Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

2005 bottle courtesy of OhioDad...THANKS SCOTT!!! Poured a hazy shade of copper, very small head, some lacing. Like fellow reviewers, lots of sediment in this bottle...Smelled a bit like sour fruit. Taste was sweet, caramel, honey, fruity malts up front with a giant hoppy kicker. Alcohol was nicely hidden, but boy, does it sneak up on you! Excellent!!!

Badly capped bottle, which reduced carbonation to near nothing (ironically, Adam was not affected by it’s off-kilter cap). I didn’t pour in the last ounce or so, cause that sludge looked nasty to drink. Aroma is superb, very sweet, but also incredibly earthy to match. Molasses, butter, wood, brown sugar, caramel, and a little tingly pine. Some pancakes too. Tastes quite rummy, with some molasses, raisins and prunes, almonds. Brown sugar, but not TOO sweet. Finishes with a dry wood flavor and med. bitterness, and some butterscotch. Good hop flavor, but not over the top. The beer’s body is quite thick and although it tastes quite sweet, it’s not cloying. Anyway, this is great blend of high non-cloying sweet flavors and profoundly earthy spin on your expected dried/dark fruit flavors. Hops are tasty, but not overstated. This beer COULD be extremely wonderful, with that carbonation.

Pours a nice hazy copper with a foamy off-white head. Aroma is very pleasant of malts, caramel and fruit. Flavor was very complex with notes of: malts, caramel, hops, pine, honey and a citrus finish. Very Delightful !

[213-20070224] 12floz (2006). Slight but attractive body odour aroma with chocolate, grainy bread and an unfortunate underlying semen element. Cloudy, brown red body with very little white head. Fruity semen remains in flavour, alcohol hits but stays hidden. Full body is smooth. An interesting mix and generally OK but for the... immodest qualities.

12 oz. bottle from asteele8 , dated 2006. Unfortunately, it seems that htis was among the bottles with "caping difficulties." Pour was a clear deep amber with absolutely no head or carbonation. There is a wonderfully fruity aroma, cherries, raisins, and other dark fruits, followed by spruce and citrus. Medium body with a mildy resinous character, but the lack of carbonation detracts. Rich malty sweetness is blancec by a tangy bitrus peel bitterness. The flavor and aroma certainly does not seem to have beenadversely affected by the capping problem and lack of carbonation. Were it not for that, I weould have rated this higher. I’ll need ot get another example to re-rate, either a 2007, or a pre 2006.

Bottles 2004 and 2005. both were similar. Pours a hazy light amber/orangey copper with a dimishing head. Aroma is moslty new american hops like simcoe and amarillo- lots of grapefruit, citrus, orange peel, some mango, but gets to be a little catty, and solvent-like when fresh, when aged though it loses some of the harsh hop character and smooths out nicely. Tons of hops in the flavor with more simcoe to dominate but also has a ton of malt backbone, toffee, and moslty caramel malts. Fruity flavors in the middle, apple, dark dried figs, and finishes with a nice rouded bitterness. The 04 destroys the 05 though.

Bottle: Pours a dark, musty copper color with little to no head. Moderate lacing. Aroma of citrus and floral hops, some sweetness detected. Taste is citrus and floral tones, some dark fruitiness, raison, and a sweet malty sensation. Alcohol warming in the finish. Delicious!

Dark mahogany with a medium off-white head. Smell is sweet and alcoholic, with caramel, honey, and berries. Flavor is sweet, with caramel, honey, hops, and roasted malt. Too sweet for me. Mouthfeel is fantastic; luscious and creamy. Not my favorite barleywine by any strecth, but decent.