Flying Dog– Don’t Even Waste Your Time

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I am writing this blog to basically let anyone who runs or is associated with a brewery know the wrong way to do things.  Flying Dog is an example of a brewery with terrible customer service, poor staff, and sets a terrible example for everyone in the brewing community.

This story starts about 2 or 3 years ago when Flying Dog started doing tours at its facility in Frederick, Maryland. For those who don’t know, I am a Maryland native and travel back up to the DC area about once a year.  Flying Dog started doing tours about the time that I started doing this blog and I was familiar with their beers so thought I would visit.

At that time, Flying Dog took reservations for tours through the website. I tried on at least 2 trips to make a reservation (sometimes months in advance) through the website and there were never, supposedly, any open spots. Of course, I find that very hard to believe. The first time I let it go and visited several other local breweries with better hours and better locations. On the second time I tried to schedule a tour, I wrote not once but twice to the brewery explaining my situation and asking if I could get in on a tour.  Of course, I never got any response even though by this time I was a journalist and had been writing this blog for over a year.

This time, I checked the website for tour information and was told there was no longer a reservation needed but that tours were offered several times Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The website did say that tours fill up quickly on Saturdays so I got there over 2 hours early for a tour expecting to be able to get in on at least one. No– I was told that although the first tour didn’t even start until 2 pm that I should have been there by 11 am in line in 30 degree weather to get a tour by 4 pm. I am sorry but if this is the case, then you have a serious problem with the number of people on tours, the number of tours, and moving people efficiently through a tour.

After discussing my situation with the staff member at the counter, including the numerous times that I have tried to visit, the fact that I am a journalist, etc. I was still denied a tour and told I can by a growler but not even attend a tasting as they don’t have a liquor license. I explained that a growler would do no me no good as I live in the only state where half gallon growlers were illegal. The staff member then tried to tell me that it was a 64 ounce growler not a half gallon. I believe elementary school failed her somewhere along the way.

She then sent us down the road to a place called A.K.A. Frisco’s where we were told we could try their beers. Well we could– in a bottle.  In other words, this place didn’t have the ability the let us sample either.  We walked out–thinking “wow what kind of incestuous relationship is this where an employee of a brewery sends us to another place to try their beer and we still can’t do this… what kind of kickback is she or the brewery getting.”

Now I also have a lovely impression of the staff at the establishment. I also was left very confused as to why a brewery that had been doing tours for years was still not able to get a liquor license. Although I was given a very lame explanation, I can only guess they are not trying very hard.

Anyway, this leads me to think of all the breweries I have been to and similar situations that have occurred at these locations and how they were remedied to everyone’s satisfaction leaving customers with a good feeling.  One in particular comes to mind at Shipyard Brewing in Portland, Maine. The situation was similar as there were tons of people and too few spots on tours.  Shipyard employees introduced tours on the 15 minutes and cut back the numbers of samples given to each tour (I think it was 5 per person instead of 6) to accommodate less time. No one was denied a tour or the ability to at least try some of the beers. Everyone left happy.  Customers were buying t-shirts and other momentos and no one seemed to complain.

In that example, Shipyard made money from each tour person, left customers willing to continue to buy their beer, and sold additional items to happy customers who wanted to remember their experience. At Flying Dog, I and others left with a bad taste in our mouths and I didn’t see anyone buy a t-shirt. I personally know that the continued lack of customer service and bad experiences with this brewery will mean that I will never partake again of any of their products. Their beer is average and there are a lot of average breweries in the country who respect and love their customers.

The New BJs at Gulf Coast Town Center

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flight at BJs

BJs Beer Lisst

Let it be known that I have been trying for a while to get this location to invite me in for a Pub and Grub but they don’t seem interested in free advertising– I have been told that the service I provide would cost to $1200 since it is an 800 word article. Hey, what can you do but offer something for free. I guess they figure they are not hurting and don’t need the pub. Unfortunately, I have heard that the service is bad (not just at this location but with the chain in general) and the beer is adequate. Once that gets around, they might change their minds.

