Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

Really outstanding. Bottle from Hi-Time in Costa Mesa aged 6 mo. Very dark. Later sips had me reminding myself that it wasn;t a stout. Roastiness galore, currant, the faintest hint of pralines, chocolate and hops. A very impressive beer.

Aroma: very, very nice, fresh, fruity flowery hop aroma. Biscuity malts. Slightly chemical (bitter).
Flavour: sweet, toasted, smoky, fruity, I love it! So many sweet malts leading to a non-cloying end. Bittersweet aftertaste. Fullbodied.
Palate: near perfect, vinous, smooth but adequately fizzy... very fullbodied.
Appearance: slightly dim orange, slightly coppery body with pale, fine sandy, yellowish foam. Nice.

Thanks Jimbo O. Pours a hazed roasted apricot color w/ a tall lasting froth. Good lacing w/ aromas of sweet, tart stonefruit nectar. Full nectar w/ a very creamy texture. Nice! Sweet and meaty w/ a defined mild tartness. Flavors from nectarines, plumbs, and apricot, including kiwi, pinapple, and caramel. The finish is long and savory. This brew has a moderate hop profile that does a good job in balancing this one out. It has an appealing milky texture that simply blows my mind. Good stuff man. Trump! This is the closest thing to Angels Share I have ever tasted.

2007 vintage. Dark, burnt-orange to caramel brown in color, the brew is crowned in a dense, foamy, beige head. The foam displays excellent retention, leaving sudsy, spotty lacing behind. Aromas are reminiscent of a triple IPA, with massive orange, grapefruit, and pine hop notes showing atop an equally huge malt base of caramel and buttery toffee. This thing practically smells sticky. Vanilla, coupled with a lactic creaminess, lends a smoothing element. Flavors follow suit, with over the top, resinous hops countering the sweet and sticky toffee malts. Orange and grapefruit are striking in their authenticity, while pine delivers a mouth stripping, sharp bitterness that the lactose does well to calm down. Nearly full bodied and sugary, the swallow is smooth, ending with a drying, hoppy finish. This is really a hybrid IIPA/barleywine through and through. The closest comparison I can come up with is AleSmith Decadence 2006, though this doesn’t quite stack up to that masterpiece of a beer. Overall, this is quite good, but not nearly as impressive as Fred.

POured a reddish mud color with a faint off white head. Aroma is very sweet malty with a hint of hops and dark fruits. Flavor is very sweet up front, dark fruits caramel and malts, with a nice backup of hop bitterness.