Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Portland, Oregon USA

a dark red color with aromas of pine, hops, cherries, and alcohol. tastes of childrens cough syrup but it works for some reason. alcoholy taste to wash it down. complex and nice for dessert.

A cloudy brown-amber beer with tons of yeast sediment chunks (I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and blame my clumsy pour) and a decent fluffy off-white head that lasts and leaves lace. The aroma is very sweet, mostly floral hops and some caramel maltiness. The flavor is also quite sweet, with malt notes (toffee, molasses) and finishes long with caramel sweetness. This is a great beer, but a tad sweet for my taste. Alcohol well hidden.

12oz bottle. 2003 Vintage. Poured a medium ruby reddish color with a small sized off white head. Initial pour was clear but clouded up with floaters towards the bottom. Aromas of caramel, dark fruits, nutty, and a trace of citrus. Tastes of caramel, dark fruits (lots of plums and raisins), and brown sugary sweet. Light alcohol in the finish but overall well hidden. I thought this one is aging nicely.

Pours a dirty oramge color with lots of cloudiness. Huge aroma of sharp bitter peach, citrus, and classic English-ale mustiness. There’s an amazing alcohol burn that hits early and lasts long, sharp and stimulating. Some toasty caramel in the background, but the bitter citrus-and-peach hoppiness ultimately dominates the flavors. This is great, a truly great beer.

January 17th poured from 2007 vintage bottle into Dogfish snifter glass. Served cold from the fridge; allowed to naturally warm to room temperature while sipping. Aroma: Strong hops. (Will it taste that bitter!?) Taste: Malty sweet complemented with hops. Sweet, sugary. Fruity esters. Brown sugar, molasses, homemade sugary caramel. Bittering citrus hops. Hint of hot alcohol. A little rough as a young beer, but shows good potential to meld and mellow with age; can’t wait to try an aged Doggie Claws! Next time I will try this starting at room temperature as I’ve had recommendations to drink this beer without chilling.

2005 vintage dark caramel color with thin persistent cream head. almost a bit sweet with a grainy feel. very good. 2007 special edition no head retention, little syrupy body and with mellow complex flavors. even better than the 05.

2008 Release, Tap @ Bailey’s Taproom... Poured ruby with an off-white head. Aroma of tart malt and brown sugar. Silky palate that wrapped around the tongue with a syrupy base. Flavors of bitter barley-malt. Alcohol presence is mild but enough to satisfy. Other flavors of lettuce and herbs which mend with the malt and some hops to balance. Aftertaste of sweet caramel or maybe toffee.

(bottle, 2005) Pours reddish brown with some sediment and a scant off-white head. Aroma is very strong, and displays a lot of fruit scents. Smells of pineapple, lychee, peach, cherry skin, hops, and a substantial amount of toffee and caramel is lurking underneath the fruity smells. Upon warming, the beer takes on a slightly sour smell, which detracts a bit from the initial aroma. I think this is the oxidation. Alcohol also is evident as well. The taste is pretty simple, but very good, with a huge blast of toffee and caramel, that switches to sweet cherry and yields to a slight tartness of cherry skin. The finish is a light bitterness with lingering tastes of burnt caramel. The mouthfeel of this beer is great, perfectly carbonated, and the beer is quite full and chewy. A very well crafted barleywine, and the flavor really stands out here.

bottle, thanks OSLO! On second tasting with a fresher bottle, I smell a lot of fresh roasted peanuts, with some toffee as well, and musty hops (which must be the Simcoe). I also thought the flavor was excellent and tasted completely different than the first bottle I had. The nuttiness was there in the flavor along with toffee, and a light bitterness that blended together very nicely.