Review Flying Dog Beer Tasting at The Cross Keys
The folks behind North Bar bring US craft brewers Flying Dog to the historic Holbeck pub. Unsurprisingly, drinking ensues
Review: Flying Dog Beer Tasting at The Cross Keys
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Traditionally certain things are universally known to be bad. If you’re offered some English food, Germany comedy or American beer, the chances are you’d be preparing yourself for a less than wonderful evening. The trouble with stereotypes, though, is that they usually aren’t true and it doesn’t take much investigation to scratch below the surface to see that. So we’re at The Cross Keys in Holbeck tonight to try some US beers from Colorado-based brewery Flying Dog.
It’s a peculiarly English setting for the event with its high beams, exposed brickwork and old pictures framed on the wall - it’s a beautiful, traditional old pub. But, most importantly, there is the beer - case after case of it - and we’re to be treated to 14 different types of ale in the company of Flying Dog’s remarkably young chief brewer Matt Brophy. It turns out he is 33 and has been brewing beer since he was 16. That is five years before he was legally allowed to drink in the US. You could already say this was his life’s work.
Born in New Jersey, Brophy left home to travel west to Colorado, as it was the fastest growing area for brewers, and managed to get a job with fledging brewers Flying Dog. The name of the brewery comes from a vision the owner had after climbing the mountain K2 without oxygen - This clearly isn’t your normal old fashioned style brewing company. Brophy makes it very clear that they have strived to be different from, and better than, traditional brewers. They use seven different kinds of hops and ingredients such as coriander and fruit to get their distinctive flavours.
Unsurprisingly, the beer is fantastic and nothing like the normal image of American beer. It is extremely flavoursome and quite potent. If you’re used to just drinking lager you’d be surprised to find how different 14 different beers can taste - from US-style golden ales, to Belgian style wheat beer via traditional favourites like IPAs and a Porter. We’re also lucky enough to have the beers complimented by some traditional food courtesy of The Cross Keys, which is very tasty - I’ll have to admit that I’d never eaten pheasant before.
The beers all keep up to the dog theme with names like Dogtoberfest and Horn Dog - a barley wine style beer that weighs in at a hefty 10.2%. By the time we’re served their brand new limited edition 20th anniversary ale Raging Bitch, objective journalism is starting to go out of the window. However, with such a wide array of beer, even the most dyed in the wool beer drinker would find something to sup in their range.
Since their labels are designed by Ralph Steadman who did Hunter S Thompson’s (an old friend of the brewery owner, apparently) art work, you should be able to easily spot them in the fridge at North Bar or The Cross Keys. I’d highly recommend trying them - but not all of them in one night. It was a wonderful experience, but by the end even German comedy was starting to sound like a good idea.
The Flying Dog tasting was on 28 October at The Cross Keys, 107 Water Lane, LS11 5WD, 0113 243 3711.
There will be a tasting of Sierra Nevada, with food at The Cross Keys on 13 October at 7pm, priced £20 per person. Tickets available from North Bar, 24 New Briggate, LS1 6NU, 0113 242 4540.
For future tastings see www.leedsguide.co.uk/food and www.northbar.com
Posted on Tuesday 6th October 2009
Neal Addison
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