Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)

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

bottle-one of the highlights from the tasting in the NM mountains just east of Albuquerque. pours a cinnamon hue with a beige head-rocky and nice looking. Aroma rings out simcoe hops, which is very unique for a barleywine! I love it! Big hoppy flavors that were pretty sweet, citric, tropical fruits and caramel notes from a good malt base. some alcohol heat in there as well (as it should for that high of abv). long hoppy finish with a malt base. I want a bottle to consume for myself!

04 Bottle - Deep chestnut brown, thick fizzy tan head. Intense rich nose of caramelized pineapple, brown sugar, pine, and citrus, with softer notes of earth, cherry, and apricot. Flavor was supper hopped up (pine, citrus, some earth) on the front side without any harsh bitterness, and balanced to near perfection with more sweet caramel, some dark fruit, and hints of toffee. Full bodied and chewy throughout, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. Absolutely fantastic...

2003 12 oz bottle. Thanks Kramer17801 for this bottle. I know I would never be able to age a beer like this, I would not have the control not to drink it. Murky Brown with a very nice head. Lacing lasted forever. Aromas of dark fruit, cherry and plum. Molassas in fthe flavor to accompany the fruit and the alcohol heat. Very tasty Barley Wine.

Bottle (2005). Pours bright crystal mahogany with huge fluffy off-white head. The aroma is pine, bark, apricot, and lots of spices. The flavor is ultra spicy: ginger, nutmeg, a ton of anise, licorice, tangerine. There are some ambient wood tones, too. The finish shows alcohol and smoke, and the aftertaste is more spice and crackers. There is a ridiculous amount of yeast sediment in the bottle... I poured it in eventually and don’t recommend it. Adds a very harsh yeast bite. Without the yeast it is pretty good, but too spicy for my tastes.

2003 bottle: poured dark caramel brown. Moderate darker beige head. Very malty aroma with dark fruits, brown sugar, alcohol. Full bodied flavor with big malt and a nice balance of hoppiness. Slightly sweet. A very nice beer. Definitely a sipper.

Mostly clear and copper in color with a thin, skittish head. Nice lacing as we go. Aroma is of caramel, amaretto, sherry, wood chips, alcohol, maple, rose petals and lavender. Rich and sweet flavor. Some maple fudge sweetness and density similarities. I like how this one lingers at first sip. Lip smacking brown sugar, syrupy accents and a little bit of honeysuckle roses. Heavy, think and oily on the palate and well-balanced. Sugary herbal resonance. Best effort I’ve seen from this brewery to date.

Didn’t pay any attention to the bottled year so guessing this one. (update: 2004) Cloudy amber body with a nice head. Huge strong malty aroma. Dark fruits, caramel, chocolate come from that. Definitely a bitter Barley Wine since there was also a noticeable hop presence. Despite the hop bitterness and the 11.5%, this went down like nothing. It was one of the best Barley Wines I’ve had.

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