There are a few titles you never really expect to see on certain types of blogs, and I’d classify “Raging Bitch” as one of those. This is the beer sent to me by Flying Dog Brewing, their 20th Anniversary Belgian-style IPA that weighs in at 8.3% alcohol by volume. They say:

Bitches come in a variety of forms, but there’s never been something as sassy as Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. An American IPA augmented with Belgian yeast, our 20th anniversary beer jumps out of the glass and nips at your taste buds with its delicate hop bitterness. At 8.3% ABV, this bitch is dangerously drinkable.

Belgian-style IPAs—well, Belgian-style applied to anything American—seem to be trending somewhat in craft beer lately, and while I imagine there are a number of misses out there, Raging Bitch is not one of them.

Appearance: Hazy copper color with off-white, cream-colored head.

Smell: Blend of hops and Belgian aromas: herbs, peppercorns, and a touch of funk. Hops are radish-green spicy.

Taste: Hops are more prominent on the tongue than the nose; takes on a mustard-greens bitterness (kale?) combined with a perfumey lavender note. Reminds me of a Bière de Garde blended with a spicy English-style IPA—nice, mellow, not out-of-control at all (something I worry about with these hybrids).

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and finishes spicy and dry.

Overall: Tasty and drinkable, a nice spicy herbal ale, enjoyable and very drinkable.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.73 out of 5 and is in their 98th percentile.