Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Thanks to beastiefan2k for bringing this to the heavyweight open house - actually quite a low alcohol brew to come from these guys, and very heavy considering it - most IIPAs can only hope to reach this kind of balance - there isn’t much to add, the grapefruit/citrus character and chewy, caramel malt flavor expected of this style is all there in perfect preportion - you can’t really state in language the superior quality of a brew like this - just trust me...it kicks ass.

Poured a hazy golden color with a small,. white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine, citrus fruits, toffee malts, and some floral hops. Taste of pine, some caramel malt, citrus fruit, grapefruit, grassy hops, toffee, and a medium bitter, citrus finish.

On draft, this was much more subdued than I would have expected. Its appearance was hazy, and somehow, hazy was the overall impression I formed of its flavor. A murky, muddled mix of PNW hops and light malt. Good, but it failed to present a distinct flavor which I could hang on to.

On tap at Horse Brass. I found out later at a brewery tour that this beer now accounts for almost half of HotD’s production. Thick cloudy looking dark yellow like yeast mud. Thin head and lacing. Gentle hop aroma hypnotizes the brain. Alcohol is well hidden. Thick and flavourful in the mouth. You can almost chew the hops. Delicious. Strong but restrained.

Thanks to Goldtwins for sharing this! Pours a clear orange that holds up an average sized sticky white head. Citrus dominates the aroma with a good malt back up in the distance. Lots of malt, but the hop bitterness over rides it in this brew. Stays nicely bitter all the way through to a good dry finish.

Bottle: Red gold pour with a huge head comprised of big, soapy bubbles that instantly recede. It took a steady hand to decant this bomber without disturbing the half-inch of yeast on the bottom of the bomber. I did manage to get about 2/3 of the brew into my tulip before the yeasties let loose and ruined the last third. The nose on this is phenomenal - soft perfume, rose petals, mango, grapefruit and piney grass. Yum. The body is undercarbed and comes off as being mushy and light. The mild malt middle helps balance the continued onslaught of hops, but fizzes out in the finish as the hops become grassy and real bitter. Kind of ruins the flow of this DIPA for me. Strong alcoholic presence in the finish as well. Great aroma, disappointing from there though.

Sampled on draft at the HotD Brewery. Sipped this one while discussing it with Alan Sprints. This beer gets its name from an astronaut’s description of what the earth looks like from space. An American hop bomb that is oh so drinkable for the style. An enjoyable beer and a good conversation.

A nice big grassy hop aroma. A nice golden orange. A taste that is both sweet and sour ant the amde time. The alcohol seemed to come through more than the 7% and kinda pushed the malt aaround but a good brew none the less.

Smells like Barbie’s dream car. Light creamy orange. Hazed orange body with a thin sticky head. I could smell this for hours. Light boozy cream grapefruit and grass taste. Very dry finish. Hop tea. Ap-3 ar-8 tas-7 pal-3 ov-16

(22oz bottle, thanks Goldtwins) Cloudy apple juice body with medium white head. Aroma is medium sweet, pine/grapefruit, some orange. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, grassy, sharp bitterness. Chewy medium-full body. Malt? We don’t need no stinkin’ malt!