The Fear - Flying Dog Brewery

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.16/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This beer was served from the tap at Rattle N’ Hum in New York, NY. It arrived in a generic goblet showing a deepened, rusty amber coloring. It held a one finger head of cakey tan foam, showing nice retention, and leaving splotchy lacing down the walls of the glass. There was a chill haze, with no sediment noted. Carbonation appeared robust. The aroma gave big metallic malts, roasty caramels, baker’s yeast, and strong phenolic spice of clove and black pepper. Booze came with warmth, as did a light nutty moss and herbal hop bitterness. Our first impression was that the spice and chemically backbone really drowned out a lot of the other flavoring. As we sipped, aromatic metallics, toasted pale malts, brown sugar caramel roast, and saltiness started things off. These were all decimated through the center of the sip by chemical and clove of phenol, black pepper spice, and fusel booziness. These persisted through the finish, where they were added to by a bittering herbal hop quality, raw licorice, nutmeg, and powdered pumpkin spice. The aftertaste breathed of that phenolic fire, booze, nutmeg, clove, pumpkin spice, and herbal cone hops. The body was medium, and the carbonation was medium. There was nice and soft slurp, smack, cream, and froth to the sip, with thick coating left all around the mouth. There was a slight pucker, with little dryness or astringent to be had. The abv was fine, and the beer drank okay.

Overall, what we liked best about this beer was the robustness of flavoring. While that central bite was certainly overpowering at times, at no point was the drinker bored. At first, things did feel one-dimensional, but with time and warmth the ending of the swallow flourished with a mix of bitters and spices. This made for an ultimately interesting drink. This beer does not land well within the stylistic guidelines, as much of anything pumpkin is lost, but it is definitely one of the more forward beers for Flying Dog.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2013 22:20:54 | More by TheBrewo

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.96/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Served on tap in a snifter

Appearance- Served a deep orange-brown color with a thin cream colored head. The head fades very fast to leave a whole lot of nice lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell-The aroma is on the more roasted and dry side overall. It is heaviest of a roasted malt and light roasted pumpkin smell. The nose has notes of a nutty nature as well as some spices of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Taste – The taste follows the nose of the brew very well. It begins heavy with a roasted malt and roasted pumpkin flavor. There is a light only a light level of sweetness upfront, but as the taste advances some sweeter brown sugar and caramel flavors come to the tongue. Initially in the taste there are some light nutty flavors which dwindle as the sweet flavors come to the tongue. Spices come to the taste more at the end as well. Nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon mix with the sweeter flavors and the roasted malt and pumpkin well to produce a rather balanced pumpkin flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel –The body of the beer was on the slightly thicker side with a carbonation level that is rather average. The creaminess is quite nice for the pumpkin and roasted flavors of the beer while the carbonation suits the spice and sweeter tastes that come to the tongue at the end.

Overall – A rather nice roasty at first and sweeter and balanced pumpkin flavor in this one. A good example of an imperial pumpkin brew and one to try if you have the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2013 00:19:30 | More by Darkmagus82

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Flying Dog
The Fear

Appears very dark brown with ruby highlights . Aroma of cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, bourbon and a bit sweet on the nose. Faint pumpkin and dry dusty pie spices round out the bouquet.

In the taste, caramelized brown sugar and rather malty. A good dose of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice complimenting the pumpkin flavors. Alcohol is well defined but does not interfere withe the pumpkin, spice, and slight roasted qualities of the malt. A bit of muted ale yeast fruitiness is also on the palate. This drinks like an old ale or American strong ale with a pumpkin theme.

Full bodied feel, spot on carbonation at a medium level. Slightly drying with spice and malt notes lingering into the finish. Overall, this is a nice take on a dark pumpkin ale. Big and tasty, worthy of provoking the fear.

Serving type: on-tap

10-28-2012 21:49:17 | More by Stinkypuss

begforme4484

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Tyler's Taproom in Apex, NC. Served in a Flying Dog pint glass.

The beer is a very dark mahogany brown with copper hues. About 1 finger's width of tan medium head that laced all the way down.

The smell is of many different spices. Notably what I believed to be coriander being the strongest scent. A nice doughy and bready malt leveled out the spice scents.

A plethora of spices take charge of this beer almost like a harvest ale. There is a slight hint of pumpkin that is really hidden behind the strong spices.

Mouthfeel was medium to heavy with good carbonation.

Overall I thought this beer was good. I think it could have used more pumpkin to be called a pumpkin ale, but it was tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

10-26-2012 19:43:46 | More by begforme4484

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap in a tulip- clear, dark ruby mahogany color with less than a finger of head that took a long time to form. Leaves stunning silky sheets of lacing.

