Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

12oz bottle, 2008 release, via trade with SuzyGreenberg, thanks Ben! pours a hazy, amber-orange with a very thin, off-white head, and a thread of lacing around the edges. aroma is excellent with big, sweet notes of buttery toffee, caramel, and molasses with subtle fruit notes of cherry, orange, and lemon zest with a hint of pine resin and brandy. flavor is wonderfully decadent with a marvelous balance of sweet toffee, butterscotch candy, maple syrup, and dark malts with fruit notes of pink grapefruit, canned peaches, sweet red apple skins, and tropical pineapple and smooth subtle notes of honey and cider spine on the finish. palate is full bodied, sticky and rich without being overly sweet with gentle carbonation and a warming finish. overall, this is a truly wonderful barley wine.

Location: 12 oz bottle (2008 bottle) via trade with NickD717, 11/8/09

Aroma: At first, the nose actually reminds me of a nice Simcoe hop IPA with lots of citrus and pine, as it sits for a bit the rest of the complex nose opens, there are also some sugary malts, some caramel, and a nice warming peppery alcohol backing too
Appearance: Pours a nice caramel-amber color with a thin off-white head, and light drops of lace
Flavor: The taste is quite complex and mixed as well, I got lots of flavors through a well-made, full flavored beer
Palate: This one has a nice full-bodied feel to it, lots of warming alcohol, and a lasting feel
Overall Impression: Thanks, Nick! I’ve heard good things about them, but this is my first HotD rating. I have to say, this one lived up to my expectations, quite a nice beer. This was a really good quality beer that has a large flavor that fills your mouth for a long time. It just works well, a quality, enjoyable beer for sure.

Shared this with Drink4Satan cheers mike thanksfor the tasting. The nose is full of butter cream with a molasses and pepper kick. It is very strong and a bit acidic with some orange peel. The flavor is very bittersweet with Carmel It has a nice initial bite, pepper kick and sweet candi sugar. Very soothing to the palate and full of carbonation that tingles the tongue.

Rating #800. 2008 bottle. Pours hazy dark copper color with minimal off white head. Very sweet aroma of brown sugar, toffee, molasses, pine and grapefruit. Flavor is sweet and fruity with lots of molasses and brown sugar. Big hoppy grapefruit taste with a slight bit of heat from the alcohol. Full body with soft carbonation and a thick,chewy mouthfeel. Excellent.

Bottle with thanks to Matt. Pours a clearish dark amber/light orangey brown with almost no head. Aromas have a surprising resin presence and quite a bit of cherry to them. Stretching a little, there is a maple syrup sweetness and orange peels. Borderline cloying flavors of cherry and maple syrup with a little bit of a resin and medicinal hops presence are nice. It stops a little short of being off-putting with the sweetness. Alcohol is well hidden and mouthfeel is fairly thin considering style and all that is going on with the sticky sweet flavors.

2008 bottle thanks to DuffManSW. Pours a bight copper color with a tiny amount of off-white, fizzy head. Nice rich complex aromas. There’s so many things to pick out! I get rich toffee, molasses, orange peel, aromatic honey, ruby red grapefruit, brandy, butterscotch, some cherry and red grapes. Every whiff brings out some new aroma! The flavor is intense, boozy, fermenting dark fruit with some cracked pepper, caramel, brandy, pine needles, tobacco and butterscotch. The flavor is immense but maybe a bit too rich and alcoholic. I could really see a few more years on this as an improvement but it is still fantastic. The body is lush, full, and sticky with gentle carbonation. Excellent stuff and a great way to kick off the cold weather beer season!

Thanks to the generosity of STLWill for this 2005 bottle! The pour produces a trnaslucent murky orange colour with a minimal head and some sediment floating toward the top of the glass. The nose has a heavy molasses backbone, with white pepper, rich vinous malts, alcohol and toffee. Some tropical fruits come through in the aroma as well. The flavour is full, round, and mellowfor a beer this big. Tropical fruits, buttercream, apple, leather, rich caramel and pepper spice are distinct overtones. The aftertaste is certainly hot, but the palate duration of flavour and mellow caramel and vinous zest balance this warming effect effectively. This beer matured nicely.

12 oz. bottle shared at Logan’s 2009 pre-GABF Party (2005 vintage). Dark, copper colored pour. Grapefruit, peach, and brown sugar aroma. Toffee, caramel, mango, and pineapple flavor. This is incredible stuff.