Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Imperial IPA

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portland, Oregon USA

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium yellow. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, lemon/orange, herbs), lightly yeasty (dough), with a note of medicine. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Me like, surprisingly. It’s kind of like Ruth times 4 or whatever...very clean bitterness without the abrasive, tongue-scraping qualities of a typical west-coast IPA. Likewise in the hop aroma, it’s fruity/citrusy without being overly green, pungent, and resinous. Slightly phenolic (kinda cool), slightly yeasty (eh).

22 oz. bottle. Beer is hazy light gold with a trace, frothy, white, mostly and rapidly diminishing head.<P> The aroma is malty with a light note of toasted grain, light-to-moderate caramel and cookie; Hoppy with heavy notes of resin/pine, grapefruit peel, light lemon zest, trace chewable Vitamin C tablet; Yeasty with a trace of wet basement.<P> The flavor is heavily bitter (grippy), moderately sweet with a long, moderately grippy bitter, lightly sweet finish. Grip doesn’t let up...ever. I don’t like that so much, there has to be an end somewhere!<P> The body is medium, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.

Pours a cloudy golden, medium head with a little lacing. Hop aroma is floral, lots of honey and a little pine. Taste is full bitter hops, fruitiness doesn’t come through as much until the finish. Mild sweetness, light spiciness and mineral taste. Finish is long and hoppy. Body on this one is great, moderatly malty and pretty frothy

Poured from a 22-oz bomber. A local well-respected brewery here in Portland, HoTD has put together this bitter brew that hop lovers are sure to add to their list of beers to taste. The aroma leaves a little to be desired, I’m not sure of the mix of aroma or dry-hops added to this one, but the aroma is a little too complex with a mostly citrus smell. A hazy unfiltered orange-gold color that you might expect with an IIPA make this beer feel inviting. The head is a thick white blanket that doesn’t go away quickly. The flavor has a light sour taste followed by a moderate-to-heavy bitterness. A sweet light aftertaste pulls you into the next drink. The body is just right on this one, not like many imperial IPAs where the body is thick and the bitterness sticks. With a 100 IBU rating, this beer is balanced in a way that many other IIPA makers should note.

Bomber. Now, don’t get me wrong. I loves me some hops. But this is just a citrusy, lemony, extremely bitter concoction with no malt backbone whatsoever. Just not very interesting to me.

Shared by Nolankowal at the last Columbus tasting. Blue Dot poured a light golden color with a nice white head. The aroma was very floral, and hoppy. The taste was interesting--plenty of spicey hops, good bitterness, but no real malt presence to speak of.

Bottle (650ml). Shared with tupalev, my bottle. Poured cloudy orange with visible bits in the bottom, huge fluffy off-white lasting head. A truly huge hop aroma, resin/citrus/spruce-pine, with herbal, tea and oddly enough soap character, sweet fruity malt in the background - very balanced/bitter and compelling, I’d go 9/10 without the odd hint of soap/coriander. Taste - bitter, oh my yes it’s bitter, grapefruit pith, resin, less spruce and more herbal character, enough OJ-sweet malt to balance it, but the finish is very long, moderately complex and weirdly alcohol-burny for a 7% - felt more like 10%. Interesting mouthfeel - very thick for an IPA, and while it doesn’t look or seem all that carbonated, we could only take small sips as it was very very lively, you had to beware gulping (not that I would) ... plent of astringency, alcohol and even acidic character, nice long linger on the tongue. I found the overactive mouthfeel took away from my overall enjoyment a wee bit, but still an amazing and very alive beer.

Hazy orange color with a huge white pillowy head and good lacing. Big grapefruit aroma. Flavor is well balanced with citrus hops and bitterness mellowed by a sweet malt background. Lingering bitterness at the finish leaving a nice aftertaste. Very enjoyable.