Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

a strange but enjoyable cheesey aroma, tripple cream perhaps, also vanilla oak and brown sugar. great rich mouth feel and flavor to match the aroma with the wood amplified, complex and engaging. maybe it would be better with age but i would not call it hot, maybe a little warm

Tasting at JoeMcphee’s. I would love to try this beer gain after letting it cellar for a few years. Very good, but a little too sweet and hot. Also too thick and syrupy. Well now, wasn’t all bad.. On the upside, I enjoyed the woody oak that jumps off your palate. Toffee, maple, sweeeet malt, oak, caramel, vanilla.

Bottle: Pours a nice muddy deep orange. The aroma is pungent vanilla sweetness, diacetyl, maple, toffee and sweet oak. Big sweet flavor. Buttery and sharp with vanilla, booze, plastic, odd phenols, and earthy wood. I pick up on some of the subtleties that should deserve praise, but it’s a bit hot and harsh to really be great. Still kind of interesting.

sampled with the phoenix crew. 2007 bottle. hazy dark amber/copper color with a off white head which sticks around as a film after it leaves rings of foamy lacing on the glass. very warming aromas of bourbon-y wood, vanilla, cinnamon, spice, citrus and earth. really rich complex flavors... creamy vanilla, expensive cigars, ripe fruits, clove spiked oranges, bourbon-y oak, chocolate, caramel and bitey spruce pine. dry woody finish is almost smoky. sweetness isn’t even an issue! body is medium and really rather light given its complexity. incredibly smooth...

Wow....an awesome beer. Aroma was pretty good. Pepper, oak and earth. Completely different than the regular Fred. Pour was perfect. Murky dark gold/dirty brown with a huge 3 finger near tan head full of tiny bubbles. Taste all oak. Strong carbonation brings out the caramel flavor but that wood really twists the flavor and makes it unique. Almost tastes like licking an old oak table that had a Caramello bar melted onto it. Great carbonation and less alcohol burn than the original. Well done.

2008 bottle from Stone. Clear copper golden with a fizzy white head. Sweet caramel and spice aroma. Thick syrupy palate. Crisp citrus, grass, caramel, and wood taste with some hops evident in the finish.

Vintage 2008 Pours hazy, dark copper, with a massive four-inch head. The beige, dense foam floated like whipped egg whites for a lengthy time before the first sips broke up the mass. A plethora of clingy rings and ripped sheets of lacework continued on. A real beaut. Aromatics lead off with booze-soaked oak, cotton candy, tangerine zest, and malt bubblegum. Sugared grapefruit, fresh vanilla, and caramel-drizzeled spruce resin follow through. Medium bodied, but a bit chewy and plenty tacky. The carbonation level is high enough to create quite a lively feel, and makes the mouthfeel seem bigger than it really is. Tropical fruit, sweet malt, and a zesty spiciness start the pallet. Candied fruit segments, oaky alcohol, and blossom honey come forward, as well as juicy hop resins and a firm bitterness. Finishes with bourbony oak, lingering honey and citrus fruit, and a peppery warmth on the throat. Wowza, what a great beer. The residuals get a bit tiring, but this ones tasting super fresh. As with the regular Fred, I believe the fresher the better. Aging may dry it up a bit, but you’ll be missing out on the oak and fresh hops.

Bottle; courtesy of golubj. Poured a darkish orange-amber, with a big off white (with a tint of orange) head. Aroma of orange, caramel, fruit, sugar and flowers. Flavor was drinkable, but complex; not very sweet, which usually makes a barley wine for me; however I enjoyed this one alot. Oak aging was done with some moderation; was not dominating. Alcohol was well hidden. Good maltiness, with caramel, vanilla, fruit and oak; moderate, but pronounced hop finish. A nice orange flavor throughout. Very good for the style.