Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

Bottle. From Jimbowood, I believe. Ratebeer edition. This has been sitting in my fridge for awhile now, and I thought it as about time to drink it. Now this is it: Dark brown color, sweet caramel and toffee aroma. Flavor is divine: Oak, caramel, brown sugar, and a nice booze kick at the end. Awesome.

Thanks to BuckeyeBoy for this great beer. Bourbon whiskey up front, stepping aside for a second to allow caramel and toffee from the malt and a little floral hoppiness as well and a cherry and strawberry fruit to come in. Then the bourbon slides back in front, covering it all up and transitioning into an alcoholic finish. A slight vinious, tart grape flavor comes in the front as well. Bitterness is clearly hiding in some crevices, but only the suggestion of it can be felt, as the alcohol and sweetness seem to cover most of it up. Some vanilla notes from the oak are in there too, but also hard to find. Palate is dense, smooth and rich. This is a great, complex beer, covered up with a lot of booze. I think just the slightest hint of bourbon would have added something, but right now it takes away by covering up a lot of the other flavors. Many do show up briefly, but I think it would be better off with less bourbon flavor.

So, I want to like this beer a lot because of my love for the regular version but I just can’t. From slob, a great trader, Ratebeer Edition, batch 64 , about 19 months old. I had sips here and there when this came out the regular RB meet ups and it seemed good at the time but not so much now. It does pour that beautiful dark dark murky golden color with a small head. However, the aroma not so good. I could put a positive spin on it and say its like pineapple and crème brûlée but I don’t want to lie to myself. It’s prickly, spoiled tropical fruits, and an off putting, diacetyl-like aroma. Actually burns the inside of my nose. Taste is not much better, some vanilla from the barrel I guess, again a weird sweetness with a strong burn in the throat. A thick syrupy mouthfeel with reduced carbonation. I could not drink too much of this but I would be willing to give this another try if a RBian thinks I had a bad bottle.
12oz bottle, snifter glass.

From the bottle, courtesy of Secret Santa 07, pours a hazy rich caramel color with a good, foamy white head, nice lacing down the sides. Aroma is of a candy apple. Sweet, caramel, almost like a creme brulee. Weird description, I know, but what are you gonna do? Very strong taste. Still got that creme brulee, very sweet taste, some alcohol, candy sugar. The bite is all in the beginning, making for a smooth aftertaste. Great beer. Thanks Santa!

12 oz bottle

Thanks to whomever sent this in a trade quite a while ago. I’ve been wanting to crack it open for months now. Part of me is glad to have done so. The other half regrets doing so as this one might just improve even more with age. Just be sure to fix the cap if yours is askew like mine was. This was from the special Ratebeer release (batch 64).

Aroma / Appearance - Sherry, vanilla and oak make it obvious that a barrel was involved in the process of aging this beer. Also strong are resin notes. Despite its age this one still has quite a lot going for it. The thin ash white head lingered for a long time before admitting defeat halfway through the bottle. Underneath was a cherry (wood) colored body with not much carbonation.

Flavor / Palate - The mouthfeel was thick and rich from the start. It filled the mouth and throat with great maltiness offset by a creamy vanilla profile. Caramel came next before the alcohol began to assert itself. I look forward to trying the regular version to see how it changed due to barrel aging. The sherry finish made me regret knocking off the dregs of the bottle. Hopefully there will be a future release of this so I can try it once again.

Bottle from Styles, batch 64. Nice cloudy brown with small head. Smell is very earthy. The taste is of dried fruits with malt and eartheness to it. Hope are represented as well. Has a nice bitter bite to is also. This is a very complex beer. WORD

Batch 64 (ratebeer edition). Pours a brown-ish orange murky color with thin white head. It has a big aroma with a nice thick oakiness with streams of creamy caramel seeping through the wood. I also get mild muted citrus and pine hops, a hint of yeast and more wood. First sip, darn this tastes good. It starts thick, malty and creamy caramel followed by a pile of dried out oak logs. Then the muted citrus hops show up and grow to an almost bitter note. Near the finish some dark fruity esters show up with the hops, creamy caramel and malts to add an extra flare to an already tasty mixture. YUM!!

Woddy brown colour with big white head. Smokey wood flavours. Sweet port rasin palate. Thanks John