Flying Dog The Truth 6Pk

Flying Dog The Truth 6Pk is a 6-pack of 12 oz Imperial IPA brewed at 8.7% ABV, built from an aggressive five-hop blend of Warrior, Summit, Columbus, Citra, and Amarillo. Craft Beer & Brewing awarded it a 92/100, and it holds a 91 rating on BeerAdvocate across nearly 950 reviews — a strong consensus for a hop-forward beer at this intensity.

Quick Facts: ABV: 8.7%  |  Origin: Frederick, Maryland (USA)  |  Style: Imperial IPA  |  Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery

Production & Heritage

Flying Dog Brewery was founded in 1990 in Aspen, Colorado, before relocating to Frederick, Maryland, where The Truth was developed. Production has since moved to the F.X. Matt Brewing Company facility in Utica, New York, following an acquisition completed in 2023. The Truth was scientifically engineered over the course of three years alongside more than a dozen single-hop Imperial IPAs; the brewers used the data from that Single Hop Series to construct the final five-hop blend. The grain bill relies on Munich malt and malted wheat, fermented with American ale yeast, giving the beer a malt backbone sturdy enough to support the massive hop charge.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Sharp pine resin dominates the nose, followed by waves of bright grapefruit citrus and softer stone fruit — apricot and peach — that rise as the beer warms. The overall impression is intensely aromatic and resinous.

Taste: The entry is malt-forward, with Munich malt sweetness arriving first before a wall of coniferous hop bitterness pushes through at mid-palate. Orange and apricot hints weave through the pine, and tangy hop flavors dance across a bed of malty sweetness, creating real depth and movement for an Imperial IPA.

Finish: Long and assertively bitter, with lingering pine resin and a dry, slightly sticky texture. A faint echo of citrus peel and stone fruit sweetness hangs in the background as the bitterness slowly fades.

How to Drink The Truth

Pour into a tulip glass or snifter at 45–50°F to let the aromatic hop oils fully express themselves; this beer rewards deliberate sipping rather than gulping. At 8.7% ABV, it holds its own neat without dilution. For cocktail-adjacent serves: try a Hop Drop (a boilermaker pairing The Truth with a pour of bourbon, where the pine and citrus complement caramel and char); a Michelada built with The Truth for a hop-bitter twist on the classic tomato-lime formula; or a Beer-garita, where the citrus hop profile adds grapefruit depth alongside tequila and fresh lime.

Best For

• Hop-obsessed drinkers looking for a researched, methodically designed Imperial IPA
• Game-day gatherings where a higher-ABV beer with big flavor stands up to loud, bold food
• Gifting a craft beer enthusiast who values brewing science and hop complexity
• Side-by-side tastings comparing East Coast and West Coast Imperial IPA styles

Frequently Asked Questions

What does The Truth taste like? The Truth leads with a brief malt sweetness that quickly gives way to aggressive pine resin bitterness, layered with grapefruit citrus and stone fruit notes like apricot and orange. It finishes long, dry, and piney with lingering hop bitterness.

How does The Truth compare to Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA? Both are East Coast Imperial IPAs above 8% ABV, but they take different paths: Dogfish Head 90 Minute is continually hopped over a 90-minute boil for a more integrated, rounded bitterness, while The Truth was reverse-engineered from a single-hop series to layer five distinct hop varieties for maximum aromatic complexity. The Truth tends to read more pine-forward and resinous, while 90 Minute leans toward a balance of caramel malt and citrus.

Is The Truth good for sipping neat? Yes — at 8.7% ABV with a dense, layered hop profile, The Truth is built to be savored slowly from a tulip glass, where warming reveals additional citrus and stone fruit nuances beneath the pine.

Where is The Truth made? The Truth was originally developed at Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. Since Flying Dog's 2023 acquisition, production has moved to the F.X. Matt Brewing Company facility in Utica, New York.

What foods pair well with The Truth? Spicy buffalo wings match the resinous bitterness and amplify the citrus hop notes. Sharp aged cheddar creates a satisfying contrast between creamy fat and pine bitterness. Grilled burgers with blue cheese stand up to the beer's intensity. Thai green curry echoes the herbal, piney character while the malt sweetness tempers the heat. Dark chocolate brownies provide a rich counterpoint to the dry, bitter finish.

What sizes does The Truth come in? The Truth is widely available in 6-packs of 12 oz bottles or cans, which is the standard retail format for this expression.

Is The Truth worth the price? The Truth positions as a premium craft Imperial IPA, and its 92-point score from Craft Beer & Brewing plus a 91 on BeerAdvocate place it among the better-regarded beers in its style tier — strong value for a methodically developed, high-ABV IPA.

Why The Truth?

Few Imperial IPAs can claim a three-year R&D cycle backed by more than a dozen single-hop experiments specifically designed to inform the final blend. That scientific approach — testing Warrior, Summit, Columbus, Citra, and Amarillo individually before combining them — gives The Truth a layered hop profile that many competitors achieve through intuition rather than data. Consistent critical recognition (92 from Craft Beer & Brewing, 91 on BeerAdvocate) confirms the method works. For drinkers who want an Imperial IPA where every hop addition was chosen with intention, The Truth remains one of the more thoughtfully constructed options in the category.