Flying Dog Brewery to brew Gonzo Imperial Porter
Denver’s Flying Dog Brewery is getting ready to unleash Gonzo Imperial Porter, an official tribute beer honoring the late Hunter. S. Thompson. Flying Dog plans to release this special collectors’ beer in a four-pack this Summer. Gonzo Imperial Porter’s packaging features tribute illustrations from Hunter’s co-conspirator – world-renowned artist Ralph Steadman. Steadman will also sign the first 100 bottles of a special single bottle batch that will only be available from the Brewery’s tasting room.
Gonzo energy has been racing around the Flying Dog Brewery for over a decade. Brewery founder George Stranahan was Hunter’s friend and neighbor in Aspen, Colorado. They met gonzo artist Ralph Steadman back in 1991 in the Woody Creek Tavern. No one knows exactly what transpired the night they met, but the result was Road Dog Porter – the first authentic gonzo beer, illustrated by Ralph Steadman and inscribed with the words, ‘Good People Drink Good Beer’, by Hunter.
Proceeds from the sale of Gonzo Imperial Porter will help fund the building of the Gonzo Memorial Fist on Hunter’s Owl Farm Estate in Woody Creek, Colorado. The huge stone monument is planned to reach a height of 150 feet and will be crowned with a giant red fist. It’s scheduled to be unveiled at a memorial service in August that will be attended by family members and close friends, including Flying Dog founder George Stranahan and celebrities, Johnny Depp and Jack Nicholson.
Gonzo Imperial Porter is brewed with black, chocolate and crystal malts and hopped with Millennium and Cascades. ‘We tried to make everything about this beer Gonzo, which explains why we’ve already had a run-in with the authorities,” jokes brewery president Eric Warner. “The Tax and Trade Bureau took issue with a quote from Hunter that we put on the label, which says,’ I hate to advocate, drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they’ve always worked for me.’ The Tax and Trade Bureau didn’t think it was funny.”