Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA

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

Sampled at RBSG06. Hazy orange color with a small white head. Sweet citrus and floral hops aroma. Sweet floral hops flavor.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for bringing this to the heavyweight open house - actually quite a low alcohol brew to come from these guys, and very heavy considering it - most IIPAs can only hope to reach this kind of balance - there isn’t much to add, the grapefruit/citrus character and chewy, caramel malt flavor expected of this style is all there in perfect preportion - you can’t really state in language the superior quality of a brew like this - just trust me...it kicks ass.

Bottle. Cloudy golden colour with a huge off-white head. Very nice hoppy aroma with notes of wheat, citrus and little lemon like. Flavour of wheat, hops and ends up very dry and bitter.

(Draft: Hair Of The Dog Brewery in Portland, OR) & (Draft: 2005 Hopfest at Brouwers Café in Seattle, WA) Oh wow, what a great nose! Incredible, fresh, grapefruit hops, but also sweetness and herbal tea, plus some sweet orange citrus as well. The flavor showcases a nice, moderate grapefruit hoppiness, but it’s not over the top and not killing my palate with bitterness. Along with the grapefruit is an herbal and somewhat tea-like flavor, plus a really nice fruitiness. Solid pale malt body, probably one of the less sweet and malty double IPAs out there. It’s lightly sweet and malty, but minimally caramely, and the color will tell you that. Dark golden color is fairly hazy, and the off-white head, though fairly small on the pour, shows fantastic retention, maintaining a thin, full layer for the entire session. And it leaves a dense curtain of lace all the way down the glass. Clean and crisp on the palate, but with significant pale malts for a medium "plus" body, but still less body than many in the class. It’s a very restrained double IPA at first, but the more I drink this, the more I love it. I keep raising the flavor grade. It starts off so unassuming, but just woos you, capturing your heart and taste buds. Superb!

Bottle from FlacoAlto, Thanks! Pours a light, very hazy golden with an initially enormous, frothy, off-white head that collapses to a consistent lace. Very earthy, musty aroma. There’s tons of yeast, damp barnyard, spicy orange, white pepper, lemon zest, and a thick bread-y background. Lively carbonation on the palate. Flavor is spicy, earthy, and dirty. Soft peach, citrus/orange fruits come through in the mid-palate. It seems rye malt always works very well with highly hopped brews. There’s a great graham cracker/cookie background, giving it a solid body. More tropical fruit character comes through with warmth giving it a mango touch. Initially this is a very earthy/dirty beer which develops more hop character while it sits and warms. The finish is a nice spicy/peppery dryness with a hint of roast. Extremely drinkable, and unique IIPA.

Bomber from a trade. Aroma of hops, hazelnut, vanilla, oak twigs, maple syrup, incense. Really quite nice once you give it a vigorous swirl and drown out the hops. Pours with a huge head and a ton of yeast sediment, making the cloudiest IIPA I’ve ever seen, not to mention one of the palest. Very mellow in the mouth for a IIPA. Whereas you can definitely notice the hops in full force, the oakiness and vanilla notes are wonderful, leaving a very nutty, rich butter chocolate taste in the mouth. A gentle giant, for sure, and a lovely brew.

Draught @ Brouwer’s Cafe during Hopfest 2005: Dirty golden, hazy, moderate white foamy white head, wonderful lacing, lively carbonation.   Assertive hop nose, mildly sweet.   Hoppy start, very slight touch of tobacco, with a very soft hop backside.   The 100 IBUs dont seem to translate as being overly hoppy.   Big malt finish, very soft lingering hop that I expected to be a bit bigger.   Certainly good, very palatable, but not as big as I hoped.   Big body, moderate to full mouthfeel.   A bit too dangerous perhaps.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry, his bottle. Hazy medium yellow, foamy murky orange/yellowish head, chunks of sediment - looks great. Really nice aroma - tons of citrus orange, zest, fresh hops, slightly soapy. Taste - oh yeah, so many citrus hops. Tangy hop finish. Some malt as well. Foamy mouthfeel. Lively. A nice beer!