Elite Brands Proudly Partners with Flying Dog Brewery

Elite Brands has joined forces with the eclectic Flying Dog Brewery.  The award winning brewery originally based in Aspen, and then Denver, Colorado has long been a favorite of Craft Beer aficionados. A witty and eccentric company culture inspired by the Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, and the artwork of Ralph Steadman provide this beer with a unique niche in the marketplace.  Elite is very excited to distribute Flying Dog product offerings state-wide.

In 1990, George Stranahan founded the Flying Dog Brewpub in Aspen, Colorado. Originally a brewpub, the operation expanded to a full-fledged Denver brewery (co-founded by George and his longtime friend and partner, Richard McIntyre) in 1994, and then to their current state-of-the-art brewing facility in Frederick, Maryland.

Flying Dog has taken home numerous accolades through their 18 year history of beer-making; the first was in 1991 for Flying Dog’s “Doggie Style”, winning “The Best Pale Ale in America” award at the Great American Beer Festival.

The iconic journalist Hunter s. Thompson introduced his lifelong friend and world-renowned artist Ralph Steadman to Flying Dog back in 1995.  Ralph has been creating art in his inimitable sty for Flying Dog ever since.  Flying Dog’s connection to Gonzo continues in many different ways, including its ongoing support of 

The Gonzo Foundation (TheGonzoFoundation.org).

Elite will initially be distributing five Flying Dog Brews: Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale, In Heat Wheat Hefeweizen, Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA, Snake Dog IPA, and UnderDog 

Atlantic Lager in addition to the Flying Dog Shock & Awe Variety Pack.

A Bit About the Beers

Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA 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, this 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. Tropical fruit, sweet malt, and spicy citrus hops and Belgian yeast flavors. Clean bitter sweet with a spicy, dry finish.

Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale The Alpha of the pack, this brew is dry hopped with a load of Cascade hops grown in the Pacific Northwest. Doggie Style has enough hop character to satisfy hop-heads, but isn’t overpoweringly hoppy. It’s brilliant amber-copper color and pleasant malt flavor comes from the addition of Carastan malts.

Snake Dog India Pale Ale More cunning than a snake in the bush...Snake Dog India Pale Ale is a Colorado-style IPA, power hopped with specialty hops from the Pacific Northwest. This is the brewery’s hop monster, and the citrus fruit aroma will hypnotize the senses of the most hardcore of craft drinkers. 15 Plato, 60 IBU, Crystal Malt, Warrior and Columbus hops, and dry hopped with Columbus

UnderDog Atlantic Lager A light and refreshing beer with crisp hop character, this 4.7% “Atlantic Lager” is brewed with Wheat, Rye and Cara-Pils Malt, German yeast and Perle and Goldings hops. Crisp and clean with a good malty base and a nice bite in the finish. 

Elite Brands Welcomes Telluride Brewing Company!

We are proud to announce our partnership with Telluride Brewing Company, who will be bringing its gold medal-winning beer to Boulder/Denver.
Telluride Brewing Company began as the brain child of Tommy Thacher and Chief Brewer Chris Fish. Having only been in business for a little over a year, winning gold medals at both the International Beer Festival and the Great American Beer Festival for their Face Down Brown is quite an accomplishment.


Tommy and Fish have truly captured the spirit of Telluride with their brews.  They rely on sustainable brewing practices such as opting for cans over bottles, and sourcing their malt from a carbon neutral plant. Additionally they have embraced the local-centric attitude that is so indelible of the Colorado Mountain culture.  Fish explained how the brewery originally recruited locals to help can their Bridal Veil Rye Ale, and offered free beer for compensation.
Distribution will began in Boulder county in early November and will expand to Denver in early 2013.  Elite Brands is excited to partner with another award winning Colorado-based brewery and look forward to seeing distribution state-wide in the future! 

The Brews:

BRIDAL VEIL RYE PALE ALE

Brewed with a generous amount of German Rye malt and an abundance of American hops, our ale embodies an earthly flavor and finishes with a hint of spice. This powerhouse of an ale excites even the most dormant of tastes buds.
Beer Style: Rye Pale Ale
Availability: Year Round
Pairs well: With just about anything
A beautiful hybrid of an English and American style Brown that explodes with toffee, chocolate, and nut flavors… don’t be afraid to get down with the best Brown around!

