By Matt Dunn:

Being that the Big Beer Dinner was just so jam packed full of juicy, beery goodness, I couldn’t see myself doing it justice

in a single article.  So here is the first in a three part series:

World Class Beverages sure knows how to throw a party.  The beer was fantastic, but the brewers were better.  They

started off hung over at 7:00pm and finished up around 11:30pm, well on their way to another serious bought of morning

sickness.  I couldn’t tell if Nick Floyd’s constant face rubbing and head-in-hands posture was a symptom of his aloof,

pensive, brewer qua intellectual nature…or if he was just nauseous. 

About 75 folks settled into a back room at Loon Lake Lodge in Castleton on Saturday night for almost five hours of decent

food, incredible beer, and two of the brewing industry’s biggest characters: Adam Avery, president and brewmaster at

Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, CO and Nick Floyd, president and brewmaster at Three Floyd’s Brewing Company

in Munster, IN.  Eric Warner, president and brewmaster at Flying Dog Brewing Company in Denver CO, was there as well,

but I simply can’t lump him in with those two. 

It just wouldn’t be polite.

The three wise men.  From left to right: Adam Avery, Nick Floyd, Eric Warner. 

Warner wrote the book on German wheat beer.  He also wrote the book on Kolsch.  No, literally, he actually wrote

two books: one about German wheat beer and one about Kolsch.  He lived for several years in Germany and received

his brewing degree there.  He waxed philosophic on the differences between the three main styles of wheat beers: German,

Belgian and American.  He spoke of the effects of fermentation temperature on phenol and ester production in wheat beers. 

He spoke of building up brand identities in the craft brew market.  He spoke of the need to expose people to the craft beer

category.  He spoke of ‘bridge beers’ like Tire Bite Golden Ale (a Kolsch) and how they foster transition into the craft beer

category.  He spoke of a trend in this country for higher quality in general.  Better coffee.  Better food.  Better wine.  Better

beer.

I don’t think he cussed once all night. 

Compared to his partners at the head table, he’s quite conservative.  But it seems to be working.  Flying Dog’s beers are

available in 30 states.  It’s the 49^th biggest brewery in the US.  They may not produce the most adventurous beers, no 18%

abv Belgian strong ales, no Irish red ales dry hopped to high heaven with America’s finest, but the fairly conservative line up

of beers they do make is solid to say the least.  

I found their In Heat Wheat beer to be the best of the five Flying Dog brews that were served.  Spicy and fruity with notes of

clove, nutmeg, and banana, yet still remarkably clean and thirst quenching.  It went quite well with the spicy rattlesnake bites. 

Their Doggie Style pale ale is a very good take on the American pale ale style.  Brewed only with Cascade hops, it’s quite

citrusy and quaffable and stood up well to the sweet roast pork entrée.  I was slightly disappointed with their Horn Dog

barely wine.  It was very sweet, almost cloying, with notes of chocolate which seemed out of place to me.  It was almost too

sweet to have in conjunction with the desserts.  At 10.5% abv it would certainly make a great after dinner sipper all by itself

and I really do believe that after a couple years of aging it’s going to develop into a very sophisticated vintage barley wine. 

Of course Flying Dog certainly does have a wild side all its own.  In addition to their standard line of beers, they brewed up a

huge double pale ale last year called Wild Dog.  Massive, resinous hops.  9% abv.  Definitely not a conservative beer.  Eric

says the brewery plans on making several other special release, one-off beers over the next couple years.  They will only be

available in 750ml corked and caged bottles. 

Of course what might mark them as truly wild are their associations with Ralph Steadman and king Gonzo himself, Hunter S. Thompson.  Steadman’s art is not only used on all the bottles and packaging, but it sometimes serves as inspiration.  They saw ‘The Horn Dog’ and knew they had to make a barley wine.  Flying Dog has also recently brewed a Baltic porter (can't wait!) in honor of Thompson, one of the ‘conceptual co-founders’ of the brewery.  Below is the promo for this new brew that includes the story of Thompson’s role in the brewery’s conception. 

So the theme up to this point seems to be the conservative nature of Eric Warner and Flying Dog Brewing Company. 

Well, you may be saying to yourself, Flying Dog doesn’t sound all that conservative.  Sure Warner is a good public speaker. 

Refined, distinguished, reflective.  But he’s still the president of a brewing company with direct ties to Hunter S. Thompson.

I mean, look at that promo.   

How crazy could Nick Floyd and Adam Avery really be?

Crazy.  Quite crazy.     

Tune in next week to get all the gory details. 

Here’s a taste of what’s in store:

“Why are you a brewer Mr.Floyd?”  Thus one of the humble audience members asked, eager for a glimpse into the complex

nexus of concerns that motivates the production of such distinctive, original beers, beers of such complexity, beers that seem to

tap into the very metaphysical essence of beer-ness.  As a truly gifted artist, what could possibly make Nick Floyd tick? 

“Well, just ask any porn star: you gotta do somethin’ you love doin’ every day.  And I’m far too fat to be a porn star.” 

Well said Mr.Floyd, but you really aren’t all that fat.