Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2001-2002)

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

12th Beer of the Beer Spot Tasting Sunday March 30th, 2008. 2001 Magnum I brought, purchased at the brewery 12/31/07. One of the major highlights of the day. Pours orange with an off white 1 finger head, on other glasses (I was using a snifter). Nose is heavenly, sweet dark fruit, honey. Taste is sweet and mellow and strong. All over amazing, honey, barley wine. Alc is hidden, and no oxidation detectable. Also tons of fruit notes, pear pineapple and of course honeysuckle

Bottle shared by Crosling. Poured a clear copper color with a fluffy off-white head that diminished quickly but left some lacing. Aroma of light caramel malt with some toffee and light hops. Flavor consistes of sweet caramel malt with hints of toffee and nuts leading into some nice earthy hops with provide a decent bitterness. Smooth, with a nice subtle bite on the palate. Considering it is 6 years old, I think it held up pretty well. Thanks for sharing Nick.

Note: This bottle is probably past its prime. This barley wine pours a deep orange amber color from a 12oz bottle. Kind of a gusher, the head is very large sized white foamy head, that seems to last a very long time. The aroma is caramel and malty. A medium bodied barley wine. The malts are caramel and fruity. The hops are citrusy and piney. It is very oxidized, but it kind of works. The piney hops flavors are very sharp, and the malts character is more cereal than caramel. Definitely would like to try a fresh bottle. The alcohol is still very present. This one has been sitting in a fridge a little too long. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

2002
12 ounce bottle shared by Mike. Rated blind. Poured murky orange to brown with a tan lasting head. No lace. Loads of peachy aroma with an oxidized vinagar character. Compared to the aroma, the flavor is mild. Watered down peach nectar. Medium cooked sugars, and citrusy hops. Medium/full body. High carbonation. Semi-sweet finish. This beer totally likes up to expectations. Thanks a billion Mike.

Vintage 2002. poured a deep clear, copper color. more syrupy texture. Resembles more of an English Style Barley Wine.

12oz - thanks Dukefan - Aroma of skunky hops, old shoe and caramel. Pours muddy brown with a great head and lacing. Would get a 5 if it wasn’t for the floaties. Flavor is noticeably better than the aroma as the hops don’t taste skunked. The soft citrus and pine come through without much bitterness. A little leather taste lingers in the back. Tart and sticky. I think the bottle I had was a little past it’s prime, but still good.

Bottle from tasting at The Comet. Poured reddish brown color with an average off-white frothy head that was mostly diminished with fair lacing. Moderate spicy malty and alcohol aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium sweet dark fruit flavor with a medium sweet & sour finish of moderate duration.

Aged in a magnum bottle. Pours a cloudy golen hue with some red hints to it. Very nice large white head sits atop. I’m having trouble contrasting the smell and taste to anything else. Stone’s Double Bastard comes to mine, but this has a bit of vinegar on the back side. For being aged, this still has quite a bit of alcohol present. A different style of barleywine to say the least. There is quite a bit of smoothed out hop presence in the taste. I’d have to say that I think this is past it’s prime. Still drinkable, but would have been better at maybe 1-2 years, IMO.