Saturday night, myself, and forum members DeathJester and mertesn paid a visit to our favourite liquor store to purchase fine drinks. I called Prime to get his blessing and reassurance that buying New Amsterdam Gin would be a good idea, and I picked up Shiner's new 99 special edition beer. On the way out, I noticed a big bottle of Flying Dog Beer.

Flying Dog makes great beers and their bottles are easily recognized by their colorful labels drawn by illustrator Ralph Steadman, of Fear and Loathing fame. Steadman, plus Hunter S. Thompson, and brewery founder George Stranahan, all have made their mark on the brand, so Flying Dog's brews are usually as gonzo as the Good Doctor ever was.

The big bottle we found is Flying Dog's latest Wild Dog offering, a line of limited edition beers that are big, bold, and generally badass. mertesn was all over it, since the tag said it was Open Source.

"Gotta support the community," he said. So we were hooked.

Here's the story. Wild Dog Collaborator Doppelbock is the culmination of a project where Flying Dog got anyone and everyone to create and contribute a single beer recipe, and they'd then brew 5,000 bottles of it for sale. Of course, being Open Source, anyone and everyone is also encouraged to brew up their own batch.

The beer itself has 8.6 percent alcohol by volume. The color is a dark brown/amber, and the flavour is strong. It's robust and complex, with a nice alcoholic crispness and pleasant aroma. The consistency is a bit thick, leaving almost a syrup on the side of the glass. I'd recommend drinking it at slightly below room temperature, as it loses some of it's flavour when cold.

If you're feeling ambitious and want a beer with bite, Colaborator Doppelbock is the way to go.