Raging Bitch on cask at ChurchKey

I’ve talked about Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch before. When Flying Dog released it as their 20th Anniversary beer in 2010 it was one of those beers you taste and realize is a special beer. Apparently I wasn’t the only one because it was one of the most popular craft beers of the year and Flying Dog decided to make it not only every year but all year. I’ve had it on cask once or twice before but try not to miss it when I can get it. It wasn’t my favorite beer on this night though.

I started off with a full serving of the Witch Doctor on cask from Oskar Blues. It is a blend of their Dale’s Pale Ale and Ten FIDY dry hopped with centennial hops. It comes in at 8.5%. It had that familiar Oskar Blues taste. I forgot the Ten FIDY was the stout but it had a nice balanced taste.

Next was the Stillwater Harvest Saison. This might have been my favorite beer of the night. Saisons aren’t my favorite style but this had the fresh hop taste along with the typical yeast flavors. The description said... "Brewed with East Kent Goldings, Summit & Wet Citra Hops; Matured on Spanish Cedar; Dry-Hopped". It was 6.8%. I only had the 4oz of this but could have easily drank a full serving.

I also got a tasting size of the Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaboration Life & Limb. This came in at a nice 10.2% but I couldn’t taste the complexity in the beer on this occasion for some reason. I could just barely pick up the maple syrup.

They were out of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Session 38: Docesna - Czech Hop Harvest Ale. I was disappointed. So finally I had the Raging Bitch on cask in a full serving. It was good but not the explosion of flavors I was expecting. I thought I detected a metallic taste or something foreign but I quickly forget it at this state in the game.

the making of Freddie's Revenge

I wanted to end with a tasting size of the 120 Minute IPA but they ran out of that as well. So I ended with a Freddie's Revenge on cask from Pratt St. Ale House in Baltimore. It is a pumpkin ale brewed w/ roasted pumpkin, spiced with cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and clove. I’ve had some unexpectedly tasty pumpkin beers this year. Unexpected because I’m traditionally not a pumpkin beer fan. I don’t like all the spice; similar to the x-mas beers. But this year there was more to the offering and some interesting flavors. Some were like eating pumpkin pie with whipped cream. So many craft breweries doing so much good stuff these days.

I had the potato croquettes just like last time. They are yummy. And the pasta special again which was fettucini with pork belly. It was pretty good. I got a good deal on the bill and didn’t get charged for any of the small servings. Similar to what happened to me earlier in the weekend at my other favorite establishment. My good looks I guess.