The ‘People’s Republic Of Flying Dog’ Given The Chance To Create Our Newest Brand Name

We’re is giving our loyal consumers the chance to join the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman. Both the Gonzo Journalist (Thompson) and the Gonzo Artist (Steadman) have played a role in Flying Dog’s development and now a creative consumer can join them by naming our newest brand, a summer seasonal.

The newest addition to Flying Dog’s “litter of ales” will be a “Belgian-style White” beer. White beers get their name from their “white” appearance due to the suspended wheat proteins and unfiltered yeast. It’s brewed with unique ingredients such as orange peel and coriander to produce a refreshing, tangy, orange/citrus flavor that is extremely smooth and makes for a great beer during the “dog days” of summer.

All of our brands have been named by employees or friends of the brewery. We have never hired an outside agency or firm to create our names. Our consumers are very creative, passionate people and this contest is a great way for you, The People’s Republic of Flying Dog to get involved with the brand.

The person who submits the winning name will win a trip to the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in our home town of Denver, CO. Interested consumers can submit their entries via the Flying Dog website at www.flyingdogales.com or by emailing bullshit@flyingdogales.com through Jan 19, 2007.

Flying Dog Teams Up with Wyeast Labs

Flying Dog Brewery and Wyeast Laboratories, Inc. proudly present “VSS” – Very Special Strains for homebrewers across the country. From Jan-Mar (2007), the “Flying Dog Ale” yeast will be one of Wyeast’s VSS offerings.

The Flying Dog Ale strain is an unruly mutt, and to brew with it you must be willing to “Cut the Leash” as our Flying Dog Brew Crew does in our “Snake Dog” IPA, “Road Dog” Porter, “K-9 Cruiser” Altitude Ale and “Doggie Style” Classic Pale Ale. For more information on this beast of a yeast, log on to www.flyingdogales.com and go to the “contact” section.

For more infomation on Wyeast or VSS, log on to: www.wyeastlab.com

Flying Dog Carries on “Wild Dog” Tradition

It’s become a highly anticipated tradition. Every year, the Flying Dog Brewery releases what they call a “Wild Dog” – which means it is an experimental, high gravity style exclusively available in a 750ml champagne bottle with a cork and cage finish. This year, the Denver-based Flying Dog Brewery have not disappointed craft beer fans as they have put a unique Colorado spin on a Belgian Farmhouse Ale, also known as a “Saison” and fittingly called it a “Colorado Saison”.

Fans of Belgian beers will love this unfiltered, bottle conditioned brew that weighs in at 7.3% ABV. The Colorado Saison is brewed with a distinctive combination of both imported Belgian ingredients, including malts, hops spices and yeast, but also some ingredients that are indigenous to Colorado. When poured out of it’s tall green bottle, it will be gold in color, have a white frothy head and a considerable amount of carbonation. The aromas will invoke sweet malts, flowers and fruit.

Flying Dog’s Head Brewer, Matt Brophy says the Colorado Saison is special because of the fermentation process, “It’s fermented in a very traditional way which will yield a dry sweetness and have long shelf-life.”

The Colorado Saison is the latest addition to Flying Dog’s “litter of ales” which currently includes nine everyday brands and three seasonals. Flying Dog’s “purposeful, provocative and irreverent” attitude derives from the brewery’s founding owners, George Stranahan and Richard McIntyre. George and Richard were friends with the “Gonzo Journalist,” Hunter S. Thompson who coined the brand’s tagline “Good People Drink Good Beer” and with the “Gonzo Artist,” Ralph Steadman, who illustrates the brands packaging.

New Lineup of POS and Wearables Coming in 2007

In the first quarter of 2007 Flying Dog will be releasing a new catalog of POS and Wearables. The new items include:

-Two NEW Tap Handles
-New Coasters
-NEW Metal Tacker
-NEW Neons
-A NEW 5 Case Stacker Piece
-NEW Hats, T-shirts and swag
-And More!

For more information about the new POS items you can visit our online POS ordering site, which is accessible thru our website (www.flyingdogales.com) or contact your Flying Dog Sales Director.

Flying Dog Launches YouTube Marketing Campaign

Flying Dog has recently launched a “viral” marketing campaign with a series of short videos that can be seen at www.youtube.com. The videos range in subject matter, from out “Ring Toss” game at the Great American Beer Festival to our packaging designer and “Gonzo” artist Ralph Steadman visiting the brewery in Denver.

A five-part documentary series covers the concepting, events leading up to, and footrace between President/Lead Dog, Eric Warner and Marketing Coordinator, Chris Rippe. “The whole thing is 100% real, said Neal Stewart, Director of Marketing. “Eric made the challenge to Rippe, and got his ass handed to him.”

