The late Hunter S. Thompson influenced a generation of acid droppers, pot heads and journalists (including yours truly). In addition to that gutter crowd, a couple of Colorado beermakers crossed paths with Thompson and in the 1990s adopted not only his Gonzo philosophy for their Flying Dog Ales, but also enlisted Ralph Steadman, Thompson's friend and collaborator, to provide label illustrations.

Flying Dog's iconoclastic approach extends to the brewery's marketing efforts. Neal Stewart, Flying Dog's Prime Minister of Marketing (!), explains, "We spend very little on advertising. Zero, in fact. But we're very involved in a variety of social media platforms and the blog is part of it."

The Flying Dog Blog is one element of an integrated social media strategy that Stewart uses, along with Twitter, Facebook and whatever comes and goes on the socmed scene. The blog launched in March 2007 and covers a variety of subjects of interest to Flying Dog's consumers and sales force. Stewart says, "We have loyal drinkers who are interested in what we do. We're a fun company and we do fun things. We also like to highlight all the good things our distributors and retailers are doing. They send us photos from their events and we put them on the blog. It's a way of saying 'thank you' to people." The blog is heavily sprinkled with posts about promotions and events. But in keeping with the Thompson theme, there are plenty of "Get to know Gonzo" posts about Thompson, Steadman and brewery co-founder George Stranahan.

But the blog is just one piece of an integrated effort to tap into multiple online communities. The blog drives traffic to Twitter and Facebook and those tools reciprocate. All of them work together to promote the brand.

Flying Dog was early to the Twitter frenzy, posting its first tweet in January 2008. Stewart claims that Flying Dog has more Twitter followers than any other adult beverage brand in the country. As of May 11, they had more than 5,200 followers. "Mostly it's a conversation. A public one, but it's like a one-on-one conversation," said Stewart. "We use Twitter to promote our Tweet Up events, where we invite people who actively follow us to a bar." Stewart said a recent Denver Tweet Up drew 100 followers. He said that upcoming events are planned in DC and Baltimore.

Stewart said they're also doing Twitter Taste Live events. "It's an online tasting. We promote ahead of time which beers we're going to taste and when. We have our CEO and head brewer online and we ask people what they think of each beer and what they'd pair it with. The followers can also ask their questions to us. We get some very specific questions for the head brewer."

Of course, Flying Dog used the blog to promote the Twitter Taste Live event. And they did so with their signature Gonzo twist - Drink Beer With Flying Dog Brewery. And Also Not Have Any Pants On.

Thompson would be proud.