Hair of the Dog Dave

Formerly brewed at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Portland, Oregon USA

Rating #1700! 375ml bottle. I can’t thank Jason enough for bringing this! pours dark brown with no head. awesome aroma, touches of soy but mostly port wine and maple syrup, caramel, toasty, and chocolate. wonderful nose. flavors are surprisingly really chocolately, bourbon, maple syrup, raisins, earthy, and port. very sticky, a bit boozy but this is so smooth and the alcohol is very very well hidden. i couldn’t believe it was this drinkable. this lives up to the hype for sure.

Tasted in Seattle during Hard Liver fest. Absolutely amazingly delicious for a beer of this abv...like a Stille Nacht or Samichlaus on steroids, super rich, sweet with plums, prunes, dates, raisins, figs, chocolate, vanilla, toffee, wood, nuts, port. Smooth, rich, sweet finish...big and lovely

Big thanks to Tertons for sharing a couple oz of this 2 weeks ago. Pours a clearish soy sacue looking body, almost no carb, practically still with absolutely sick legs on the glass- definitely viscous as hell, for a beer. Aroma is tons ofbrown sugar, only slight signs of oxidation, mild on the sherry notes, just insane sugary sweetness, tons of thick sweet caramel malts and tons of fortified munich malt toastiness and full sweet character- notes of maple, leather, oak aged rum, and some vodka-alcohol hints. Fruity flavor, some pear, fig, raisin, date, tons of brown sugar, molaasses, and maple syrup- as it breathes a bit- thereis a shit load of raw wildflower honey all over the place with more hints of earth, leather, and some like campfire smoke. I get a nice sharp alcohol kick on the tip of the tongue, and it warms my mouth and stomach as I drink, but the alcohol isnt out of control- yet you know it is there- it just fits in nicely, unlike a 23% wws. Great beer which lives up to the hype. I really enjoyed this.

Very huge thanks to tertons for sharing this treat. Poured a clear brown with a copper edge and no head. The aroma is of aged malt with a pleasant oxidation. Notes of molasses, wood, tannins, brown sugar and some alcohol fumes. The flavor is of sweet malt and woody tannins that I take come from the aging. No alcohol pepper taste but you feel the bite of it. Silky soft full mouthfeel. Great warmth but smooth like a nice liquor

Huge thanks to tertons for offering to share this! Nelson, you da man. Pour is mud brown with no head. Leaves an oily residue in the glass. Thick and ominous. Mostly boozy aroma but faint caramel and chocolate too. Woah! This is hot. Alcoho sweetness and not much else. Despite the power, this is smooth and drinkable.

2oz sample from a 375ml clear bottle: Pours a still, viscous, transparent dark copper amber mahogany with nice legs. Rich aroma of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, maple syrup and raisins along with a touch of toasted malt and slightly warming alcohol. Body starts very rich, full and dense with good caramel sweetness and complex peanut brittle flavors. Flavor has hints of tobacco and honey before a semi-dry slightly toasty finish with noticable, but not overpowering warmth and a touch of mint. I sampled this alongside a 2007 Sam Adams Utopias and this was earthier and much drier with some woody notes, but hid the alcohol much better than the Utopias. Overall, a very unique and complex beer that I was glad to have the chance to try. I hope Alan gets a chance to recreate this on a larger, less expensive scale.

375mL bottle, courtesy of tertons. Can’t really thank you enough for sharing this, Nelson. A great weekend in CT. Pours a murky, oily brownish color with golden edges; gorgeous, thick legs; headless. Enormous, boozy, intense, nose-singing aroma; maple syrup, brown sugar, and sweet burnt sugar cookiess; very interesting, if a bit overtly alcoholic (but who’s surprised for 29%?); some raisins amidst loads of brown sugar. Unquestionably full mouthfeel: enormous brown sugar notes and maple syrup; sweet, chewy cordial-like character and warming, mouthcoating maltiness; intense, tasty stuff without suffering from anything overly sweet; alcohol is more resigned than the nose suggests. Memorable stuff. Very reminiscent of a more refined, clearly expressed Utopias. Lengthy, lasting finish: intense, chewy brown sugar, maple syrup, and very sweet intense maltiness without being sticky; well-restrained for the alcohol.

A big time thanks to tertons for sharing this amazing beer with me. Pours black and still. Smells of caramel, toffee, hints of complimentary oak, hints of fruit, touches of pepper, bananas, some touches of cherries. Tastes boozy with some caramel, sweet malt, touches of toffee, chocolate, raisins, hints of cognac. Finish yields an earthy sting.