Brewery: Flying Dog
Location: Frederick, Maryland, USA
ABV: 5.5%
Version: Bottled
Source: Selfridges

[Part one of a Flying Dog Triple, along with Classic Pale Ale and Gonzo Imperial Porter]

Old Scratch Amber Lager was the first of three beers from US brewery Flying Dog, whose beer I've been keen on sampling for a good while now, that I finally got to try recently. I picked this one up in the Selfridges Manchester food hall; they only had a selection of ten or so beers, but there were some interesting ones in there, and I made a b-line for Old Scratch when I saw it on the shelf.

The beer poured a lovely, dark amber colour and was only lightly effervescent (always a good sign: the less fizzy the lager the better it ends up tasting, in my experience of craft lager so far). The flavour was much maltier than the lagers I've tried recently, with a faint hint of caramel sweetness that gave way to some lingering bitterness and then a toasty-dryness that saved itself for the after-taste.

Very tasty. Very tasty indeed. Definitely a cut far above your average bottled Far Eastern Lager (I won't even bother to point out it tastes far superior to the vast majority of typical, mass-produced, factory lagers. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to drink this one again if the opportunity presented itself.

Up next: Flying Dog's Classic Pale Ale.

Related posts:

1. Tasting Notes: Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale
2. Tasting Notes: Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
3. Tasting Notes: Brooklyn Lager
4. Bargainwatch: Flying Dog, BrewDog, Grimbergen and more at Tesco
5. Tasting Notes: Windhoek Lager