My service was not poor at this location and it was Christmas Eve so that was a bit surprising. The beers were actually a little better than what I remember. However, it is important to note that this location doesn’t brew any of the beers. In addition, many of the beers are outsourced to other breweries to be brewed. Therefore, it is possible that some of the beers are being made by great brewers that prefer to remain anonymous.

I started with the Lighthouse Lager which was not very good. It was a clone of Budweiser with a slightly maltier flavor.  I guess this would be a good beer for someone who didn’t know or like craft beer but it wouldn’t work for most beer lovers.

The Brewhouse Blonde was another beer that was not that good. It lacked any herbal flavors usually found in blondes and was very plain. It was not as malty as the lager so it even lacked this taste.

Harvest Hefeweizen didn’t have much banana or clove on the nose but the taste was there. It actually had a good balance of banana and clove. I would drink this one.

Piranha Pale Ale had a nice nose with a hint of hops. It was actually a well balanced pale ale with good amount of hops and bit of sweetness at the end.

Hopstorm IPA didn’t have any more nose than the pale ale but did have a much hoppier flavor– also a decent beer.

Jeremiah Red reminded me of Killians– nothing else to say about that one.

BJs Oasis Amber had a hint of malt on the nose but was not strong. It had a slightly burnt malt flavor but had a hint of a metallic aftertaste. This was not a good beer.

Nutty Brewnette had a slight hint of nut on the nose from the malt. It had a good nutty aftertaste and reminded me of Newcastle Nut Brown Ale.

BJs PM Porter was a good solid porter with a nose of slightly burnt malt with a hint of coffee flavor at the end.

Tonka Stout was described by my husband as a “subtle stout”.  It didn’t have much nose but had a good mouthfeel. It wasn’t heavy with coffee flavors. As the beer warmed, it had more smoke flavors that came out. I would actually prefer this beer at closer to room temperature.

Since BJs is about 4 miles from my house, I guess I will be going back again at some point. I will probably wait until season is over and the crowds die down to something manageable. The place was pretty packed even on Christmas Eve. At that point, I hope that they too have a different beer selection. If they do, I will report back.

Thunder Canyon– Last of the Arizona Breweries

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I know it has taken quite a while to finally catch up on all the Arizona breweries. Unfortunately paid gigs take a front seat to these blog posts. Of course, life always gets ahead of me too.

I wanted to visit the Thunder Canyon location in downtown Tucson, but the night I decided to visit was Dia de los Muertos and downtown was packed. With not a parking space to be had, even in the big garages, I decided it head out to the foothills.

I really don’t have a problem with a brewery in a shopping center, but I find that they don’t have much atmosphere or ambiance. I tried sitting outside to give it a better feel but staring at a major road and parking lot don’t make it much better.

The beers here were generally good, nothing spectacular but nothing too awful either– kind of like the atmosphere. Everything here did tend to land on the sweet side, which is not to my liking necessarily, especially in styles where this is not so appropriate.

The Sandstone Cream Ale had a nice creamy nose with a hint of sweetness and a very malty finish.  For a cream ale, this was actually quite good.

Windstorm Wheat didn’t have much nose or wheat taste on the finish. It was a very nondescript beer.

Orange U Glad had a nose that promised a good orange taste and the appearance of Blue Moon. However, I found that taste was too much orange– like mixing orange juice with beer. And no one wants to do that. It reminded me of one of those beer cocktails that are now becoming popular at some trendy restaurants.  I would actually rename this beer — BeerOrangina.

Bees N Berry was almost like a mead more than a beer. There was a very honey nose with raspberry on the tongue and it was VERY sweet.

Deep Canyon Amber didn’t have much nose but you did get a good toasty taste with a hint of sweetness. This was a solid amber ale.

