Flying Dog Offers Series of Mini Homebrew Kits

Taking interaction with beer nerds to another level, Flying Dog Brewery’s Stove Toppers series offers something a 6-pack and social media can’t replicate: the chance to make their beer at home.

Stove Toppers are all-grain homebrew kits that come with the ingredients and brewmaster’s recipe for making Flying Dog beer in 5-gallon batches. The Frederick, Md.-based company started selling the kits on Friday at its gift shop and at a nearby homebrew supply shop, the Flying Barrel.

“Like many brewmasters, I started out homebrewing,” Matt Brophy, Flying Dog brewmaster, said in a release. “Homebrewers spread the gospel of craft beer through their craft and ours, so I think breweries have a responsibility to foster and inspire the homebrewing community.”

The brewery will release one Stove Topper kit per month in 2013, with each kit on sale only during its respective month. The first in line is El Dorado, a single-hop imperial IPA that will be on sale for $55 through Feb. 28.

“The El Dorado hop variety is extremely limited in availability, especially for homebrewers,” Brophy said. “It’s an ideal hop for our series of single-hop imperial IPAs because it imparts tropical and stone fruit notes and great bittering without any harshness.”

Brophy said that if the series is well received, he would like it to become a permanent addition to the brewery’s offerings. He envisions a forum on Flying Dog’s website that allows fans to discuss their experiences and alterations with the kits. After all, Brophy called variation the true beauty of homebrewing.

“You don’t have to take what we use,” he said. “Do it with something else, then compare ours and yours, send us an email and tell us what you did. Maybe we’ll try it someday.”

The remaining schedule for the Stove Toppers series: