Ha ha ha! Dogtoberfest!

Let's have a chat. Among the ranks of writers old and new, I have many favorites. Robin Hobb, Charles Bukowski, Glenn Cook, George R.R. Martin and Garth Nix are amazing writers. But I hold a certain passion in my heart for the late, great Hunter S. Thompson. Many know him as the drug addled, gun-crazed psychopath in Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas starring Johnny Depp. What many DON'T know is the man's political, ethical, and intellectual depth. His writing style is akin to, well, I can't honestly come up with anything that can represent his way of writing. He is a lyrical genius. Filthy and perverted (not in THAT way, ya freak), he is a brutal cynic and realist. He calls it as he sees it and puts no polish on it. If you've ever seen any video of him, you'll know what I'm getting at. If you haven't, I suggest you do. Like this. His way of speech is very distinct (distinctly AWESOME) and once you've heard him, I also suggest reading one of his books. And by suggest, I mean I demand that you read something. C'mon, read. It's good for you. When you do read his book, you can't help but read it in his voice. Alright, enough of being a fan-boy. I found out recently that a beer line inspired by Hunter with label artwork done by Ralph Steadman was released and has been available for a long time. This makes me as giddy as the time I found out that Lagunitas Brewery released a Frank Zappa line of beer. Called Flying Dog, they put out a range of "dog" named beers often inspired by either Ralph Steadman's work or anything associated with Hunter S. Thompson. Thus, when I found a bottle of Flying Dog Dogtoberfest (a Marzen) at Beers of the World...well...

Here are the notes:

Pours a coppery yet amber with a finger of off-white head that leaves beautiful lacing. Moderately opaque with highly visible carbonation.

Smell is sweet malt. Smells of pineapple as well. Strong white sugar/clean sweetness smell. Hard to describe. Has none of the notes of caramel or toffee I expected from the color. Just pure malt sweetness and tropical fruit.

Taste is intriguing. At the forefront is heavy malt; fresh baked bread with a tang of honey. Middle and aftertaste is clean malt and caramel with a pungent sprinkling of floral, but not bitter, hops.

Mouthfeel is perfect. Just the right amount of carbonation and body.

It's pretty damn good. I think an investment into a Flying Dog sampler pack is in order. Before I decided to write this I'd been sipping it and reading a Hunter book I got from the library: Generation of Swine. Excellent stuff. Of course, most of his shit is. The man uses "degenerate swine" and "pigfucker" regularly. You GOTTA love someone that uses language like that in letters to, say, Rolling Stone or the press. My only wish these days is that he was still alive so I could hang out with him. He must be totally bitchin' to drink with.