Hair of the Dog Rose Cassis

Formerly brewed at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Portland, Oregon USA

2005 edition thanks to Eric. Pours a...what the hell is this? A red-strawberry color like a thick milkshake. A bubbly pink-white head. The aroma is interesting; strawberry, cassis, sweet berries and some odd alcohol. The flavor is interesting as well; tart cassis, sourness, wood, strawberry milkshake, super weird. A huge amount of pink particulates, soupy. Not bad, very unique.

Sampled this at a gathering of beer aficionados this evening. Colour... cloudy beyond measure and an interesting aubergine colour with a thin off white head. Nose... hmmmmm....slightly wine-like, but a non-vinifera fruit wine. Tartness and berry fragrances on the nose as well. Palate... initially tart and acetic but it dissipates quickly to a musky-yeasty quality. I didn’t pick up much currant until it hit my soft palate, but even then it seemed a bit weak. I wonder how it tasted when it was young.

Bottle... Poured a murky, dull pink with a tiny head. Fruity, wine-like aroma. Very tart and sour with strong wine-like notes. A little bitterness from the alcohol which the fruit fermentation certainly endorsed. Some yeast and malt grains in the finish. Some berry flavors too but a lot of it seemed to have burned off with the aging of the bottle conditioned.

12oz Bottle. Thanks Andy! The color of strawberry puree, hazy and ringed in soft white lace. Aroma is puckery and filled with raspberry and strawberry jam, backed with a little fresh squeezed dark juice. Malt melds well and retains some strong yeast notes. Flavor is tart and slightly seedy dry. Acidic, dry and tart, like raspberry seed jam on rye toast. Rather dry and a bit high and dusty. Flavorful, but I don’t feel like the fruit melds well with the beer base. I want more currants, otherwise this is fine.

12 oz. bottle - thanks to cschwaz (i think)!! hazy orange with thin white head; musky, oaky, dry and tart; cherry and wood mixed with stale malt; love the texture, but flavor is quite odd here; interesting to say the least

2005 bottle. Poured an odd shade of murky purplish-brown with a lovely initial cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up rich, aged, slightly sour currants, lemon rind, and clovey spices over a pale and lesser bready base.. lots of engaging fruit. The flavor was also dominated by the currants and was rather sour the whole way through.. pale malts and meaty berries provided the core.. finished with more tart berries and peppery warmth. Heavier-bodied with rolling carbonation across the palate.. tart on all fronts from the berries (got kind of oppressive at times).. overall a good and interesting brew!

This poured terribly cloudy with shades of dark red and brown. The nose showed off lots of cassis and was quite enjoyable. In the mouth it was dry with a cardboard-like flavor mixed with chocolate in malt. The finish was quick and simple but overall this was an enjoyable enough beer.

2005 Bottle - Pours a murky purple with floaties, large head that has the color if you mixed purple and brown (not sure what to call that color)...aroma is tart, fruit and raw grain, flavour bites back, sour and acidic, the currants are everpresent, but the rest is muddled and sharp...I really enjoyed this when I had it last year, a much different experience, and I don’t know if time in the bottle will continue to change this puppy...a great experience, but certainly one to share with a few friends...