Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

Bottled (2005, thanks kenb!). Nut brown colour with particles floating around, mediumsized creamy beige head. Aroma is about the same as Fred but has some very sweet (s sweet it’s hard to tell if it’s sour) stuff included. Flavour is alcohol, sweet caramel, yeast, lots of hops and honey. Somehow, pouring the yeast into this one seems to be a mistake, as the yeast gives very strong flavour. Alcohol does it’s "warming" in this one. Somehow, though "only" 10% Fred seemed much smoother to the flavours. And no, it is not bad even though I write some "negative" things in the rating.

2004 12oz bottle bought recently at the Foodery. Pours a cloudy brown, with a large head. Smells kind of like fred but with fruit. Aroma of caramel and sweet, dark fruit, with perfumy hops. Medium to full body and sticky texture. Taste nearly bowls you over with the sweet fruits. Also has caramel and a little hops. Long, sweet finish, with a little alcohol.

Pours an amber color with a white head. Aroma is of sweet malts and hops. Flavor is sweet right off which melds into bitter hops. Good barley wine.

From the bottle pours mahogany with little carbonation. Big hoppy nose. Grapefruit hops dominate with a very fresh charachter, balancing the malt and keeping down the sweetness. Very nice.

Bottled. Murkey dark brown coloured with a medium sized head. Sweet and a bit alcoholic. Well balanced with notes of dark fruits, caramel, malts, vanilla and brown sugar. Slight hint of citrus and hops.

Bottle of 2004 version in 12/2006. Pours a murky deep brownish with sustained tan head. Big aroma! Beautiful sweet chocolatey aroma with thick toffee notes. Big creamy body. Nice and complex blend of thick caramel like maltyness and a very well sustained hop presence over the 2 years. Subtle minty character from the smooth bitterness, subtle tart citurs character. Warming, and just beautiful.

2004 bottle shared at the CL RB gathering. Hazy amber/brown in color. Aroma: Heavy caramel and sweet malts and a touch of citrus. Taste is sweet malts- caramel, and some citrus fruits, vanilla. some acohol warm in the finish. excellent barleywine.

2005 Bottle. Poured out like a mississipi river flood. After a few minutes I noticed a milimeter layer of yeast forming in the bottom of my glass that I don’t normally see from a bottle conditioned beer and there was still yeast in solution). Foamy head which doesn’t last more than a minute, or so. Has the wonderful scent just like when you cut open a vacuum sealed bag of hops from your favorite homebrew store. I could smell that all day long! Kind of a light flavor for a barleywine. My Total Score for this beer does NOT reflect what I’d give it if I only gave one number. The beautiful aroma brought elevated it to that level, and I just can’t lower the aroma. At $5 a bottle may not be likely to buy it again.