those cold winter months.

Available: November – March
Alcohol by Volume: 6.8%, O.G. 1.066, IBUs 30
Specialty Malts: Munich, Chocolate, 50-60L Crystal, 2-Row Pale, Oats
Hops: U.S. Saaz, Millennium

Technorati Tags: The Session #10, K-9 Cruiser, Winter Ales, Flying Dog