The People’s Republic of
Flying Dog is now in session. It’s happy hour at Flying Dog Brewery, so
here is your latest dose of irreverence. Some email services will block the newsletter format. If you see a black screen please view the newsletter at FlyingDogBlog.comThe Year Of The DogAccording to the placemat at the Chinese restaurant where we ate yesterday, 2008 was actually the Year of the Rat. But being Flying Dog, we think that every year is the Year of the Dog. Here’s a recap of what’s gone down at the Dog over the last year. Expect bigger and better things from us in “aught nine”, but remember that we also expect the same from you. Happy New Year!
Flying Dog Unleashes New Dogs On Unsuspecting Public 
In 2008, we introduced a couple of new puppies into our award-winning lineup of ales. Garde Dog Biere de Garde was released as our new spring seasonal beer. A French Farmhouse Ale, Garde Dog is brewed with USA-grown French hops and is Flying Dog’s interpretation of the style. Look for Garde Dog again on shelves in the Spring.
In May, we also added Kerberos Tripel, the fourth dog of our Canis Major series (our line of extreme, high-gravity brews). Named after the mythological three-headed hellhound that guards the gates of Hades, Kerberos is a deceptively strong Belgian-style ale with a crisp finish. For more on Kerberos, check out this video of VP of Brewing Operations Matt Brophy chatting about it.
This fall, to coincide with the Great American Beer Festival, we brought you a new Wild Dog, an über-limited run of 750ml bottles. This year we brewed Dog Schwarz (pronounced Sh-var-ts), a smoked double lager. The Wild Dog series allows us to brew some more experimental beers compared to our normal litter of brews, and the reception of the Dog Schwarz was warm at our FBAG party, just take a peek at the video about it. If you’re interested in smoky beers, Dog Schwarz was also featured in a Washington Post article today.
On top of these new beers, we also recently launched a brand-new package. Look for our Canis Major Mixed 8-pack of 7 ounce bottles on the shelves of your favorite Flying Dog retailer. More on one of the most unique packages in the craft beer industry in the next newsletter.
Flying Dog Makes The Competition HeelWe don’t normally like to toot our own horn, but at Flying Dog, we pride ourselves on our high-quality, award-winning ales. Our competition wins in 2008 only helped add to the legend of the Dog. 
In April, we cleaned up at the World Beer Cup. Gonzo Imperial Porter was given a gold award in the American-style Imperial Stout category, and Old Scratch received a silver award. At the 2008 Great American Beer Festival, Flying Dog once again brought home the bacon, in the form of 2 medals. Dogtoberfest, our fall seasonal, was awarded a Gold in the German-Style Märzen category, and Old Scratch added to its bling collection with a Silver Medal in the Amber Lager category.
We appreciate this recognition from judges who are important figures throughout the craft beer industry, but we’re making this beer for you, our consumers, and not to simply win competitions.
Why do you love our beer? Email us at bullshit@flyingdogales.com and let us know. We’ll post a follow-up to this question in the next newsletter in two weeks. And remember: creativity counts double.
Gonzofest Showed Maryland How To Party, Doggie StyleGonzofest. A festival named after our hero and mentor, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Although we didn’t allow people to shoot their guns into the air or walk around with suitcases full of contraband, Gonzofest attracted 2,500 Gonzo enthusiasts to check out our Frederick, Maryland brewery. The beer flowed like wine, a bunch of bands rocked all day long, and we even had the Maryland State Chili Cook-Off at the same time. All in all, it was 8 straight hours of Gonzo debauchery. If you don’t believe us, just ask this guy, who ate a Habanero just for fun. He destroyed himself by choice, and he still had a great time.
If you’re not at Gonzofest in 2009, you’re missing out completely. We’ll be back bigger and better than in 2008, and that’s a promise. Long live Gonzofest.
