Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

Courtesy trade with Chewy. Thanks man! Yet another beer I thought I’d only read about. A nice barley wine and a lot more drinkable than most. Aroma was good. All caramel with nothing else. Pour was perfect. A thick and soupy mix with no bubbles and a light tan film for a head. Looks like sewage and that is fine with me. It’s actually intimidating. Taste was very mellow and easy to drink. This beer tastes like a liquified Sugar Daddy. It’s all sweet caramel malt with no hops present. Just a hint of carbonation rounds this beer out. Very interesting. Imagine drinking a glass of lightly carbonated caramel and you have this beer.

Bottle from South Bay Drugs and Liquor. There was a bold and upfront aroma of lightly citrus scented hops and sweetness from a sugary caramel malt. Appearance is a glowing mahogany color with a firm development of foam head but it will die out after some time has passed. The flavor is extremely sweet and also possesses a bitter hop profile that creates a sticky resin coat inside my mouth .

Wow, this is a flat-out phenomenal beer. Pours a cloudy orangish amber color with a small head. Hop aromas jump out at you immediately along with a honey sweetness. Flavor is fresh hops up front - Simcoe and Amarillo work well together - then lots of wild honey along with caramel malts. Alcohol is present but well hidden. Smooth palate. Some sediment remains at the end, not that it detracts from the beer at all.

’08 bottle Pours hazy dark amber, caramel, nutty, fruity, alcohol, little gritty, little citrus peel, little hoppy. Rerate at Toronado Barleywine Fest. Smoother, better all around. My favorite of what I tasted that day.

’08 bottle. Completely opaque, murky tan-grapefruit red, small white head gone quickly. Strong fruit nose that’s bitingly citric: sour grapefruit is most dominant, some light caramel and nut with warmth, but it’s not entirely cohesive, something dragging. It reminds me a bit of DFH120. Flavor is similar except there is far more balance and the fruit takes on a slightly lactic, sweet note in the finish. Unique to say the least.

Bottle. Courtesy of tomthompson. 2006. pours a murky coffee & cream color. Hoppy, caramel, boozy, butter scotch. Last beer of a long Saturday night @ the Coles Rare Beer Fest

2006 Bottle thanks to MrChopin. Just looking at the bottle, I knew I was in for a murky treat. It poured a muddy, semi-bright brown with orange hues. Zero head. Looked like a strong English Breakfast tea with milk in it. Intimidating, actually, but made me curious. Instead of making me think of caramel flavor, this smelled and tasted like sweet, complex caramel. Big Amarillo hop presence, too. The combination of the hops and malt added up to a really nice creamy bready fruit taste. Mixture of dark and lighter fruit notes. Bit of butterscotch that could perhaps indicate some oxidation. Nice bitter finish. Thin body, but overall this was a treat.

Pours a dark amber, almost brown color. Head is beige and dense. Hop aromas of grass and earth come through, while the more citric hoppiness blends with the intense honeyed malt character. Flavor is sweet with caramel and honey notes. Some raisin bread and an earthy finish with medium bitterness. Warming but not too viscous. Nice drinkability.