Check them out and if you think it’s remotely entertaining, pass the links on to your friends and co-workers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9IQpMxm5rE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDpY7sfuVM&mode=related&search=

Flying Dog Email Newsletter Membership Goes Over 10,000

In October, the Flying Dog database of Email Newsletter subscribers went over 10,000 people, doubling the numbers from 2005. Marketing Coordinator, Chris Rippe manages the database and writes the newsletter. Chris credited himself when asked about the milestone, “The word is getting out about my kick-ass newsletters. People envy the way I talk shit about my boss and my boss’s boss.”

Be sure to sign up for our Email Newsletter. It’s easy to do – just go to www.flyingdogales.com and click on “Newsletter Sign-Up.” The Newsletters come out every other week and occasionally make for good humor. From time to time we offer exclusive contests to members of the “People’s Republic of Flying Dog.” For example, we recently gave away a Ralph Steadman signed 750ml bottle of Gonzo Imperial Porter.

Craft Beers Grow Faster Than Any Other Segment within the Beer Category for the Second Straight Summer.

IRI (Information Resources Inc.) recently released their Summer Beer sales results, and for the second straight year, the Micro/Craft segment led the way with, +18.7. The summer (May 26 – October 6) is commonly considered the most competitive time to sell beer and has historically been dominated by the large brewers. But in the last two years, the Micro/Craft segment has proven to gain substantial share within this timeframe.

This insight provides a strong case for Craft Beer distributors and retailers to proactively sell their Craft beer portfolio throughout the “Summer Selling Season.” Instead of turning attention to less profitable brands during these months, why not go after additional features and displays for the craft brands? With more and more consumers “trading up” to craft brands in the Summer months, it makes sense to proactively merchandise and feature your high margin craft brands when the weather gets hot.

Flying Dog to Release Four New Dogs in 2007

As a measure to meet continually changing consumer needs, Flying Dog Brewery is planning to aggressively launch new brands in 2007. The brewery recently announced the upcoming release of four new additions to the brand family.

In 2004, Flying Dog launched a Double Pale Ale as the first in a series of experimental specialty beers only available in 750ml cork finished champagne bottles that have come to be known as “Wild Dogs”. Since then, two other Wild Dogs have hit the shelves: a Weisenbock in 2005 and most recently, a Colorado Saison in 2006.

Flying Dog will continue this tradition in 2007 by launching two additions to the Wild Dog Series. The first will be a Whiskey Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter that will be released in the early Spring. The brewers in Denver have already brewed the beer and have transferred the brew into barrels purchased from our friends at Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. All of the barrels are seasoned whiskey barrels of charred White American Oak made by World Cooperage in Lebanon, MO. This means that the barrels have already been used for aging Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey for a minimum of two years and this aging process should give the Gonzo a dry, warm whiskey taste. You can expect this Wild Dog to be in extremely high demand.

The second Wild Dog will be released in October at the Great American Beer Festival and will hit the retail shelves in November. The style is yet to be determined.

A portion of each limited release will be available in special gift packs where the bottle will come in a unique box and with a style-specific glass.

DOUBLE DOG

The original Wild Dog, the Double Pale Ale will be reincarnated and released in March as a new 4-pack brand called “Double Dog”. Head Brewer, Matt Brophy is particularly proud of Double Dog, “It’s hazy in color and when poured, will have a nice frothy, creamy head. It has some really interesting aromas, hints of raisins and citrus.”

SUMMER SEASONAL

The Dog is also launching it’s first ever Summer Seasonal in May of 07, immediately following the annual Spring release of Heller Hound. Name and style are still TBD, so if you have any ideas, feel free to send them into alphamail@flyingdogales.com.

“More and more, consumers, especially those in the 21-34 male demo, are seeking out ways to experiment with new brands within the beer category. This is our way of meeting those consumer needs and introducing more people to the Flying Dog franchise,” said Director of Marketing, Neal Stewart.

Thanks for visiting the Flying Dog Brewery Blog!

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by to check out all of the new Flying Dog Brewery Info. This is the place where you will be able to find out about upcoming Sales and Marketing Programs and a few other fun “tid-bits” for the entire Flying Dog “Litter of Ales”.

This site will be updated on a regular basis so make sure to check back frequently or sign up for an RSS feed. And remember, we welcome feedback, so if you ever have any thoughts or ideas, you are welcome to make a comment on the site.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line at alphamail@flyingdogales.com.

Thanks!
Your Friends at Flying Dog Brewery