Hair of the Dog Adam

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

batch 69 bottle from samuraiArtist... this poured a cloudy near black shade of brown with swirls of brown yeast throughout. it’s topped by a frothy two inch head khaki in color that lasts the duration and leaves trails down the sides of the glass. the aroma is like that time i walked into a really nice leather shop and they were baking chocolate chip cookies and smoking expensive cigars (that really happened, i swear!). back on earth.... the flavors of vanilla, chocolate cream, raisins and wood are noted along side of the sweet cereal grain maltiness. there’s a light astringency from the grain and a bitter hoppiness on the finish to help break things up. cocoa, coffee and roasted nuts show up with the alcohol in the aftertaste. beautiful full body and creamy smooth texture...

This stuff is dynamite. Lightly smoky and rich with caramel, dried fruit and nuts. Hops shine through on the finish. Just super.

Wow what a beer...amazingly smooth for such a high ABV. This beer pours a dark rust with the thickest, caramel-colored head I’ve seen. Even after the sampling, clumps of lacing and an inch tall reminder defiantly sit in my glass. The aroma that everyone raves about was missing and faint. Cherry, plum, and toffee are evident after inhaling aggressively. Dark fruit and molasses, with hints of smoldering oak dance on the tongue and coat the palate. Loved it!!!

Thanks Irishboy for this little gem. Batch 68, Dark brown black with a weetan head that has the odd creamy patch in it too. Chocolate - carrot cake - smoked oak & nutmeg aroma, simply amazing, I’m already hooked by the aroma! Huge chewy mouthfeel, spice, nutmeg, smoke, brandy, cherry and cream which at first took my breath away; lingering, tingly finish, truly incredible. Second and futher tastes become more satisfying by the mouthfull. An incredible beer from an incredible RBer. Slainte

Batch 69; pours to a deep obsidian with cherry wood shading, topped by a monstrous, succulent head. Aromas of currants, plums, blackberry and oak. Immense sweetness. The flavor follows suit, hinting of so many red wines, port, and butterscotch. Monstrous viscosity coats the mouth in a slow, delicate caress. Gently powerful with incredible finesse. A classy example of what a fine aperterif can be. 8/4/8/4/16 4

Batch 63; pours with exuberance and attitude to a thickly foamed appearance of robust chocolate brown. Mousse everywhere forming pillowy croppings atop the density. Aroma is gentle and erudite, unfolding and washing in and out like a slow, flooding tide; pure, rustic cocoa, pineapple, floral honey, and oranges in the intial burst of earthy sweetness. Roasted hazelnuts and bonfire smoke; deep and muscular. Minerals, fresh mint, and a light bodied tobacco ash; heat of port, some plum and tannin. Dusty, basement-kept, woodsy, robust, and through all thoroughly polished. Delicately mind blowing. Flavors have met each other at a comfortable place and settled. Burly chocolate, roasted nuts, plum and rich tobacco make up the earth, canopied beneath a brandy and port haze, and decorated with the foliage of orange, distant lime juice, blackberry, and pineapple. Doughy mid palate gives cinnamon bread, mayan chocolate, and a mildly uncomfortable ashiness which skirts away into leather and rich molasses. Palate is sparkly and full to the very brim; monstrous and velvety. Finish is dank and dark, with a malty wetness of toffee and burnt caramel sinking in as a watercolor landscape; indefinite, deftly restrained, and ponder-able. Conjures visions of old world artistry in a most authentic and unbelievable way. Amazing; a sheer revolution of complexity. 10/5/8/4/19 4.5

Revisiting batch 63 already, with an english pipe tobacco. Fig and butterscotch apple in a tangier aroma; nutmeg, chocolate, cinnamon, alcohol. Seems generally more ebullient and restive than the calm, erudite reservation of the last sample. The smoke changes it, definitely, but not for worse or for better. Gloriously robust bright melon, vinous fruit and deep malt flavor unaffected, aside from the slightly off kilter ring of the aroma. Update in six months. 8/4/6/5/18 4.3

Batch 62. This is a big beer and it lets you know it. A big and rich beer, sweet but never cloying. By now, my beer’s hops are all but gone in the nose, though they still have a nice punch to them. Very nice beer. Only down side was the gushing aspect...

12 fl oz bottle. Pitch black and does not seem to let any light through. Thick light beige head. Rich raisiny, syrupy and burnt malt aroma. Very malty. Smooth texture. Toffee. Sweet, but the hop bitterness balances it nicely. Very nice.

Thanks to Brian for this one. Batch 69. Pours a dark brown body with a thick, creamy tan head that lingers a while before it is reduced to a film of bubbles resting atop the body. The aroma is a sweet, warm caramel, woody or nutty, with a layer of tobacco. The flavor is a touch dry at the front, then sweet, metallic, figs, more tobacco, chocolate, and smoke. Quite a complex and amazing flavor that I have only begun to describe. The body is delicate but full, with plenty of effervescence. Bravo.