Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale Bottle

Today is Mrs. a-rand’s birthday, so we packed ourselves and the mini-Rand’s into the family van and drove to a new Ruby Tuesday for dinner. Overall, the experience was disappointing. Service was slow, until they changed servers to Shannon, who was a treat! What surprised me was the menu… the beer menu, of course. Flying Dog, Sierra Nevada, Yuengling, etc. Much more than I expected. However, due to my state’s liquor authority having a monopoly on most alcohol distribution, the only one of these I could actually get was Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale. Clearly, they should localize their menu, but I digress.

So Tire Bite is a wonderfully balanced beer. Somewhere less hoppy than an IPA, but less bitter than a typical brown/red ale. Perhaps my favorite part was the awakening my mouth experiences upon the first swig; full of bubbles, sharp on the tongue, just the kind of beer to start the relaxation after a long day. Progressing through the bottle I was struck by its consistency; it never changed flavor as some beers tend to do. In the glass it was light as a pilsner, but with a slight cloudiness.

From the label I found out it is not only brewed in Colorado but also Frederick, MD. The Wikipedia entries for Flying Dog Brewery and Frederick are interesting enough - the brewery opened in Aspen, moved to Denver, and has by now almost completely moved to Maryland - but add to that nearby Fort Detrick, which is not only a US Army command, but home to a biological weapons research facility. And you thought this was just a beer review. I had the pleasure of visiting the Frederick area one time, but alas, was not able to visit any Flying Dog facilities that may or may not be there.

Other Flying Dog beers are just as good as this, though this may be near the top of their selections in my mind. Please be sure to check out the official Flying Dog Brewery site and Flying Dog Blog, and look for one of their selections at a store near you!