Smell is unimpressive- boozy more than anything, also a little pumpkin and clove.

Taste is not particularly interesting- pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, booze. It's all right but nothing spectacular.

Mouthfeel is nice- velvety full bodied, light soft carbonation, a little chewy. Good but nothing amazing.

Serving type: on-tap

10-10-2012 02:28:21 | More by Hopdaemon39

DapperGrowler

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I tried this beer on tap.

A: The beer was a dark amber color (not quite brown) with a good head and decent carbonation.

S: The beer had slight pumpkin smell with some spice (nutmeg, cinnamon)

M: Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, malt

O: This is one of my favorite pumpkin beers. It is a solid fall beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2012 16:28:28 | More by DapperGrowler

mdfb79

New York

4.1/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From 11/22/11 notes. Had on tap at FireWorks in Arlington, VA. Served in a 4 oz. taster glass.

a - Pours a dark brown mahogany color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of pumpkin, spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, bready malts.

t - Tastes of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, spices, bready malts, light wheat. A lot more cinnamon than the nose, which I like a lot. A step up from the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Pretty easy to drink.

o - Overall I thought this was a really good pumpkin ale, and was really easy to drink for 9% ABV. Loads of cinnamon in the taste, would definitely order it again sometime.

Serving type: on-tap

11-28-2011 22:09:58 | More by mdfb79

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Pinocchio's, Media, PA

Actually got this right as it kicked, but the bottom of the barrel was still good. Poured a dark chestnut brown, hazy, with a large, rocky, tan head. Aroma of grains and pumpkin pie spice; quite earthy. Taste more of the spice than the pumpkin, with a good amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and even a hint of basil, I thought. Thick with malts, and a bit earthy, with some bitterness in the finish. Medium mouthfeel; chewy. Not too bad overall.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2011 01:47:15 | More by Rifugium

jfmorey

Virginia

3.93/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Whole Foods in Vienna, VA

Very dark, almost opaque rudy-brown

Swell is all malt, black cherry

Taste is only fintly of pumpkin and spice; perhaps the reason for the generally low reviews? Just enough piney hops to balance the sweetness, with none of the metalic taste the is an issue for me in higher alcohol beers.

Serving type: on-tap

11-10-2011 18:49:25 | More by jfmorey

57md

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance is dark brown with an orange hue. There is the aroma of some spice, but there is not a very strong nose to this beer, which is surprising considering it is certainly a BIG beer. The upfront flavor is very bold and is accompanied by a pie spice finish. There is some hop bitterness on the back end as well. Unfortunately, I did not pick up any pumpkin in this beer. This beer is big and bold, however, it suffers because it is a pumpkin ale with no pumpkin taste.

Serving type: on-tap

11-01-2011 06:21:09 | More by 57md

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Rustico's OktoBEERfest 2011. Served in a plastic pint. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a fairly-dark brown color with a light tan head. Moderate lace. Nose brings forward some nice pumpkin spice and a bit of chocolate and roast. The flavor blends the pumpkin and porter characteristics quite well. A bit of booze, though not much. Medium body with good roast and spice. Well done; I like this pumpkin "sub-style."

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2011 14:59:19 | More by Thorpe429

drabmuh

Maryland

3.53/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer is black with a thin tan head of small bubbles, some lacing, moderate to low carbonation.

Aroma is sweet with a mild roast and some pumpkin / spice to it.

Beer is medium in body and mildly bitter at the back but the pumpkin flavor comes through well and clear. I enjoy the beer overall and for a pumpkin porter or whatever this is it is quite good. I enjoyed it and would have it again if I were thirsty and the only thing on tap. I'd prefer this to water in a pinch is what I'm saying.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2011 01:16:55 | More by drabmuh

IronLover

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nearly black in color with brownish hues on the edge of the glass. Poured with a short beige foam that quickly reduced to a soapy cap that drapes sheets of wet lacings on the glass. Thick, creamy, smooth feel. Sweet pumpkin aroma with a lightly roasted malt aroma beneath. Sweet pumpkin flavor up front and into the middle with a floral hop bitterness in tow that continues to grow to the finish. Hop bitterness gives way to a brief pumpkin sweetness at the finish that leaves a lingering hop bitterness. The imperial nature of this beer is very apparent from the middle to the end. This was damn good. A truly unique spin on pumpkin ale.

