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.

Go Gonzo For GonzoFest

It’s that time of the year when we throw a ridiculously massive party at our brewery. A party where a couple or three thousand of our best friends come out to drink Flying Dog beer, listen to great live music, eat award-winning chili, and help out a local charity.

Yes, I’m talking about GonzoFest - Flying Dog Brewery’s annual throwdown on September 12th, 2009 from 3-9PM.

We told you last year that if you missed GonzoFest, you’d “be in a state of self-loathing for months,” - and all of you who missed it know that we were being serious. Wondering what you missed? Below are two HD videos that will help explain the kind of awesomely good time we had last year (except for the guy in the 2nd video, he was probably hurting for a few days).

Discounted tickets for GonzoFest are available in advance online starting this Saturday, August 1st. Just cruise to the GonzoFest page of our website and click the link to buy tickets.

We’ve got some fun shit happening at GonzoFest this year:

• Hunter S. Thompson Lookalike Contest - win Gonzo prizes for the best Hunter costume, one of the prizes is a bottle of Flying Dog beer signed by Gonzo co-conspirator Ralph Steadman

• Hard Times Cafe Chili Cookoff (for the 2009 Maryland State Championship)

• Awesome bands this year, including …soihadto… - the band that Duff from the Food Network show Ace of Cakes is in - see the full lineup at the Gonzofest home page

Admission includes: Beer, Music, Souvenir Mug, Chili Competition Samples and all-around Good Karma: A portion of the proceeds benefit United Way of Frederick County.

Drink ‘Til You Tweet

Free beer, no shit. Announcing the best Denver TweetUp that’s ever TweetedUp.

Are you a Twitter user? We’re working with some of the coolest dogs on the block to bring you the next installment of the #denvertweetup! Join @thebigklosowski, @redheadwriting and @flyingdog for an August 13th TweetUp (6-8PM) at our warehouse (2401 Blake Street, two blocks north of the baseball stadium). So come drink free beer for a few hours and then come out on a LoDo pub crawl with us afterwards.

We’ll also be accepting a suggested $5 donation for the Food Bank of the Rockies. We won’t be mad if you don’t donate, but don’t come crying to us when a piano falls on your head because of the negative Karma for not helping the hungry.

Click here to reserve your free tickets. Yeah, you need a ticket to get in, even though the event is free.

Help Improve Relations Between The United States and The People’s Republic of Flying Dog

You probably heard about some shit that went down in Cambridge, MA last week. One of Harvard’s most respected professors was arrested for “breaking into” his own house. And President Obama got involved. We’re not going to say who was right and who was wrong, because we’re people who get paid to make beer.

Tomorrow, President Obama will be hosting both Professor Gates and Officer Crowley at the White House to talk about what went wrong and how we as a society can avoid these sorts of issues. We at Flying Dog appreciate that three men can get together and work on settling their differences over a beer.

But we wish that the beer they were drinking was produced more locally. Many craft beer enthusiasts preach the phrase “Think Globally, Drink Locally.” With the President having to think on a global scale, we ask him to heed the “drink locally” aspect of the phrase. Flying Dog beer is brewed just 42 miles from the White House, and there’s no better way to preach “American Economic Recovery” than to drink award-winning beer produced within a stone’s throw of your (White) House.

If you agree with our reasoning, send an email to the White House to let them know that Flying Dog Brewery is just up the road in scenic Frederick, Maryland. We’d be happy to provide the beer for future White House Happy Hours. We are thinking that President Obama would be a Tire Bite fan. And with more than 15 styles of beer, we’re sure to have something to scratch every world leader’s itch.

So let’s work towards building a strong and healthy relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of Flying Dog.

Cheers! Until next time,
-Josh

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.

Happy Birthday, Hunter S. Thompson

This Saturday marks the birthday of one Hunter S. Thompson. On July 18th, 1937, Hunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the man who invented the experimental and immersive form of journalism known as Gonzo Journalism. If you’re reading this, you probably have some idea about who Hunter was and what he stood for. If you want to learn more, buy this shit and get schooled a little.

