Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

Bottle from aracauna, batch 64. The pour was much more tame than regular HoDF, yet for a barrell aged production, pretty carbonated, steady bubbles rising in the hazy orange/amber body, light peach colored head, great retention, sticks around, laces well, almost continuously on the walls within an inch of the surface anyway. The aroma was a gentle blend of oak, maple, caramel, and pine. The flavor was zingy piney brandy, wet wooden oak, caramel, molasses, vanilla, tobacco, and all sorts of light fruit notes of somewhat indistinguishable (peaches, apricots?) character for each sip, and even some darker fruits (rum soaked raisins). The alcohol was quite smooth and gentle, but this thing got a little liquor-bwine sweet, despite a good zingy piney hop finish with prickly carbonation. Sure, it’s all part of the style, so it’s not a killer, but it did keep this from knocking my socks off. A much better experience than my earlier singleton w/ regular HoDF, but that could also be in part due to evolving taste buds. Thanks, Jacob!

(Bottle, thanks BierKönig) Pours amber with a small off white head. Complex but strange aroma of seafood, lemon and dill. Wood tones of vanilla, butter and hints of coconut. Also a quite malty nose of caramel and toffee. Fruits and dried fruit notes of oranges, prunes, apricots, ripe cherries and slightly unripe mangos. Undertones of tobacco, sticky sweet liquorice, boiled carrots, some alcohol warmth and a subtle spiciness. Woody and malty flavour with tones of butter, vanilla, coconut, caramel, some cookies and a hoppy backdrop of sour/bitter lemons and oranges. Quite vinous and port like. Rather fruity in the flavour as well with tones of plums, cherries, mango and apricots. Hints of tobacco, smoke and mint. Medium to full sweet and medium bitter with a light sourish edge. Round and sticky mouthfeel. Medium dry finish. Lingering afterbitterness with wood tones hanging on until the morning light. Medium to full bodied. Oh, how we like the Hair of the dog brewery, not everything is great but they always provide you with a unique and somewhat un-American (even though the US is our favourite beer country) experience.

++++ Re-Rate 18 March 2009 ++++
12 oz bottle from mj / Cletus (received one from each of these guys recently). Pour is cloudy orange golden ruby with a perfectly formed one inch off white head. Thick lacing forms and sticks on the side of the glass. Very pretty. Aroma of the vanilla oak barrel, fresh cut wood, citrus fruit, resin raisin sweet maltiness, all really nicely melded. Taste is the honey raisin sweet maltiness, toasted and biscuity - followed quickly by floral orange citrus and a pretty heavy dose of the fresh oak woodiness. The alcohol is apparent in the back of the swallow. Very full flavored, everything works nicely together. Palate is sticky, medium to heavy with a long satisfying aftertaste. I think I like how the age mellowed out the previous sample I had, but this one fresh is delicious as well - in a different, more vibrant way. Hair of the Dog pretty much never lets me down. Thanks Mike or John. (9,5,8,4,18 - 4.4)

++++ Original Rating 7 November 2007 ++++
Rating #600. 12 oz. bottle from CaptainCougar. Batch #64 - ratebeer special release. Pour is a hazy orange-ruby color with a smallish (1/3 inch) off white head. There is quite a bit of carbonation, tiny bubbles which continued to climb up the edge of my glass for almost 35 minutes after the pour. Aroma of sour-sweet fruit, some raisin, even some orange citrus. Malt is also very present in the nose; big, round, and biscuity. Just a hint of the oak wood barrel. Taste is immediately the sweet, sour citrus hop and the biscuit malt. The buttery oak really comes out in the finish and the after taste is almost smoky (not really roasty - more burnt). Sounds odd, but was a really nice compliment to the flavor. Really soft on the palate. So many flavors, yet still very elegantly balanced. No hint of heat whatsoever. Beautifully made beer. Thanks for this one Tom. (9,4,9,5,18 - 4.5)

Huge thanks to KP for giving this to me unsolicited when we met up in Asheville. Very generous guy! Pours a caramel brown color, with a small, swirly off white head. Really wonderful nose. Big toffee, oak, caramel malts, raisins, yeast, and other dark fruits all compliment each other well. Tons going on here, very complex! The flavor had a good little intensity to it. Just slightly tart, with a big oaky, caramel character backing it up. Fairyl easy drinking for such big alcohol. The barleywine characters are really mellowed from the oak aging, but the flavor has really been enhanced because of it in my opinion. Awesome brew!

Courtesy mgumby10. Thanks Mike! Holy mother....this is a badass beer! Cloudy, dark orange-amber body with swirly, sedimentary layers. Minimal wispy film for a head. Thin snakes of lacing line the glass randomly. The aroma is absolutely perfect. If God himself designed a perfect scent, this would be it. I sniffed this beer for a good 10 minutes before I took a sip. Where do I start? Toffee, caramel, candied walnuts, candied pecans, brown sugar, oak, vanilla, and cream all flood the nose. I could go on and on about the richness and complexity of the aroma. It basically smells like a masterfully crafted, sweet, nut coated dessert. The flavor is more of the same. Sweet, though it has just enough hoppy punch to make it very palatable. Nuts of seemingly every variety play a prominent role. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts, all coated in brown sugar and lightly caramelized. The oak adds a smoothing vanilla quality, while the perfect amount of hops add a subtle balance to this malt monster. Medium-full bodied and smooth as silk. Fantastic beer! Damn near perfect. Thanks again Mike!

bottle from zathrus13. Batch 64. Pours hazy dark amber with thin beige head that last for the entire tasting. Nose is incredibly complex with toffee, caramel, sweet plums, and strong woody notes. Taste is as good and complex as the aroma let you expect. bitterness and alcool are well integrated in this wonderful beer. I want more! Many thanks to Jeff for this one!

Thanks to Jim for sharing this at Mullmans. Took me that long to post this. So this is Fred but from the woods. Deep in the wood emerges fred. Been hibernating so long he has so much energy that her really packs a punch to whatever he touches. Freds natural fruity, malty, spicy start infused with the dark molasses oak is wonderful. Very heavy, I would share even a 12oz. Also because I would want whoever I was with to try some of this badder boy.

Bottle from NYBEER, thanks! Batch 64. Pour is deep orange with a nice off white head and nice lacing. Nose is heavy wood, floral citrus and wine like. Flavor is woody and bitter with some sweetness coming along in the finish. Mouthfeel is full and creamy. Oak flavor and aroma increase with warming.