Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

12 fl. oz bottle. Huge, fluffy yellowish head. Dark, brownish amber body. Smells deliciously sweet; an intense, refined, toffee-/caramell-sweetness. Also a scent of vinous fruitiness, fresh hops, and subtle wooden note. Taste has a strong caramelly malt profile, evenly balanced by a bold hop bitterness, with lots of fruits and pine. A rounded and subtle oakiness in the backbone. Notes of mild spices, alcohol and vanilla. Big-bodied and creamy in the mouth. Lasting hoppy and malty finish. Both balanced and edgy, refined and powerfull. Great stuff.

2008 vintage. Hazy orange/amber color with a stylish ivory-colored big and hard head that slowly settles into some chunky lacings. A really good looking beer. Lots and lots of wonderful aromas of fresh/new oak barrels, very clean and well defined. Plenty of vanilla, Some notes of grassy and spicy hops. Candy. Perhaps a hint of fruit. A hint of alcohol. A wonderful taste of fresh/new oak-barrels with big notes of vanilla. A tasty semi-sweet malty backbone beneath the oak character. The taste is quite sweet actually. Candy. Honey? Light hop aromas in the mouth. The finish is pleasant with a nice bitterness to it, some alcohol and mild phenols, and some spicy hops. Medium body with a very smooth texture. I really liked this one. A very refined and sophisticated character, yet with plenty of edginess to make things interesting. The aromas of fresh oak barrels in this one are amazing. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

bottle, via trade with scrizz, golden orange color with still head, aroma of mandarin oranges, pineapple, passion fruit, flavors of caramel, honey, honeydew melon, oaky chardonnay, great finish

Poured from the amazing brew master Alan Sprint at HOTD. Poured dark red with a Small white head. Nose was sweet with a small amount of pine, and honey and caramel. Palette was smooth and sticky. Taste was oak, vanilla, citrus, caramel and sweet malts. This was an amazing brew. Thanks again Alan. HOTD has always been among my favorite breweries but after visiting it truly became #1. I strongly recommend stopping by.

12oz 2008 bottle. Nice orangish dark golden with small halo white head. Nose is sweet...honey and light caramel with some spiciness with earthy oak notes but almost some quality irish whiskey going on. Sticky and smooth on the palate with some tight snappy carbonation. Sweet, but not overly. Honey, vanilla notes, light apricot. Hints of oak and a touch of tobacco with some alcohol warming. I am not sure why I don’t but more of this beer...I guess I will need to rectify that Nov 14th.

Flaske: Kæmpe skumhoved på en uklar orange øl. Virkelig stærk duft af bourbon karamel. Smagen er fantastisk koncentreret med store mængder bourbon og en god del alkohol. Hvis jeg var mere vild med bourbon er dette klart en potentiel 5.

Bottle, bought @ Ølbutikken, Cph.
[vintage 2007]
Pours clear dark red with a great, creamy, off-white head. Aroma has cellar, prunes, red apples, oak, vinious, peach, caramel and lightly roasted. Low carbonation, wonderful oily mouthfeel. Really impressive. Flavour is initially quite sweet, lots of toasted caramel, light roasted, some tobacco, prunes, vanilla, oak, light tartness. Incredibly well-balanced between bitterness, sweetness and oaky tartness. Long, long lingering aftertaste that adds chocolate, pine and apples.

2009 batch. 12oz bottle thanks to Sparky27 for hooking me up with this one. Pours dark orange with golden edges and small off-white head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, caramel, citrus and some booze. Flavor is oak, vanilla, citrus, grapes, caramel, sweet malt, and light hops. Finishes sweet with very light alcohol burn. Really great mouthfeel and perfect carbonation for a BA barley wine. I liked regular Fred quite a bit, but this version is much better. The oak barrels really add a nice complexity. It doesn’t have some of the cloying sweetness regular Fred has. This is a really good beer. Cheers HOTD.