Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

2005 bottle via trade with AlohaC. Very nice aroma with a sweet hop smell that sent me to Nirvana. One of the best looking beers with a nice head and clear look that would make a good magazine cover shoot. Flavor is so well balanced I had to keep drinkiing it to experience it. Great brew that after a year still tasted so fresh. Cheers! Update: 2004 Bottle. Look was amazing. Aroma was very malty and less hops than the ’05. Very sweet taste with a dry aftertaste. Great brew.

On Tap at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company Pours out a hazy brown topped with a tan head. lots of malt, caramel and great hops on this one.

Opaque brown with chunks,small beige head.Fruity molasses nose.Brown sugar,plums and molasses,decent hop end. Harsh unpleasant alcohol heat. Once again I don’t understand why people can like this interpretation of the style, the alcohol kills everything else.

2005 bottle. This hazy brown ale poured with a modest tan head, eliciting a malty aroma. The flavor is all caramel and hops, with a very dry alcohol finish. I got the feeling this one would benefit from a few years of aging, so I laid a few down.

Looks like the muck that is on the bottom of a lake. Very murky color. Smell of fruit, malt, hops and spice. Wow! Very hoppy with sugar, malt, prunes, slight pupkin/apple and spice. A dry alcohol bitterness at the end. At the bottom of my glass, it looks like peanut butter.

I gave the 2002 a 4.4. Bottle picked up from the brewery. Last half inch in the bottle is soupy and lumpy, but there is still enough thick sediment to layer the glass as well. Big lasting head but it allows a gentle pour to fill the glass. Orange tinted brown liquid. Intoxicating peppery hop aroma with some alcohol. The hops dominate the flavour profile overpowering all else. Not delicate, almost a dry pepper-beer. Some fruit tries to come out but gets worn down by the hops. As you get farther down in the glass the beer becomes thicker and foamier.

Bottle says vintage 2004. This is truly one of the most beautiful beers I have had the privilege of drinking. Sitting in my little Spaten mug this beer displays a spectrum of color running from the edge of the glass to the center. On the outside, it’s gold, then a glowing burgundy and finally a dark brown in the middle. Truly a wonder to behold. The head is slightly golden and mildly persistent. The smell is primarily big barley, a bit of alcohol and a well fitting citrus orange. Very nice. The flavor is extremely dynamic and surprisingly dry like a stout but the citrus flavor is still there with a great warming from the alcohol in the finish. The malt flavor starts out strong in the beginning, but then gives way to the dryness and citrus. Very fun to drink and just sit back to watch all the flavors wiz by. The mouth feel is a bit thin for my liking but I think that it augments the varieties of flavor quite well. I don’t think the flavor would be as dynamic if it was any thicker. Even the carbonation seems well paired with the flavor. This is an awesome beer. Highly recommended. P.S. Finished off the decanted bottle out of principle and the yeast added a smooth nutty taste, much like a Belgian. Didn’t expect that.

Bottle, 2003. Pours dark brown, with a tan head. Aromas are sweet malt, fruit, brown sugar, and alcohol. Flavors are fruit, sweet malt, brown sugar, alcohol, and hops. Gard to believe this is 3 years old, it will probably get better for many years to come.