Read:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Rum Diary: A Novel
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72
The Kitchen Readings: Untold Stories of Hunter S. Thompson
Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S. Thompson

Watch:
Where The Buffalo Roam
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Gonzo: The Life & Work of Hunter S. Thompson
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride

Listen:
The Gonzo Tapes: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

We are honored to be associated with someone so influential, so we’re celebrating Hunter’s life in an extra special way. Yesterday we packaged a very limited run of something we like to call ESG: Extra Special Gonzo. What is the ESG, you ask? It’s the beer that won the GABF 2005 Silver Medal in the Experimental category. We start out with some Gonzo Imperial Porter and barrel-age it in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels. To make it even more Gonzo, we dose these barrels with some Brettanomyces yeast, which adds complexity and gives a Brett beer its trademark sour flavoring. After spending more than a year in these barrels (where the ESG continues to ferment and whiskey flavor is infused from the barrels), we package the beer in 750ml bottles and then hold it in our brewery for another few months, as it gets more awesome by the day.

Hunter would have been 72 on Saturday, and we want you to do something Gonzo this weekend to celebrate Hunter and his extraordinary life. Live near our brewery in Frederick, Maryland? Come to our Saturday tour this weekend and drink some Gonzo and maybe pick up some fun Gonzo treats. We’ll also be at the Breckenridge, Colorado Massive Beer Fest this weekend, and we’re pouring Gonzo in Hunter’s honor. If you’re not near us, go out and grab a 4-pack of Gonzo and learn more about who he was. If you do something special, we’d love to hear. Email me at joshm [at] flyingdogales [dot] com and tell me about it.

Four Great Flying Dog Events In Colorado Next Week Will Help Satisfy Your Gonzo Urge

Although we’re not talking about your urge to run for the Mayor of Aspen or join the Hell’s Angels, we’ve got four great Flying Dog events coming up next week to help satisfy your Gonzo urges:

Tuesday, July 21, 8PM: Widespread Tuesdays at Tooey’s Off Colfax
We’ll be on hand on Tuesday at Tooey’s (Colfax & Marion Street). Flying Dog will be on Special, and we’ll be giving away some swag to people who come and ask us for some. We’ll be the folks in the Flying Dog shirts.

Wednesday, July 22, 5-7:30PM: Meet the Brewers night at the Paramount Cafe
Flying Dog Senior VP of Brewery Operations Matt Brophy will be flying out from Maryland to be with you fine folks. We even have an über-special treat for Coloradans. We’ll have some of our brand new Wild Dog Belgian IPA on hand for you to sample. 5-7PM will be half-off Flying Dog beer; plus, the first 50 people in the door get a free pint glass.

Thursday, July 23, 6-8PM: Flying Dog Tweetup at the Blake Street Tavern
We’re having one of our exciting and famous Tweetups at the Blake Street Tavern on Thursday. Come down about 6PM and get a free pint glass and a voucher for a free Flying Dog beer, on us. There will be a bunch of folks who use Twitter around, so come and meet some people in your local Twitterhood. Are you interested in Twitter or new to the game? Don’t be shy. We have lots of good people come out every time.

Friday, July 24, 6-10PM: Summer Brew Fest at the Mile High Station
Day four of the “we’re doing tons of shit” week keeps on going at the Summer Brew Fest. Come drink beer with 1,500 other craft beer fans. Last year, we met Jeff Porn, who some in this office say is in the running for Flying Dog’s Number One Fan. Who will we be meeting this year? Hopefully you.

Cheers! Until next time,
-Josh

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.

Flying Dog Gearing Up To Invade Boston For American Craft Beer Festival

Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride through Boston in April 1775 is an integral part of American history that is taught in elementary schools everywhere. Revere instructed Robert Newman (of the old North Church, which was probably the New North Church back then) to hang one lantern if the British were coming by land, and two if they were coming across the Charles River. Newman put out two lanterns, and Paul Revere told everyone of the British plan. This famous ride was immortalized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

It’s a good thing the Brits didn’t have access to Flying Dogs for their invasion force because it’s tough to fight something that instills fear in all who gaze upon its magnificent bat-like wings and vicious, toothy growl.

