Double Dog is Flying Dog Brewery’s biggest IPA, a beer that started as a one-off and refused to go away. Our notes listed it as a Double Pale Ale at 11.5% ABV and 70 IBU; the verified current beer is a Double IPA at 12% ABV and 85 IBU. It was first brewed in 2005 to mark the brewery’s 10th anniversary, earned a permanent spot in the year-round lineup in 2009, and survived the brewery’s sale to F.X. Matt Brewing Company in May 2023. The hop bill is Columbus, Warrior, and Cascade layered over a big caramel malt backbone, and the label carries the usual gonzo Ralph Steadman art with the warning that Double Dog nights can get unpredictable.

The basics

• Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery (Frederick, MD)
• Style: Double IPA
• ABV: 12%
• IBU: 85

What to expect

Double Dog pours a deep red copper-amber with a frothy off-white head. The aroma is thick with bready malt, caramel, and toffee, plus dried fruit notes of apricot, peach, and raisin, with pine and grapefruit hops underneath. On the palate it is full-bodied and malt-forward for a double IPA: caramel and toasted biscuit malt lead, citrus and stone fruit follow, and pine resin bitterness builds toward the finish. The alcohol is surprisingly well hidden for 12%, showing up mostly as a gentle warmth at the end. Several reviewers note it drinks closer to an American barleywine than a modern double IPA, and we think that is a fair description: this is an old-school, malt-heavy big beer, not a tropical hop showcase.

Our rating

6.0/10

Rated by Alex (6). Alex gave it a 6, and we think that is an honest score for a beer that is impressive and exhausting in equal measure. Double Dog is bold, warming, and full of flavor, and a small pour of it is a genuinely enjoyable experience. But the heavy caramel malt and the sheer strength make it a one-and-done beer for us, and at 12% it demands respect. Worth trying once if you like old-school double IPAs or barleywines, but not something we reach for twice.

Sources: BeerAdvocate, Double Dog, Flying Dog Brewery, 12% ABV, deep red color and subdued malty sweetness, 2,102 ratings, Beer added Mar 8, 2007, https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/69472/35754/ ; TapHunter, Flying Dog Double Dog Double IPA, 12.0% ABV, 85 IBU, Originally a Wild Dog release commemorating our 10th anniversary, https://www.taphunter.com/brewery/flying-dog-brewery/43001 ; The Liquor Barn, Flying Dog Double Dog 6Pk, 11.5% ABV American Double IPA, originally brewed as a limited commemorative release for the brewery’s 10th anniversary, permanent spot in the year-round lineup beginning in 2009, triple-hop bill of Columbus, Warrior, and Cascade, https://theliquorbarn.com/collections/beer/products/flying-dog-double-dog-6pk ; Brewbound, Flying Dog Releases 18.6% Triple Dog Triple IPA, Double Dog Double IPA (12% ABV), https://www.brewbound.com/news/flying-dog-releases-18-6-triple-dog-triple-ipa