Serving type: on-tap

10-26-2011 17:47:07 | More by IronLover

jayhawk73

Maryland

3.58/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On draft at Churchkey:

Pours a dark brown color with a nice one finger head. Decent carbonation and lacing. Very dark for a Pumpkin ale. Nose is a lot of spice- pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice. Lacking in complexity and depth for me. Taste is the same- it's decent, just not great- too heavy on the spices, and a little dry and thin as well. There's way too much allspice in this for me- I just couldn't get past that. Feel was better- medium body, but a little too dry and earthy for me. Overall, this was decent, but I wasn't knocked out by it. Glad I got to try it though.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2011 21:50:57 | More by jayhawk73

mastodonj

Colorado

2.68/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A 16-oz draft at Adega in Silver Spring.

If you look at my reviews, I tend to be much higher than the
mean (i.e., a large positive rdev).
Normally, I probably would not take the time to write a review
for a beer that I had a mediocre experience with.
However, this beer, as a "special seasonal" ale, should get
some extra attention.

You can read below, but the bottom line is that this is a mediocre ale, at best. There is nothing at all exceptional here.

A - Dark reddish brown with a small head and a good lacing.
S - Slight cinnamon, gingerbread smell
T - The slight spiciness comes through on the back of the
tongue with a good bitterness. But really, there is no
complexity in the taste here.
M - Mouthfeel is unnoticeable.

Really, for a seasonal ale, the reviewer's bar should be
fairly high. This just has nothing worth talking about.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2011 01:30:14 | More by mastodonj

Pencible

Virginia

3.28/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: This poured a nearly opaque garnet with some off white head.
S: It smelled like pumpkin and clove and cinnamon, with some copper and cranberry and pie crust.
T: It tasted like clove and cranberries and copper, with some pumpkin. It had a dirty and bitter aftertaste.
M: It was slightly thick with moderate carbonation. Decent body.
D: This was not one of the better pumpkin ales. The scent and body were ok, but the taste wasn't ok. The finish was rough too, so it was not easy to drink. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 21:36:08 | More by Pencible

schoolboy

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I'm not sure when this one came out, but I missed it, so this week I picked one up for tasting.

It is a lot darker that one would expect - like a deep dark reddish, almost opaque. The aroma is a bit weak for such a big beer, with spice (cloves?) overpowering hops and malt.

I was not in the mood for a really sweet drink and this was just barely OK. It is a little bitter, with some hoppiness and loads of spice, but better balanced than many. Underneath all this is a very big, strong beer, and the booze is totally covered by all the taste.

The aftertaste is bitter with spices. Overall these tastes seem to have settled into this beer nicely, and I think waiting a few months since it was brewed (I can't make out what any codes printed on it mean but I have to assume it was brewed in early fall or before) has probably improved it.

I would not go out of my way to buy this again at $2.50 bottle, but I also would not refuse one if offered.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 02:11:13 | More by schoolboy

BB1313

Ohio

2.98/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. This is a darker pumpkin ale. Pours a dark brown with some light brown hues. There's a huge fluffy dark off-white head which sticks around and leaves sticky lacing. Nice looking beer. The aromas are somewhat faint, but still enjoyable and basically what you would expect from the style. Lots of caramel malts blended with some cinnamon spices. The flavors are very bitter. The hop bitterness is very noticeable. The flavors are very spicy. Lots of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Once again, very bitter and not sweet at all. Mouthfeel is slick and syrupy. The carbonation is there, making it a smooth drink. The alcohol isn't really noticeable and there's no booziness, just a harsh bitterness.

This isn't really the best Imperial Pumpkin Ale I've come across. Too bitter for the style, in my opinion. I was hoping for more, considering Flying Dog really excels with their bigger beers.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 20:50:36 | More by BB1313

claspada

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a dark brown color with reddish highlights and a thin off-white tightly formed bubbly head (thanks to the hand-pull tap) that recedes to leave some spotty lacing.

The aromas begin with sweet bready maltiness, some fleshy pumpkin with the usual pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice). As it warms there is some caramel and some emerging woody/smokey notes which seem out of place.

The tastes follow the nose but are not quite as in balance as I would have liked. Pumpkin spices, specifically nutmeg stand out, with the toasted bready malts, caramel and earthy/woody bitterness to the finish. The woody/smokey flavors come out as well but the base beer is lacking a pop which makes the spices overwhelm the flavor profile.

The mouthfeel is medium to light bodied which is odd considering the ABV with medium to light carbonation.

Overall this was a pretty big miss for me. It was drinkable when it was on the colder side but as it warmed the flavor profile got spice heavy and earthy/woody/roasty for some reason. The base beer is caught between an amber and a porter which just doesn't work. I was actually expecting there would be more pumpkin than I tasted based on the nose. Pass for me.

