Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA

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

Pours out very cloudy and bright yellow-gold in color with some orange highlights. Aroma is of lemon zest with a slightly grassy herbaceousness and other mixed citrus and subtle caramel malt in the background. Strong lemon and grapefruit flavors with fruity hops bitterness over a subtle graininess--very interesting "fruit salad" of hops flavors. Fairly light bodied but with a lot of substance to it--strong bitterness that is well integrated into the flavor profile.

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

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.

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.

Tasted on tap. Great floral hop aroma. Heavy with jasmine. Very well balanced and drinkable. Excellent.

Bottle. Pours a orange hue fairly cloudy with a white head. The white head leaves nice lacing along the side of the glass. Aroma is what you would expect out of a IIPA, especially for the PNW. Pine and citrus are the predominant notes. Flavor is very much like grapefruit, full of hops. Nice bitter finish to end. Very decent IIPA. Nice to have something new from HotD!

Pours a cloudy orange with a thin white head. Nice hoppy aroma of citrus and grass. Good bitter flavor, heavy on the hops and very refreshing/easy to drink. This is a very good IPA.

Pours a pale hazy bright golden yellow with a thin fizzy white head. The nose is citrusy and fruity, mandarin oranges, sweet, grapefruit, a nice hidden malt backbone. The flavor has an assertive citrus peel bitterness that doesn’t come through in the aroma, mandarin oranges, fruity, nice malty sweetness. The palate has a dry hoppy bite and finishes citrusy with some sweetness.