Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA

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

Pours a golden-to-amber color with lots of frothy white head. It’s as if someone shook this up, but it was not. The head just started pouring out of this one. It was a little annoying actually. There was a layer of sediment that flurried up no matter how steady your pour was. The head stayed around for a while, giving off a fruity piney aroma. Really fruity - and you could pick up on this from the first taste. Dank and resinous, this is a very floral, very piney DIPA. One of the better ones I’ve had, despite the exploding foam.

From a 22 oz. blue capped brown bomber with a blurb along the left side of the bottle, sampled at a cooler cellar temperature in a goblet. Poured a cloudy, dull golden hued orange with a foamy white head that settled into a thin lacing, minimal amount of sticking. A nice DIPA aromas, grapefruit, oranges, whiffs of pine and honey, and a spicy rye malt. Good, even carbonation and a crisp, hop textured and slightly slick, smooth medium bodied mouthfeel. Delicious tasting, grapefruit mixed with orange zestiness, a light lemon and only hints of pine at first, a soft hop bitterness, not a taste bud killer, all balanced by spicy rye breadiness, a nice rye malt backbone with touches of honey sweetness, the alcohol is well masked and only emerges slightly towards the end, and a dryish pine and rye bready finish, good DIPA drinkability, very quaffable. Has a rye malts backbone instead of the usual caramel, so it has that tasty Hair of the Dog kink, unique and well worth trying.

I was having a shitty day, and the box from Ross arrives. Needless to say, seeing this beer cheered me up and this baby went into the fridge PRONTO. Pours hazy golden orange with a small white head, and very large lively carbonation. Sort of looks like a fizzy witbier. Strong grapefruity hop aroma , along with some of wheat and bubblegum. Nicely balanced flavors here of pale malts and hops. Has an earthiness to it with a wide variety of citrus flavor. Finishes very dry, grassy, with and aggressive but pleasant lingering bitterness. Not resiny, sticky, or thick like some IIPA’s, which I can appreciate and thus makes this very easy to drink...mine was gone in no time! Perhaps there are some belgian qualities on this one. This is unique, like all of Alan’s other beers. Thanks a million Ross. You are not a-hole after all.

Bottle from cbkschubert. Thanks Craig for another great hook up! Loud fizz and good aroma, very hoppy smell. Pours a huge head that got to be like a little science experiment. Very pale/orangey look, clear with decent head and ring. Good flavor and very hoppy. Tastes somewhat similar to doggieclaws. Very smooth and very well balanced. Great brew although different than any IIPA I’ve ever had. Cheers!

22oz Bottle Pours out a Yellow haze like a HEF Topped with a white head. There is a odd Belg Aroma. The Over all odd but good. I later had it On Tap at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company. It was even better on tap.

On tap at Henry’s Tavern. Pours a lightly hazed goldn yellow with a decent enough dense enough cream colored head. The nose is full of fruity hops. Bitter, so sure, but more so, flavorful. Strong ass bite, but the sweetness and alcohol to support it. Creamy on the tongue. Light carbonation. The flavor is in the line with the nose. As it warms, the creaminess drops out a bit, but it’s still lovely. Mainly, the beer goes from malt heavier and fruity to lighter and broader hop flavors. Really enjoyable. I couldn’t taste the rye, and this is kind of low ABV for an IIPA, but it’s delicious, so who cares?

Thanks BottleTrek! Excited... a double IPA with malted Rye and at only %7 it must be very drinkable... so lets see: The liquid inside looks very murky as light wont shine thru it. Pop the cap and immediately from a foot away I get a whiff of pineapple. Pours murky faint orange golden with no real head... looks like pineapple juice. Super sweet pineapple aroma! First taste is not nearly as sweet as the aroma... much more low key bitterness, smooth and slightly waxy. Soft peach flavor with lots of citrus/grapefruit in the finish. 100 IBU’s are nowhere to be found in this, just kidding they get you in the aftertaste. The rye seems to be missing though. Palate is smooth with hardly any carbonation. Nice weight to the body, not sticky or too light. Very juicy.

22oz bomber. Pours a very nice, deep gold with subtle orange and a very slight haze. It also has a medium-sized white head that fades quickly but leaves nice swaths of lace on the glass as it goes down. The aroma is beautiful:earthy and citrusy - hint of pine, too - and some honey. It has a touch of rye I think in there, and lots of sweet honey. Nectar to the nose. The flavor is awesome - thick and hoppy with a delectable malt sweetness, some light breadiness - like honey-glazed croissants. The hoppiness is spicy and citrusy - a touch of bitter grapefruit rind. There is some earthiness in there, and I think I can detect some rye flavors, too - though admittedly light. At mid-tongue, the hops dominate - resiny and bitter with loads of fruity, citrusy, spicy hops. There is a nice level of fruity esters and crystal malt sweetness, too, that really balance the immense hops just right. The finish is full and sweet and dried out just a little bit by the big bitterness. The warming alcohol is subtle and nicely hidden. The aftertaste is surprisingly bready and toasty with a resiny pine hoppiness. After about 10oz, an leathery earthiness in the bitterness grows, and the bitter taste of ethanol shows itself a little in the finish. The mouthfeel is vigorously carbonated, but not over-the-top or spritzy. It lends a restrained carbonation sting to the tongue and helps lighten the beers big, chewy, full body. Overall, a very nicely made IIPA. Its strength is more like American IPA than double IPA, but the thick body and double-load of hops do manage to push it into Imperial land.