Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

Serve in Snifter

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2010 bottle. Aroma of fig, brown sugar, honey, hotd, caramel. Pours murky amber, loads of off-white head with great retention that leaves behind irregular lacing. Taste: really nice. Some oxidation, great balance of sweetness with an appropriate level of citrus hop bitterness at the end to cut in and keep it from being cloying. Unlike the 2012 bottle, this is well-carbonated. Full body, sticky texture. Overall: rich caramel sticky sweet goodness. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

2012 bottle consumed in 2013. Dark copper, hazy (sediment jumped up a bit when I opened this lively bottle), beige head. Aroma of toffee and burnt sugar, raisins/prunes, leather. Flavor is deeply malty with more toffee, dark fruits, tobacco/leather, warming alcohol (but not hot), some nutty/biscuity notes. Very nice.

355 ml bottle received in trade. Thank you pushkinwow! Gusher! Pours hazy deep golden with lots of yeast floating around. Head is big, frothy goldenish white and slowly dissipates while leaving some thick sticky lacing and trace on the glass. Smell is sweet, malty and fruity with caramel, prunes, raisins, alcohol, toffee, biscuits, honey, grapefruit rinds, lemon zest, sweet dark bread and hints of floral perfume. Taste is sweet, bitter, malty and fruity with biscuits, caramel, toffee, golden syrup, toasted malts, sweet dark bread, pine needles, charred wood, vanilla fudge, grapefruit rinds, grass, resin, figs, dates, raisins, honey, alcohol, leather and hints of dried apricots. Mouthfeel is soft, creamy, silky, tiny astringent and full bodied. Finish is sweet, bitter and malty with caramel, toffee, sweet dark bread, honey, grapefruit rinds, pine needles, resinous wood and lots of dried dark fruits. Very nice heavy beer!

Rating #300. Pours dark brownish red and hazy. Aroma is plum, brown sugar, dates, and cabernet. Taste is dark fruits, burnt sugar, molasses, figs, and a sherry like booze flavor. Complex yet smooth.

UPDATED: APR 29, 2013 Tap @ HOTD. Mahogney color with a creamy dense off-white head. Super fresh hop aroma with notes of caramel and brown sugar. Light sweetness, some caramel flavor, citrus and some light toast. Very enjoyable barleywine with some hop flavor.

Bottles 12oz., 2006 and 2012 vintages. 2006: Pours deep amber with no head. Aroma is of madeira, fruits, chocolate. Taste is of cardboard, oxydation, fruits, warming alcohol, madeira, metal, spices, bitterness. Palate: Full bodied. Overall: Good. Nearly over the hill. I guess a 5 yo bottle would have been better. Vintage 2012: Pours deep amber with almost no head. Aroma is of fruits, malt, green apple, sweetness. Taste is of fruits, sugar, bitterness, citrus, caramel, warming alcohol. Palate: Full bodied, sticky, very sugary. Overall: I would have though that the fresher hops would have balance that one for good results. This is not the case. I prefer the oxidated bottle (OUCH!). (2012: 6.3.7.3.13)

Really good barleywine...super well balanced with a lot of flavor. Palate of dark fruit, hops, booze, some oak, and maybe a little tobacco. Dry sticky finish. Note, this was 2011, so aged about 18 months.

bottles shared by tom 10101, thanks! 2006 and 2012 vintages tasted side by side. this rating focuses on the earliest version by appreciating the hereafter rationale: it is ready to drink and that majority of buyers will enjoy the product relatively young. pours hazy copper without a head. chocolate, dark fruits, awkward spices, off-apples and cloying caramel, some prunes, few garbagy and earthy notes. soft to flat carbonation, medium body - syrupy, cloying, short grassy-spicy-peppery finish. 2006 vintage: 7-2-7-3-14. not one i will seek for, neither for the declensions..

Bottle (12 oz) 2006 and 2012 vintage, side by side. Both from Daniel, thanks! 2006: Clear amber, no head. Aroma of Madeira, fruits, sweetness, caramel and slight herbal notes. Taste is moderately sweet with caramel, fruits, Madeira and cardboard. Moderate to heavy body. Sirupy. Warming alcohol. No flat, but pretty damn near. Lack of balance. No drinkability, even for the style but quite complex. Not bad, but I wouldn’t seek another bottle of this. Far from a top-10 BW. 2012: Clear amber, no head. Aroma of green apple, sweetness, fruits and hops. Taste is moderately sweet with chocolate, fruits and green apple off-flavor. Moderate to heavy body. Sirupy. Warming alcohol. No flat, but pretty damn near. Lack of balance. No drinkability, even for the style and not super-enjoyable... I wasn’t able to finish my glass. 3-6-6-3-13

Bottles of 05-07, and 09-11 courtesy of blipp at a tasting at Andy’s. Various ones poured anywhere from a clear ruby tinged brown (’03) to a murky and muddy brown (’11), some with a bit of a yellow beige head, some with no head. Newer ones start to slowly develop a bigger hoppiness. 03 was full of sweet old plums and prunes, loads of oxidization. Warm and chewy, cocoa dusted fruit leather, a bit warm but very gentle with the alcohol. Sweet warm umami into the finish. Lovely stuff. Really neat to try all of the different versions.