Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2001-2002)

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

Serve in Snifter

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12 oz. bottle - part of a 2001-2008 vertical w/ Skoi, Terry, bvc, riversideak and after4ever; like tom said, an excellent investment at the november ’08 dock sale; the eight years lined up in 48 snifters was quite the sight; thank you Alan for gracefully aging these for us!!

the 2001 came in with very mild carbonation and light gold; the 2001 & 2002 were quite lighter than the other years, obviously marking some of the recipe changes; nose of apples and sherry; drank smooth and soft with no heat at all; sugar not as strong as the current recipe; lots of fruit with some spice from the booze on the finish

2002 has the same light gold hue with more carbonation; a little more fruit, but less of the obvious apple; not as spicy from the booze; preferred the ’01 for sure

12-oz bottle of 01, cracked April 09. Pours a crystal clear bright amber with caramel highlights. Headless and laceless. Very leggy. Huge caramel, apple, sherry/port, and a bit of booze on the nose. Creamy medium flat body. Nuts, caramel, port/sherry, apples, and honey on the mid-palate. Mild bitter finish. Amazing stuff. Shared this as part of a full DC vertical with Skoi, Terry, BVC, Alex, and Ben. That vertical quickly established itself as one of the best investments any of us had ever made in beer. Well done, Mr Sprints.

Bottle shared by Daknole. Clear golden pour with off-white perma-head. Nice honeyed aroma is just lovely and shockingly smooth with the barest hint of welcome oxidation denoting maturity. Nice quaffable mouthfeel. Delightful, absolutely brilliant English-style barleywine with attendant sublime mouthfeel, superior quaffability and an absolutely brilliant hop character in the finish. How the hops survived so well all these years is a miracle. I loved this beer, thank you so much Daknole.

Bottle, shared with Oakes and Beershine. Pours a cloudy amber color with a small whtie head. Nice aroma of honey, floral hops, fruit, and caramel. This bottle had hardly any oxidation and had stood the test of time very, very well. Flavors of honey, hops, caramel and some nutiness is present. damn fine beer. Now I wait to try a Matt!!!

Bottle, sampled at Woodshop Quad. I wrote down that it was an 02 bottle, though I was pretty drunk at that point. Pours a hazy amber with a thick fluffy white head. Rich aroma, of malt, citrus hops, dark fruits, and caramel. Big taste, of malt, hops, herbs, caramel, citrus, and pine. Lingering hoppy malt flavors. Very nice.

2002 bottle. Pours hazy amber with a large, frothy, off-white head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (cookie, toasted bread, straw), heavy hops (perfume, flowers), average yeast (dough) with notes of heavy alcohol, wood, and apple. Full bodied, sticky and alcoholic texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness.

Big ol’ 2001 bottle shared at the RB City Beer party, pours attractive opaque ruddy brown with thin cream colored head. Flavorful and sweet with an earthy finish that was a bit hot.

2002 vintage. Thanks Jason! The beer pours to a hazy glowing amber body with a coating off-white head and spotted lacing. The aroma is complexly caramelized and oxidized hops. Very nice however. The flavor is malty with some soapy hops and earthiness. The palate is medium bodied and has a slightly bitter hop to it. Nicely textured.

In short: A tired smooth fruity strong ale. Past due date.
How: Vintage bottle, post-Dark-Lord-Day 2008 party. Unknown generous soul.
The look: Murky orangey body topped by an off-white ring of foam
In long: Sugary sweetness and a lot of fruity flavours with no specific fruits really coming out. Less oxidized than most beer its age but the beer is passed due date. If there was a hop bite it is long gone and the body/mouthfeel/carbonation felt very tired. Alcohol well concealed. Didn’t fell like a Barley Wine. I had put away the notebook but despite my advanced drunken state I had to pull it back out when that rare threat showed up unexpectedly. But with a rare beer like that opportunity only knock once, if I hear a second knock it’s probally a Jehovah’s witness.

12oz bottle. 2002 vintage. Poured a medium orange color with a huge sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, dark fruits, some oxidation but not really detracting, and nuts. Tastes of caramel, dark fruits, toffee, nuts, and lightly earthy. Alcohol content well hidden. I think this one has seen better days, but not bad as it is.