Flying Dog started out as a brewpub in Aspen, not far from the late Hunter S. Thompson’s place — in fact, the brewery’s founder was a friend of the gonzo journalist. (As someone who grew up liking the comic strip Doonesbury best when it featured Thompson’s alter-ego, Duke, we always smile at the association.) After its launch in 1990, Flying Dog expanded to a brewery in Denver in 1994, and then relocated to Frederick, Maryland in 2008.

The Truth is a new addition to the Flying Dog year-round list, and it aims to impress hopheads with the usual overclocking that comes with the Imperial prefix. Ringing in at 8.7% alcohol and 120 IBUs, this beer will be a true endurance test for most casual beer drinkers, and an eyebrow raiser for collectors. (For comparison, Sixpoint Resin is 9.1% alcohol but only 103 IBUs.) Flying Dog leaves a little more harshness in the finish of their beers than most small brewers — though we welcome that harshness from time to time.

The brewery continues its relationship with Thompson by using work from Thompson’s illustrator Ralph Steadman for all its beer labels. It’s noble of them to continue to honor their late friend — Thompson’s gonzo journalism means less to younger beer drinkers every year — but Steadman is a distinctive pro in his own right. His inky scrawl caricatures make the brand easy to identify on the shelf. The grotesque man-in-suit on The Truth’s label recalls the frightening paintings of Francis Bacon, a fitting match for the beer inside.

The Truth pours amber with a very slight head and little fizz. You can smell the hops, with notes of lemon and cola. The taste delivers on the name’s promise — this is a true intense IPA that starts bitter and ends bitter. Hard to imagine a well-adjusted emperor drinking more than one of these, but then, it’s hard to imagine a well-adjusted emperor. Pairs well with a late night bacon snack, or cheese and onions (strong stuff, if you get our drift).

Flying Dog is rolling out The Truth in Maryland and D.C. now, with other states to come. We didn’t see it in stores in West Virginia and Pennsylvania that carried other Flying Dog brews this past weekend, but it will eventually be distributed there, as well as in Colorado, New York and dozens of other states. If you like your dark chocolate higher than 80% cocoa and you prefer a well-steeped cup of Barrys to other kinds of tea (we are in that category, as it happens), when it does turn up where you live, The Truth may be for you.

Top photo by Jordan Davis