Rye Heart did not taste like a rye. It had an unusual taste that I couldn’t really describe– it was something like sweet and tangy at the same time.

Oktoberfest was a bit too toasty for this style of beer, I thought. It didn’t have much nose but had a very toasty taste.

Olde Shaftbury IPA was another odd one.  It had slight hop on the nose and was a bit more amber like a pale ale in color. However, there was a definite banana taste to this beer like an odd Hefe/IPA combo.

Thunder Canyon IPA didn’t have much of a nose but had good hop flavor. A solid beer!

Good Vibrations IPA was very light amber in color with not much nose and very bitter on the finish. The hop flavor here wasn’t great.

Morningstar Imperial Red didn’t really appear to be a red on first glance but had a much browner color and was similar in appearance to the Thunder Canyon IPA. There was hint of hops and toast in the nose of this beer. This was probably the best beer here with a good toasty flavor from the malt and a nice amount of hops.

Dark Lightning Milk Stout had chocolate on the nose and nice silky mouthfeel. It was a solid stout but very sweet.

If I ever make it back, I definitely want to check out the downtown location for the ambiance, not that this would change the beers.

Flight at Thunder Canyon Beer Board at Thunder Canyon Finished Sampler Thunder Canyon

Barrio Brewing– Tucson’s Best

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OK I must preface by saying that I never made it to Dragoon Brewery because they weren’t open on Sundays (really stupid if you ask me) but my experiences at Barrio Brewing in Tucson were the best in town. The beers were overall very good and so was the food at atmosphere.

I started my experience with Barrio while at El Charro Cafe which serves an amber ale brewed by Barrio exclusively for them. El Charro is a great Mexican restaurant and the food was superb. The beer didn’t disappoint either.  The Barrio 1922 Amber Ale was a good amber with sweet malt flavor. It didn’t have much nose, though. However, it paired very well with Mexican food. My husband got the Blonde here, which was also on the menu.  I was not as impressed with this one. It didn’t have any of those traditional herbal undertones and tasted much more like a plain wheat.

We had the Blonde again aft the brewery so I wanted to give it a taste without the Mexican food interfering.  It still didn’t have much nose and was still more malty than anything else. I was able to get a bit more sweetness on the finish without the food though.

Barrio Rojo was a decent beer with not much nose and a bit of toast on the finish. Since I am not a huge red fan, I would say this was average.

The Hefeweizen had a good nose of banana and clove but it was a bit too lemony in taste. The banana was still good and overall this was a solid hefe.

TJs Raspberry was very raspberry with a raspberry nose and taste like raspberry iced tea. The wheat flavor still comes through so it remains a good beer. However, it was a bit sweet for me.

Copperhead Pale Ale has a nice nose and a good balance of hops and malts. A very well balanced and easy drinking pale ale!

Barrio IPA was also a good solid beer with a great nose.

Barrio Blanco was a white IPA.  I got a little flaw of butter in the nose of this one and was a bit disappointed by the lack of hop.

Nolan’s Porter is a good solid porter with tastes of coffee and a  hint of sweetness.

Mocha Java Stout had a great coffee nose.  The taste was a bit of ground coffee and cigarettes but it was still quite good just not as sweet as the name would suggest.

NCAAle Bourbon Aged Oak didn’t have much bourbon on the nose but did finish with great bourbon flavors. This was very, very similar to Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.

The Pumpkin Porter also seemed to be similar to another beer, Warlock. The nose was definitely very similar to Warlock and it was also heavier on spice than on pumpkin.  The slight pumpkin flavor was masked by the nutmeg.

Again, I have to give Barrio kudos for location and atmosphere. Located in another warehouse district in Tucson, it was a bit difficult to find. Inside, it was minimalistic with concentration on the beer not the furnishings. This brewery did have a menu but the food was simple (mostly sandwiches and the like). The food was good and satisfying but you definitely felt like you were still in a brewery.

Barrio Flight Barrio Flight Finished