Quick Stats

Alcohol By Volume: 5.5%

FACE DOWN BROWN

A beautiful hybrid of an English and American style Brown that explodes with toffee, chocolate, and nut flavors… don’t be afraid to get down with the best Brown around!

GABF Award Winners - 2012

Elite Brands would like to congratulate eight of our very special brewers for walking away with some fresh new bling from this year’s Great American Beer Festival.  The competition comprises a total of 84 categories touching virtually every niche within the beer drinking world.  Each and every beer is painstakingly analyzed, tasted and discussed to ensure that only the very best make the cut.  So hats off to our intrepid brewers for maintaining the gold standard; we are proud to be representing such creative and talented breweries.

We take great care in representing breweries that showcase a unique perspective on their craft and a commitment to quality and creativity.  Craft Brewers such as Russian River, The Lost Abbey and The Bruery among others represent a handful of companies that within the industry that are obsessed with quality and creativity in their beers.

Elite saw a total of five Gold Medal winners in our portfolio.  Green Flash took best American-Belgo Style Ale beating out 71 entries with Le Freak.  Le Freak is a modern ale created by converging two beer styles, Belgian Trippel and American Imperial IPA. They use of two yeast strains further marries the styles and American hops give the beer its modern flare. 

Mad River Brewing earned the Gold Medal in the Golden or Blonde Ale category beating out 67 entries in the category. Steelhead Extra Pale Ale took the price with its bright golden hued and medium body. The beer showcases a spicy/floral hop character and a very mild bitterness. 

Port Brewing  claimed a Bronze Medal with their Hot Rocks Lager in the Indigenous Beer category.  Hailing from the State of California, Port Brewing

The following is a comprehensive list of all the Great American Beer Festival winners within the Elite Brands portfolio:

Elite Brands Would Welcomes Harper Voit and Fog Crest Wines!

Elite Brands is excited to announce our addition of two eclectic wineries to our already robust wine portfolio. Harper Voit and Fog Crest wines showcase the key attributes we look for in all of our wines: interesting, unique and memorable.  Both of these wineries create products that are second to none and their passion in the art is strikingly evident with every sip.

Harper Voit – Willamette Valley

Drew Voit is the mastermind behind Harper Voit wines. He has been working in the Oregon wine industry for ten years and has amassed wealth of knowledge. In 2009 Drew started Harper Voit as his own private label and uses his intimate knowledge of the best vineyards in the Willamette Valley to source the grapes for his wine. Voit selectively works with small, independent sites nobody knows, and produces small-lot Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc that are completely out of this world!

2010 HARPER VOIT SURLIE PINOT BLANC
The 2010 Harper Voit Surlie Pinot Blanc is barrel fermented and aged sur lie. Its high-toned floral notes and beam of bright acidity are balanced by a creamy texture that lends heft to a wine that is otherwise light on its feet. Lemon meringue, Granny Smith apple and a hint of sage contribute to a complex palate that lingers long after the last sip. Drink now for freshness and revisit this wine often as the mere 120 case production will disappear in no time.

Fog Crest – Russian River Valley

Following a lifelong fascination for food and wine, James and Rosalind Manoogian established Fog Crest Vineyard in 1998 in the Russian River Valley area of Sonoma County, California.  Fog Crest Vineyard produces less than 2,500 cases annually of limited production, vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that are world-class wines of this small Russian River Valley vineyard. 

2010 Laguna West Pinot Noir – 90 Points Wine Enthusiast
Platinum Medal Winner, 2012 Monterey Wine Competition
Gold Medal Winner, 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition
Gold Medal Winner, 2012 Orange County Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition

In the Russian River Valley and throughout Northern California, 2010 will be remembered as one of the coolest vintages on record. The cooler weather developed the flavors at lower-than-normal sugars enhancing the balance with lower alcohol. The long hang time and subsequent physiological maturity have given this vintage a mark of great elegance and finesse. Red cherry, red cherry and more red cherries are interlaced with allspice notes. Brimming with cherry fruit flavors, the oak influence meshes with the fruit for a long plush cherry cola finish.