Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2001-2002)

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

(2002 vintage) Whoa! Huge off-white head. Big hoppy aromas, detectable before the stuff even leaves the bottle. Smells somewhat yeasty also. Flavors are that of a barley wine crossed with a Trippel. Very differnt but I like it. Mouth-feel is very much like a Trippel while the hop bitterness is barley wine all the way. Big long lingering finish. Yum Yum!

Evenly distributed haze of orange-amber. Lovely, lasting head with cakes of lace on the side of the glass. A frothy "butte" formed on the surface. Intense, spicy-yeasty nose. Mouthfeel was not super-thick, but held its own against a moderate carbonation. Malts had flavorful notes of grain and toasted bread (dark) -- not sweet, which I liked. Nicely balanced hops, which were sharpishly flavored: spicy, herbal, clean and very tasty. Some warming in the back of the throat, but otherwise, the alcohol was masked really well. This beer was great! Very well-made and enjoyable to drink. Had some interesting flavors and qualities; some Belgian-like notes, too. RERATE (2002 bottle sampled in 2008): Wonderful, yeasty flavors from start to finish. Rich malts, with toffee, tobacco and toast. Surprised to find the hoppy elements holding up strong ... herbs, grass. Some oxidation-cardboard/paper, unfortunately, but it was only in the background / aftertaste.

Pours 95% eggshell colored head above a hazy golden orange body. The aroma is delightlfully hoppy and sweet, with caramel, orange, honey, and a wonderful floral bouquet. The flavor was also quite devine. Sticky sweet to start, but not overly so. The caramel, citrus and spicy hops were all discernable, but nothing really dominated. It was not too sweet, nor too hoppy. The alcohol was also held in check, especially for the high ABV. One hell of a beer, and hopefully I will be able to get more soon.

Color is a murky orange, with an absolutely huge off white head that is ultra thick (I've seen stereo equipment packed with thinner stuff than this). Aroma is acidic, floral, slightly hoppy, caramel, orange, and grapefruit evident, and maybe even a touch of <bemused eye brow raise> greek olives. A very interesting and wonderful aroma. Flavor doesn't quite hold up to the aroma, but it's good nevertheless. Acidic flavor, ester-y, slightly hoppy and malty. I like psychprof's addition of "earthy metallic notes," this is right on. Palate is nicely thick. A very nice barleywine.

Light glowing copper color, some chill haze, tons of bubbly action within and one skyscraper of a head that nearly burst out of the bottle into the glass growing up past three inches of puffy loose ivory colored spongeness, crumbles super slowly and leaves sticky stringy lace all over. Took ten minutes to pour the entire 12 oz. bottle! I want to drink it already, I mean come on! Smell is nice fresh hops of earthy herbal spices and citrus with a slight pine presence. Taste is a very nice clean hop thats mellowing pine and orange citrus, flowery fresh, a touch of sweetness from malts balanced in. Great herbal spice quality located in the front into the middle and the finish is earthy hop, mellowing bitterness and lingering easy dryness. Feel is full and lightly textured upon swallowing but has good soothing smoothness and creamy acceptable warmth into the finish. This is one terrific barleywine! A great sipper, mellowing upon each sip so much I believe I just sank into oblivion....sweet, sweet, oblivion, aahhhh....

A superbly drinkable barleywine, and an unusual one, both on account of the incredible hopping here; excellent earthy mettalic notes and big florality. Delicious.

2002 Bottle: This barley wine pours a cloudy, lightly orange tinted copper color with a massive, rocky white head that lingers and leaves lots of lacings on the glass. The aroma is mostly hoppy with hints of grapefruit, yeast, alcohol, and a mild fruitiness. It has a full body with moderate amounts of carbonation and a very creamy mouthfeel. The flavor is full of hoppy grapefruit and lemon notes with a bit of yeastiness and a mild, malty sweet presence. Finish is fruity at first, then becomes quite hoppy with a lingering bitterness that is not unpleasant. The alcohol is not at all detectable in the flavor. Definitely a worthy ale.

I think my feelings might be better were I to have had more patience and let the bottle age. At least that's what the finish whispered to me. Lovely olfactory and visual beckoning as I poured the dark honey colored liquid with large eggwhite head. This allowed me time to gaze as I waited for it to warm. Sharp bitterness at first that quickly mellowed to an overall grapefruit over musty yeast that spoke in Flemish if I heard correctly. Not sure what the Belgian term for barleywine is, but I'm fairly sure that's it. Might be wrong, but I thought that there could be a complexity waiting to evolve if cellared.