Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

I like Flying Dog beers, especially their Raging Bitch.  And especially the label art (love Steadman's work in general!).  So when I saw a beer of theirs I hadn't tried yet, I couldn't resist:

Vittles:

American IPA

7.1% abv

60 IBU

Appearance: 10/10

Golden-amber is one of my favorite colors of beer.  This one's topped by over an inch of pale yellow foam (I actually had to sip some of it down so it wouldn't spill over the rim).  Plenty of effervescence makes this almost mouthwatering.  The head retained very well and left significant lacing when it eventually thinned.  A small disk of foam remained until I finished the beer.

Aroma: 21/25

The aroma isn't very strong unless I swirl the glass and get the foam out of the way.  What I do smell has a lot of citrusy/grapefruit notes and a more subtle pine/resin character.  I barely smell any malt.

Taste: 33/40

Grapefruit really dominates here, but woody, floral, earthy, pine, and resin characters also come into play a bit.  The bitterness lingers quite a bit in the back of the mouth.  Subtle malt flavors become more apparent as the beer warms, but the very bold citrus-grapefruit flavor doesn't fade.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

A little dry, medium-bodied, and decently carbonated.  It kind of leaves an odd, almost minty-fresh feeling.

Style: 5/5

It's clearly an American IPA -- it socks you good with the hoppiness and the typical American hop characteristics -- citrus, pine, resin, etc.

Drinkability: 7/10

I don't really want a second one after I've had the first, but it is a very good beer nonetheless.  But at 7.1% abv, it's not really the kind of beer that I want to drink back-to-back -- I prefer maltier beers to have one after the other.

Overall: 84/100

Snake Dog IPA is definitely going on my list for getting again in the future.  It's a good, solid American IPA with plenty of flavor, classically American hop characteristics, and interestingly complex.  I don't usually hear people talking about Snake Dog as one of the better American IPAs out there, but I think it can hold its own in this category pretty well.

Cheers!