Flying Dog Brewery Tour

About a year ago while visiting my in-laws, my father in law, brother in law and I took a trip to a local watering hole to watch my hometown Philadelphia Phillies take on their Washington Nationals. While there I had my first taste of Flying Dog beer. Between the Phillies win and the loud soused up Nats fan spewing profanity at the television, there was not much I remembered about that day…except the beer.

That is why, when I began writing down possible locations for brewery tours, Flying Dog was at the top of my list. I planned the trip coinciding with a visit to my in-laws and naturally brought the two who introduced me to Flying Dog, my father in law Don and my brother in law/photographer Brian. We dropped the wives off at the nearby Leesburg outlets for some shopping, and made our way to Frederick, Maryland, the site of Flying Dog Brewery.

If you ever get to make the trip, I suggest taking Route 15. It is one of the most scenic drives in VA, lined with farms and picturesque countryside. It set the mood perfectly as we pulled down English Muffin Way, past Bilbo Bakery, makers of Thomas English Muffins, and to the large warehouse with a decorative wooden column adorned with an abstract picture of bat wings flying through the air.

As we entered Flying Dog, we were greeted by our tour guides Dan LeFever and Emily Wardrick, who gave each of us a commemorative Flying Dog glass with 6 tokens. Each token represented a sample of one of the 14 beers on tap. On the token were those same bat wings, along with the phrase “Good Beer No Shit”.  We filled up our glasses and waited for the start of the tour

When Dan gathered us up a short time later, I was down three tokens and several brain cells. The tour started with LeFever explaining the history of the brewery.  I was curious as to how the name originated.  With Flying Fish and Dogfish Head and now Flying Dog all within a 100 square mile radius, I began to wonder what about this area is so conducive to dogs, fish and flight.  I soon found out.

The story begins in 1983, with automobile industry heir and outdoor enthusiast George Stranahan.  After successfully reaching the top of the treacherous K2 Mountain with a group of untrained climbers, Stranahan sat in a Pakistani bar drinking a beer.  After a few drinks Stranahan noticed a painting on the wall of a winged dog, a Pakistani artist’s rendering of an English Bird Dog.

The flying dog became George’s life philosophy, even going so far as to name his Colorado ranch “Flying Dog Ranch”.  When Stranahan and longtime friend, the eccentric gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, decided to start a brewpub in Colorado, making beer suited to their tastes, it was only natural it carry the Flying Dog moniker.

Thompson enlisted the help of friend and abstract artist Ralph Steadman for Flying Dog’s labels and logos.  Steadman’s first label featured the now infamous phrase, “Good Beer, No Shit,” causing the Colorado liquor board to pull it off the shelves, deeming it profane.  Flying Dog temporarily changed the slogan to “Good Beer, No Censorship,” while engaging in a four year legal battle with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).  Finally it was deemed art should not be censored, allowing Flying Dog to restore the original slogan, which still adorns the bottles today.

Flying Dog began brewing in Frederick, MD in 2008, following their move from Colorado.

After an impressive history lesson we headed out of the brew pub, down a long hallway, and into the brewery of Flying Dog, the largest of the breweries I’ve visited thus far.

Dan and Emily explained to us the nuances that go into their particular styles of beer.  Flying Dog brew 20 different types of beer which are broken down into four categories…The six common brews known as The Pack, the heavier beers known as Canis Major, the Seasonal beers and the Wild Dogs, which artist Ralph Steadman described by stating, “The damn thing tried to jump up and bite me when I opened it.”

Each brew has an individual brewing style, starting from the combining of malt and water.  We were able to sample a glass of this initial brewing stage, which tasted kind of like Grape Nuts cereal.  From there, per brewing requirements, it is mashed into wort and boiled with hops and other ingredients depending on the specific type of beer, all in the confines of this large room.

We headed back down the stairs and into another large room filled with ceiling high fermentation tanks, where yeast is added turning the sugars into alcohol.  There we sampled the next stage of beer, prior to the addition of yeast, which had a bland flat flavor.  I also volunteered to taste a thick cup of yeast used in the fermenting process.  I regretted it immediately.

Our trip then concluded at the bottling and packaging department, where we sampled beer prior to conditioning.  The beer had all the elements of normal beer, but lacked carbonation.  Dan informed us that storing beer in cans is more ideal than bottles.  This was an interesting fact I was unaware of.  I always assumed since all my favorite beers came in bottles, that was the best method.

We finally sampled our last beer of the tour, a batch of Flying Dog’s freshly brewed IPA Snake Dog, by far the best beer of the tour.  We concluded our journey with a stop back to the brewpub to use the remainder of the tokens.

Of the 14 beers on tap, I sampled just about all of them…in moderation of course.  Each beer had its own unique taste, with a distinct hop kick.  My personal favorite was the Gonzo Imperial Porter, an intense and exceptional porter, brewed in honor of the late Hunter S. Thompson.

The theme of Flying Dog’s ensemble, like most Colorado based breweries, has to be the occasionally overwhelming taste of hops, which for me works.  Flying Dog’s philosophy from the start has been the brewing of beer for the specific taste of the brewers.  Luckily for me, my pallet is similar to that of the creators.

Overall Flying Dog received high marks in every category.  The two-hour tour was phenomenal, allowing us to sample each stage of the brewing process.  The detail and information possessed by our two guides was equally impressive.  They were able to give a comprehensive overview of the brewery, as well as answer any question fired their way by the large knowledgeable group.

Flying Dog has a wide array of beers, from the easily accessible Classic Pale Ale, to the limited release Coffee Stout, all of which ranked highly on my list.  (I have yet to try all of the limited Wild Dog Series, including the aforementioned Coffee Stout.  I will need to seek it out this winter.)

If any reader or beer lover ever finds themselves in the Maryland area, I would recommend taking a tour of the Flying Dog Brewery, a fine brewery with an interesting story and good beer.  As co-founder and beer advocate Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Good people drink good beer.”

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