Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

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.

Last bottle at a tasting ,with time constraints because we had to get a bus home.My note are almost unreadable, and scarce.Witch would indicate that my mental faculties where somewhat off at the time,i.e i was getting kinda drunk. Nice brownish barley wine ,lot’s of malt in both flavor and aroma.Full bodied .Will drink again if I have the chance.

Pours murky brown-orange with little head. Aroma is like pine sap, grapefruit, light alcohol, very bitter. Taste is almost like Dogfish 120™ but maybe not as thick, but hops are mostly prevalent with barely enough Barley wine characteristics to classify it as such. Smooth body, bitter hop and honey finish.

Rating #500!!! Bottle with thanks to Ditmier and Beerman6686 respectively. Man. This thing pours like an apple cider...completely opaque with no head. Smells like a freshly opened hop....didnt really expect that. Flavors is a creamy silky blend of hops, a touch of caramel and light ginger...pine toffee and some bandaid funk. The semi nasty thing was the white pus oozing from the dregs of the bottle. Rather solid beer...literally.Finish has a somewhat spicy alcohol taste, with notes of honey floating in and out. Awfully good.