Hair of the Dog Bourbon Fred from the Wood

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

Serve in Snifter

2011 bottle from doodler. Pour is murky, golden in color, and lacking any head. Thought this may have been carbonated. Sweet, syrupy aroma. Brown sugar, molasses, raisins, caramel. Whew!!! That is sweet, but I actually liking it. Taste is sweet with raisins, brown sugar, and some heat towards the finish. Wow... Big, sweet, and bordering on cloying to me. Still really fucking nice, but some carbonation would be nice.

Bottle shared by drabmuh. Served in a SAVOR wine glass. Pours a moderately-dark caramel color with a short off whiter head and a thin collar. The nose has bourbon and some slight oak tannin. Heavy malt and light caramel. Flavor is a bit more integrated with a touch less tannin. Medium body with low carbonation. Pretty good, but the bourbon takes over the base beer and is a bit too one-dimensional.

2011 bottle thanks to billshmeinke. Had hopes for some carbonation as there were bubbles in the neck of the bottle. Sadly they stayed there. Murky/hazed brown pour with a few stray bubbles. Some alcohol legs. Aromas are musty, bourbon, vanilla, saw dust. Very spicy oak impression (wonder what barrels they used). Alcohol, brown sugar. Medium esters and some minerals. Flavors show massive caramelization, brown sugar and maple syrup. Vanillin, spicy barrel, fruity with some currants. Thick and syrupy with mild carbonation. Warming. Tasty but would have been better with more bubbles. Good.

"Had this at a tasting tonight. 2011 edition poured into a Riedel Snifter compliments of Sam Adams. A - No head at all. The color looked just like a bourbon. Nut brown color with little fingers on the edges of the glass. Is this bourbon or beer? S - Candy, sugar, oak, bourbon and bread. The smell is really phenomenal! Pulls you right in. T - Bourbon, Mango, Brown Sugar and a TON of apples! I’m thinking Granny Smith. M - No carbonation and pretty thick O - I LOVED this beer. I’m going to give it a rating that alters the overall score and I feel bad about that but this beer really impressed me. The bottle was simply too small. If you LOVE bourbon, buy this and open fresh. Don’t bother aging it."

Pours amber red with a minimal head. Aroma american hops, plumes. In the best possible way. Not Bad.

Bottle shared by jckp64 at STL bbbb. Pour is really beautiful. It looks like butterscotch- deep slightly cloudy orange/ copper with only a few bubbles. Aroma is loaded with butterscotch, faint brown sugar, a touch of bourbon, light vanilla, and faint caramel malt. Flavor is much sweeter than expected up front with a potent raw sugar note up front. Then the magic happens...finish is so long and buttery butterscotch smooth. Man, it lasts forever and it it so enticing. The initially cloying sweetness is more than made up for by the incredible finish. Great stuff.

Bottle from John - thanks! Murky honey brown pour with slight bubbles on the edge of the glass. Very light and sparse carbonation but not totally flat. Aroma is smooth, even bourbon, vanilla, perhaps some brighter fruit notes, honey, toffee, and soft, sweet malt. Taste is delicious bourbon, honey, raisin, and a light alcohol whisper on the end. Thick, coating mouth feel. Excellent sipper that does not suffer from the low carbonation.

12oz bottle from goryshkewych. Cheers, George! Pours a clear copper with a tiny white head. Nose is vanilla, sweet malt, bourbon, wood, and toffee. All manner of good barley wine things. Flavor does not disappoint- vanilla, bourbon, caramel, toffee, and very little booze for a 12% beer. Enjoyable as hell, and a great nightcap.