Celebrate Your Beer Independence

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.

Celebrate Your Beer Independence

Independence comes in many forms. For instance, Flying Dog Brewery has been bucking the trends of what it is to be a craft brewery since we started in 1990. Plus craft beer is as American as apple pie and Uncle Sam put together. Everything started about 233 years ago, when our Founding Fathers also decided that they weren’t going to take any more shit from anyone. People like Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin broke from the centuries-old tradition and brought back the long-forgotten concept of Democratic society, and I don’t think I need to tell you about how successful that was. The parallels to Flying Dog are obvious, as we’ve broken the mold of what the traditional brewery should be, in both our award-winning taste as well as our Gonzo labels. We can only hope that the People’s Republic of Flying Dog lasts as long as this great Republic of the United States.

So this July 4th, celebrate your Beer Independence by cruising out to your local beer-selling establishment and pick up some Flying Dog beer. Celebrate your Gonzo ideals of questioning everything and holding people to a high standard in hopes of making this world we live in just a little more fair for everyone, which truly is the Democratic dream, no? It’s either that or scoring chicks, I can’t remember (but I’ve heard that Franklin was especially adept at wooing the ladies, if you get my meaning).

Flying Dogs Take Manhattan

Do you live in or near Manhattan? If you do, you’re going to want to go to the Blind Tiger on Bleecker Street on July 8th. We’ll be on hand and will be pouring more than 15 of our styles starting about 4PM. If you’re a craft beer lover and you live in New York, this is something you’re not going to want to miss.

So cut out of work early and come drink bunches of different Flying Dog brews, and then maybe call in, ahem, sick the next day. More information is available at the event page on our website.

Get To Know Gonzo - Part 1: Ancient Gonzo Wisdom Comes Straight From The Horse’s Mouth

Anita Thompson, as you probably know, is the widow of Hunter S. Thompson. She recently edited a book called Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S. Thompson, which compiles 400 pages of interviews with the famed Dr. Gonzo (many never-before-available) starting all the way back in 1967. It’s nice to get new content from Hunter, four years after his death. Here’s a nice write-up in Alarm Magazine, and you can buy the book here at Amazon.

Get To Know Gonzo - Part 2: A Little Guilt Tripping Goes A Long Way

A few weeks ago I threw down the gauntlet after this lack of contest-entering that had occurred. You, the People’s Republic of Flying Dog, came through for me by sending in bunches of answers to what is probably the easiest test you’ve ever taken since multiplication tables in 2nd grade. Your task (if you chose to accept it) was to watch a great documentary produced by the venerable BBC and tell me why you liked it. Without further ado, here are the winning entries:

• The Winning Entry (garnering a 50% discount at our newly redesigned online store) comes from Crystal A. Sherman for the following:

We finished our drinks and climbed up the dirt hill. It was getting dark and the countdown had begun. Down the hill and across the street was the Woody Creek Tavern. Tavern patrons were gathered at the top of the hill. There was some guy with underwear on his head, drunk and handing out flavored vodka shots to all takers; lots of cameras, and video recorders. The red drape was pulled down and the fist was flashing green. Fireworks and Explosions and Cheers. Then it was over and they all left immediately to go back down the hill to the tavern. We didn’t believe it was over yet. It was grand, we thought, but not grand enough. Just the two of us and a guy dressed all in blue-jeans. We waited for the real explosion across the valley that would catch everyone else off guard but it never happened. We finally slid down the hill and went back to the tavern. Then Sheriff Braudis and I tried to go through the tavern door at the same time and bounced off of each other. I didn’t need a camera though, I took pictures in my head.

That makes the funeral arrangements the best part of Gonzovision. The rest of the film is some documentary-makers making Hunter nervous. The real shit is Hunter looking at the mountains in his backyard and knowing that his wishes were carried out…and that I was there.

What I like about this is that it incorporates footage from the movie with footage from Crystal’s life. It can’t be beat. The next couple folks came close, though, for other reasons.

•The Runners-Up (also known as those who won, but less so, and receive a 25% discount at our online store) are Sean Gagnon and Greg Long.

Sean’s entry: My favorite section is in part 2, where Hunter and Steadman are driving from Vegas to Hollywood and the car starts acting-up, and Hunter reacts accordingly. I couldn’t stop laughing when I first saw that. (especially when he’s just trying to get out of the little traffic jam at the light) I think that is a good example of what people are talking about when they say that Hunter was always unpredictable but could always make you laugh.

Greg’s entry (which also wins the “Brevity Award”): Did that stewardess really say they were offering nickel beers on the flight to Aspen???!!! That is one damn civilized airline!

Thanks to all who entered. And if you think you could have done better, just remember that the world is run by those who show up, so think about that next time.

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We’ll be bringing you something Gonzo-themed from the world each time the newsletter comes out. Have a link to send us? Email it to joshm {at} flyingdogales {dot} com.

Cheers! Until next time,
-Josh