In recent months, we’ve really been enjoying American brewery Flying Dog’s Amber Ale, which has those characteristic US hops, but is mellow and balanced enough to drink with any kind of meal, or even to chug from the bottle at a party. At an umbrella-assisted barbecue this weekend, we decided to try out a couple of other sessionable beers from their range.
First up, Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale, which shows that it’s not only English brewers who have a knack for coming up with puerile names for their products. The beer itself (5.5%) is excellent, and not unlike Fuller’s ESB, with marmalade being the common flavour. It went well with grilled meat and, yes, was good to drink from the bottle.
Tire Bite Golden Ale is brewed with German hops. On the whole, we found it less exciting, although the bottles that came from the ice bucket later in the evening were much better. Is it an attempt at a Koelsch? Other people at the party who aren’t as fussy as us loved it.