Hair of the Dog Adam from the Wood

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

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2011 bottle. Poured rich root beer brown with a short, swirly yellowy-beige head. The aroma picked up sweet, spicy, peppery bourbon over toasted molasses, chocolate, and ashy malts.. barrel warmth filled the back of the nose.. coconut rounded it out perfectly at the very end. The flavor found sweet bourbon, vanilla, and coconut at the core, with peppery notes, charred oak, and tangy fruit skins around.. finished toasty and oaky with warm peppery alcohol and rich sugars. Heavier-bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. warm and malty.. loved it!

12oz from the brewery A: Sits down in the glass. Dark brown and somewhat murky. Stains the glass. N: Lots of smoke, bourbon, leather, and tobacco. Dark chocolate, brown sugar, and some dark cherry. Caramel and vanilla. T: Superb blend of smoke and chocolate and sugar. Very balanced in terms of some sweetness, bitterness, and some salt. M: Thick and carbonated. Easily drinkable for its ABV. O: Doing really well. Drained this way too fast considering th price tag. Good thing there’s more.

Bottle @ ZeeBra Extreme Beer Festival 2013. Brown pour. Aroma of creamy bourbon, slightly spicy, vanilla, ripe fruits. Flavor is smooth and with a huge balance. Very well drinkable, amazing complexity. Some licorice in the finish. Lovely brew.

Dark brown body and small lace. Refined chocolate aroma, raisins, bit of wood, cacao. Nice. Warming alcohol, roasted malts. Balancing yet powerful taste. Brilliant, stunning. (ZeeBra)

Bottle, from trade with MtGoat. Pours a deep dark mahogany brown body with a tiny white head. Aroma is smooth bourbon tones, deep caramel and brown sugars, nuts and hints of chocolate. Taste is bourbon woody caramel and syrup notes. Very compact and a bit one-dimensional IMO (although I’m normally a sucker for bourbon BA beers). The palate, however, is what suffers the most: complete flatness does nothing for this brew. Bourbon aside, this beer is nowhere near the score it has, unless I’ve been really unlucky with this particular bottle; a high ABV beer like this should withstand a cross-Atlantic journey - or two!

12oz bottle at Hair Of The Dog. 2011 Vintage. Pours a dark brown color with no head. A wonderful aroma of oak, spice and sweetness. Much smoother than the regular Adam. The flavors are full, but all come together in an amazing blend of yum.

2011 bottle at Brouwer’s. Was super stoked to try this one. Dark brown pour with a ruby color against the light, with little to no head. Nose is huge - fuzzy chocolate, oak, bourbon, vanilla, and caramel-drenched boozy dark fruits. Maybe the slightest hint of apple. A bit of coconut in the flavor, some leather and dust. Wow. Huge aroma, huge flavor - this one just blew me away.

Bottle, dark amber brown color with tight tan foam, aroma is chocolate, malty bourbon, vanilla, flavor is chocolate, malty, bourbon, rich cream, leather, tobacco pouch, great finish

UPDATED: FEB 15, 2013 Rating 2500. 2011 twelve oz bottle. pours a deep dark mahogany plum hue with a tiny, quickly fading tan head. aroma of big, luscious tobacco, deep bourbon, vanilla kissed wet oak. molasses. anise. hint of soy sauce. loving the pipe tobacco, cigar character along the big wet bourbon oak. taste is big potent raw tobacco, tar, smoke, raisins, plummy pit fruits backed by a pleasant oaky bourbon booze. warming. bourbon is well integrated. the lovely characteristics of regular adam shine through nicely. like this BAL version of adam better than matt, cherry adam. a sticky bourbon leather chocolate goodness coats the mouth. like this just fine. prefer regular adam. a tad thinned out and a prick might even say flabby at times. very good. but regular adam is tough to improve upon, as it is, for all intensive purposes, perfect. Besides, Who cares? Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential.

12oz bottle from cavemanlawyer, thanks James! 2011 Vintage. Pours a dark brown colored body with a slight mahogany hue. Thin, creamy, tan head that dissipates quickly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is awesome. Plump, deep caramels with some chocolate and lots of wood and bourbon. A good amount of tannins from the wood, but not overly so at this point in the aging. Some leathery tobacco with a touch of char, prunes, raisins, toast, molasses, hints of vanilla, and just a slight alcohol note. Flavor is just as nice with maybe a bit more wood showing up. Rich, deep caramels, wood, bourbon, a light molasses, and some chocolate up front. A few prunes and raisins in the middle before some leathery tobacco comes in with a slightly smokey note. Just a touch of vanilla before this finishes dry and smokey, woody, slightly boozy, and somewhat rich. Lengthy, warm aftertaste following a fuller body and a soft, light carbonation. Overall, a really well done beer. Lots of barrel notes, but plenty of plump malts and a nice tobacco presence to keep the wood in check. Complex, balanced, and very tasty. I still like the regular Adam better, but this was pretty awesome.