If the Red Coats came by Flying Dog, we’d all probably be speaking with an English accent, drinking pints of bitters and saluting some old wrinkly dude with a crown, because obviously no army wielding Flying Dogs has ever been defeated on the battlefield. We’d all also probably be insanely passionate about soccer games, and when we went out, we’d have these funny white powdered wigs on our heads. But we’d also have afternoon tea every day.

Get ready to put out three lanterns this weekend, because The People’s Republic of Flying Dog is invading Boston for Beer Advocate’s American Craft Beer Fest. We’ll be among the 60+ amazing Craft Beer Mongers pouring beer. We’re bringing Gonzo Imperial Porter, Double Dog Double Pale Ale, Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale and Woody Creek White to serve all the thirsty folks in attendance.

So come by and say hey, and don’t forget to drink a few award-winning Flying Dog ales. We’ll be taking photos of festivalgoers and posting them to our Twitter account throughout the weekend. You’ll be pretty famous after we’ve tweeted about you.

Get To Know Gonzo: The Gonzovision Test Isn’t Over, But You’re All Getting Failing Grades

You’ve all had two weeks to write a few short sentences about the Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision video and email it to me. It’s as simple as that. Sadly, none of you have written back. For shame! This is a great documentary that should be required viewing for every Gonzo enthusiast!

So we’re going to sweeten the deal.

Best response to the question below gets 50% off in our online store and the two next best responses get 25% off. You have one week left. This is ridiculously easy, and while you are trying to win, you might also learn something about what it’s like to be Gonzo in the process.

Question: What was your favorite part of the video?

Email your answers (two or three sentences long) to joshm {at} flyingdogales {dot} com and I’ll put the best answers into this section in an upcoming newsletter. If we publish your response, the reward will be a discount to our online store, but even better, you’ll be earning the respect of your follow citizens of the People’s Republic of Flying Dog.

Here are links to the movie again.

Fear And Loathing In Gonzovision: Part 1     Part 2     Part 3

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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.

Herman’s Hideaway During Free Friday

On Friday, June 26th, Flying Dog Brewery will be sponsoring Herman’s Hideaway’s Free Friday in Denver. This particular event is featuring local Colorado reggae bands, including Lion SoulJahs, Desciples, Fatty Jenkins and Mono Verde. Herman’s, if you don’t know, is a Denver music institution where many great Colorado bands get their start.

The show is free, doors open at 7PM and the bands start at 8PM. Old Scratch Amber Lager and Tire Bite Golden Ale are the featured beers for the evening, and are only $3 per pint! See you there, brah. Please note the sarcasm in the previous sentence.

Flying Dog Poster Contest

Just a little friendly reminder that our poster contest is still happening. You’ve got two months to pick up a rad (and FREE) poster at participating retailers, take a photo of you and your poster hung up somewhere, and enter it in our contest. Check out the contest page for more information. Let’s see some Gonzo creativity, folks!

Art of the Week: They Say Nobody Likes A Copycat, But We Think That They’re OK.

We brought you Tyler’s Flying Dog tattoo last time around and here’s something along those lines. Just around the time we heard from Tyler, we were unleashing our Flying Dog temporary tattoos at festivals and other events. Beerslinger Joe Gomez was at the 18th Annual Stoudt’s Microfest last week, and people went a little nutty with tattoo envy.

Everyone was trying to one-up everyone else. This sort of tattoo escalation is OK in our books. Plus it’s better than trying to one-up everyone in bed, if you get my meaning. Because the person who wins that contest, in reality, turns out to be the loser. But that’s what free clinics are for (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Here’s the rest of the photos.

Cheers! Until next time,
-Josh