Serving type: cask

12-03-2012 17:16:33 | More by claspada

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.63/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into a Lost Abbey teku. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a 1 finger light brown cream colored head with average retention. Beer is clear dark brown. Lacing is stringy, spotty and sparse with decent cling. Solid.

Nose is very mellow. Nutty with a hint of pumpkin, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Average.

Opens pumpkin spice, chocolate, roasted malt, and cocoa. Some cinnamon and nutmeg along with loads of brown sugar sweetness and spice at the middle. End is more brown sugar and holiday spice sweetness with a nutty aftertaste. Pretty tasty.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth in the mouth and accented going down. Messy finish with a lingering, sticky aftertaste. Nice.

A solid beer overall. I tend to prefer the darker pumpkin beers and this one fits the bill pretty well. Worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 22:43:05 | More by SpeedwayJim

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clean deep amber to brown-ish in color with a light tan head. In the aroma, sweet pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, and a small alcohol presence. In the taste, somewhat boozy, small spices, but mostly allspice. A spice like bite and a medium to lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a dry spice and lingering alcohol in the aftertaste. Somewhat boozy, big spices, and sweet to dry flavors.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 16:54:57 | More by OWSLEY069

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

When I poured this beer into a pint glass, it has a very dark brown color body with a tan head that disappears quickly. The smell is all about the spices, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and brown sugar. The taste is up front strong of spices with a smokeyness to it. It has a little bit of pumpkin flavor, but finishes with a hop bitterness.
The mouth feel is kinda heavy but well carbonated and overall i would put this in the top 10 of pumpkin beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 03:38:46 | More by chefhatt

oberon

North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The perfect beer for the day I guess.Poured roasted chesnut color with a tinge of amber,almost no head to speak of.Pumpkin pie spice and big sweet alcohol in the nose,a booze bomb.Spiced with an undelying sweet alcohol element that is omni present,the flavors are not bad with the spice being dominant,the alcohol gets even bigger as the beer warms.There are better imperial pumpkin ales out there that are not as hot,it's not awful though.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 21:17:47 | More by oberon

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a dark copper color that's almost brown with dark burnt orange edges and a one finger light beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring. Sporadic streaks of lace left behind.

Sweet, yet spicy pumpkin pie aroma with a nice balance of caramel malt, autumnal spices and pumpkin puree. Some caramel malt and toffee followed by allspice, clove, ginger and cinnamon. The peppery spices are countered by pumpkin pie sweetness, vanilla and nutmeg. A bit more roast than expected for the style but still smells dessert like.

Medium bodied with more roast and hop bitterness than the atom suggests. Roasted malt presence Long with dry, earthy hops and toasted pumpkin seed. This dry roasted character takes away from the better qualities of the beer in my opinion. There is still a stron zesty autumnal spice profile but most of the pumpkin pie sweetness found in the aroma is overpowered. Some caramel malt sweetness along with cinnamon, brown sugar and clove with some nutmeg and pumpkin puree buried underneath. The high ABV is very well masked but I wish it was better balanced.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 22:47:34 | More by corby112

cjoc83

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours into a tulip glass a ruby-hued brown color with an initial fingers worth of eggshell-white head that fades quickly to a ring. Lacing is pretty good for the style and abv.

Pumpkin and allspice are the dominant notes in the nose, with a nice dose of brown sugar, some cinnamon and sweet, bready malt.

Some nice pumpkin flavor hits the palette at first, but competes with the spices (allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon) and notes of caramel, brown sugar and almost a little toffee flavor. Some underlying sweetness hits the middle of the tongue with some biscuity malt before this beer finishes off with a nice, and quite unexpected, hop bite on the back end. There are definitely beers that taste more like pumpkin than this, but this is a nice medley of flavors. There's a small amount of heat in the throat, but not much. The hops linger, along with a spicy pumpkin pie crust taste.

Mouthfeel is pretty standard for the style. Medium bodied with the carbonation of a typical brown ale (on the high side of low, or the low side of medium). Pretty easy drinking for the 9% abv.

Not my favorite pumpkin ale out there, but this just might earn a spot in the top 5. This brew doesn't knock you over the head with pumpkin flavor, but how well Flying Dog managed to execute all the other flavors (especially the nice hop bite in the finish) makes this definitely worth at least a try. It's like someone mixed a pumpkin ale with a harvest ale and then added some more hops. Which isn't a bad thing.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 02:28:24 | More by cjoc83