Hair of the Dog Dave

Formerly brewed at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Portland, Oregon USA

Hello, my name is Dave; going on 15 years now, my journey has taken me far and wide and today I showed up discreetly at Brouwer’s Sour Fest courtesy of the one and only MJ; I’m sorry that my appearance turned you into a giddy two year old and caused the entire crowded noise and sour filled air of the fest to fade completely into the background; sour beers – who needs them anyways? even after all these years, my aromas pour out of the snifter and cover the table with a smoky concoction of vanilla, whiskey, oak, tobacco, bread and chocolate chip cookies; I’m not even sure if I’m a beer anymore with the silky, flat texture more reminiscent of a rich port or sherry; so what did you think? was I worth all the hype and disappointment of missing out at last year’s dock sale? I always knew beer karma would come around for a guy who goes by a girl’s name. Prost!! your friend, Dave :)

Courtesy hoppymeal. Thanks for the opportunity to be able to taste this rare treat. Pours a still deep brown color with legs. The aroma is sweetish and heavily malty, with some dark fruits peeking out from the ether. The taste is insanely rich and sherry-like. Caramel, alcohol, dark fruit, slight oxidation, but fantastic. Warms me down to my plums.

Northernbrews and 6 members of the RateBeer Orlando crew (Solan, Cheeseman, Skijobber, LaRoja, JMFG and myself) interrupted their Wii Bowling session to gather around the table for this event. The six glasses were cleaned and placed in a sparkling line with the bottle of Dave standing pefectly idle beside them, anticipating his grand arrival. Prior to the glorious unveiling, the flash bulbs were blasting with the onlookers attempting to grab a photographic momento of this occassion. The bottle was openened and there was complete silence. No carbonation at all, as such nonsense is merely a guise for lesser beers. The crowd yearningly watched Dave being poured with precission, without a drop spared. The flash bulbs continued to erupt as the crew stared in awe at Dave’s greatness. With none of the group willing to make the first move, I reached for my glass and held it to the light. A perfectly still and viscous liquid was a garnet tinged bistre color with a complete absense of head. The aroma was as olfactory assault of bourbon whiskey, dates, figs and other dark fruits and a hint of soy sauce. The taste brought a warming sensation to the entire body, like a mug of hot cocoa on a cold winter morning. This warmness remained while sipping the elixer and well after. The flavors were strong and full of bourbon and alcohol, without deterring from the dark fruits and rich cherry flavors. The silence of the group remained, with no more than a few accepting nods of appreciation and moans of savory extasy. Without a word being spoken, the consensus was that we had finally made it.

Thanks to the generousity of Hoppymeal for this. A once-in-a-lifetime brew isn’t shared like this very often. Thank you.

A second thanks to Northernbrews for supplying everything else to make sharing this brew with friends something that I will always remember.

Courtesy hoppyneal, damn. i never thought i would ever have the chance to taste this one. pours a rich mahogany-black color. Aroma is redolent of a great olorosa sherry, some oxidation and alcohol, along with some dark fruit notes. Flavor is spot on for the Sherry theme, with a flor like note coming through. Not cloying in the least bit, mouthfeel was insanely viscous. Absolutely incredible.

Source:Bottle shared after the birth of my brothers first child.
Glass:Snifter.
Appearance:Dark brown pour with no head...not even pond scum, but this is to be expected.
Aroma:Huge, complex aroma. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, tobacco, caramel, toffee, molasses, brown sugar and maple syrup.
Flavor:Almost as complex. Tobacco, vanilla and caramel dominate, but a nutty finish follows. Huge boozy finish.
Palate:Heavy body with no carbonation.
Overall:As excellent as I expected. Did not disappoint.

Corked Little Kings bottle. Thanks, MJ. Damn it. Like saying "thanks" comes anywhere near doing justice to the generosity of surprising us with tastes of this insanely rare and expensive beer. More like it to say that this is the immeasurable camaraderie that exists between RBians at their best. It’s a debt I’ll really never be able to repay, and MJ knew that, so he just handed me a glass without telling me what it was until I was ready to drink my share. Much obliged, brother.
Dave is not a beer for me that can really live up to expectations. After years of wondering, it’s not just a unicorn anymore, it must be bottled unicorn giggles. Now that it’s here, as long as it’s one of the best beers I’ve ever had, that ought to put the fanboy’s pounding heart at ease. Guess what? It’s easily one of the best beers I’ve ever had.
You notice the difference with this stuff as soon as it hits the glass. Thick, oozy, viscous, leaving huge golden streaks of legs on the sides. Headless, laceless, and absolutely without carbonation, to be sure, but it looks like a glittering ebony, gold, and caramel brandy swirling in the glass. You can tell this is gonna be a real, real sticky one, but somebody’s gotta drink it.
The nose is just devastating. Boozy, yes, that’s a fair observation. BBQ, toast, caramel, licorice, and prunes all over the nose. The attack is more of the same, but, wow, when you start drinking it, you’re almost overtaken by the tongue-kidnapping primordial ooze of this beer. Brandy. Cordial. Beer. Whatever. It’s, um, really dense and thick and sticky and stuff.
The mid-palate shows all that deep complex goodness again; cola, bbq, toast, roast, caramel, nuts, prunes, figs, raisins. It’s a beast. It’s an instant vision of Christmas morning, or whatever other picture of wintry contentment safe at home you might carry with you. It’s an absolute masterpiece, brewed by a man who’s made more than a couple of those besides. Chasing beers like this is a fair bit of what fun in life’s all about for me. Finding them? Well...the contentments and pleasures of beer like this go deeper than the conscious. You know somebody poured his heart into making this, and being fully able to appreciate that artistry is a form of being completely at home in the world, if only for a moment.

My 1,400!!! Shared with several guys from the GA crew, thanks guys. Pours a deep amber brown color with no head. Aroma is sherry, chocolate, caramel, prune, raisins, some brown sugar, vanilla, a hint of toast, and alcohol. Flavor is caramel, prune, leather, tobacco, a little bit of chocolate, vanilla, a hint of toast, vanilla, some soy notes, and alcohol. This beer is wonderfully thick and malty!