Snake Dog IPA

Brewer: Flying Dog
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.1%
Country: USA, Maryland

Beer 101: The India Pale Ale gets its name not because it was brewed in India, but because it was a pale ale that was brewed for British soldiers stationed in India during the 18th century. To survive the long sea voyage, the pale ale was loaded up with more hops (which are a natural preservative) and fermented to have a higher alcohol content (another wonderful, natural preservative). The result is a big, bold, brew with a long shelf life. An IPA will have lots of floral hop aromas and a big bitter finish (60+ IBUs). The next step in the food chain is the Imperial/Double IPA which has even more malt, more hops, and more alcohol than a standard IPA. Imperial IPAs will have IBUs over 70 and an ABVs well over 7%. This style has been recently popular among American microbreweries and is easy to find, a hophead's dream come true.


Poured a rich golden bronze. Had a thick, off-white head that left plenty of lingering lace.

The aroma was what you'd expect for an IPA. Plenty of sweet citrus notes with a bit of pine. It tasted just like it smelled which is a good thing. Big flavor with plenty of hops but no surprises. A nice bitter finish does a good job of evening out the sweet malts.

So far this is one of the better of the Flying Dog ales. This also serves as a good measuring stick to compare other IPAs to. Not boring but nothing unique. A solid B