Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA

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

22oz. bottle from the brewery. Aroma simply bursts with fresh citrus, plenty of juicy grapefruit and tangerine, with further notes of pine, freshly-picked leafy herbs and flowers, along with hints of pale, grainy, honeyish malts. Hazy medium golden color with a lasting, creamy head and fine lace sheeting the glass. Flavor is very softly sweet and floral up front, but sees the hops increase in intensity thereafter, becoming more dominant and reaching a crescendo at the finish where the sweetness is thoroughly overridden by bitter hop resins and citric, resinous, leafy hop flavor. Some faint lemony spice from the rye and fading hints of peach. Overall, mouthfeel is semi-dry, oily and smoothly effervescent, body is medium-full. Lip-smackingly hoppy aftertaste. Refreshing and drinkable. Nicely done.

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).

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

(22oz bottle, thanks Goldtwins) Cloudy apple juice body with medium white head. Aroma is medium sweet, pine/grapefruit, some orange. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, grassy, sharp bitterness. Chewy medium-full body. Malt? We don’t need no stinkin’ malt!

Very hazy pale gold color with a huge fluffy white head. Fresh hop pellet nose. Tons of malt in the IIPA. It is not the hop soup that most IIPAs try to be. Lots of toffee and dark caramel sweetness under a complex hop bitterness of pine resin and red grapefruit. Well balanced. I feel every bit of the 7%.

Large painted bottle. Orange blonde color. Lemongrass aroma. A sharp and firm hopbitterness with loads of grapefruit and grassy herbal hops. Medium bodied. Very long earthy citric hopbitter aftertaste. A very intense beer. I really liked it.

Bottle at Immy’s Tasting on 7-22-06. Hazed gold. Creamy, resinous hoppy aroma. Some almost fruity pine notes as well. Taste is hoppy, citrusy with sweet malts and caramel to balance it and light pine notes as well. Body is medium with moderate carbonation and a nice chewiness to it. Finishes with more hops, fruits, sweet malts and grains. Spot more pine as well.

22 oz. bottle, from Liquid Solutions. Pours hazy golden-amber color with a creamy white head and lots of little floaties. Aroma is pungent and hoppy, juicy citrus with orange, lemon and grapefruit especially prominent along with spruce and not-quite ripe summer fruits. Flavor is hoppy, hoppy most noticibly grapefruit rind, pine needles, and pepper with toasty and toffee malt well in the background. Full body and smooth, gentle carbonation. Hops galore!