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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2004 draught @ Redbones, 12/2004. Brilliant appearance! Deep ambers, bright oranges, soft yellows and light mahogany all swirl about in a heavily transluscent sea of viscous liquid. Large, creamy, sticky, lasting beige head. Not only does it leave behind sheets of sticky lacing, but the liquid itself coats the glass and is slow to let go. Aroma showcases a moderate yeastiness (lightly musty earthy tones) a good dose of residual sugars, and plenty of sweet brown malts. Lots of chocolate, prunes, light wininess and perhaps a touch of wood-like smoke. Hops are quite restrained on the nose, with just a touch of bittersweet notes coming through. Flavor begins with a huge caramel-toffee sweetness. Heavy cream, meets milk chocolate. Lightly bitter hops notes dance on the palate through the middle of the body and then come alive on the end, providing a soily, fresh and moderately spicy hops finish. Simcoe hops add some juicy bittersweetness. Notes of pine sap mix in with the caramel and chocolate. Some deep, overripe fruit notes make themselves known as well in the middle. Candied orange, dry plum, and faint notes of dark berries mixed with an oily, lightly dry roast. This beer seems to have it all, in some form or another. It certainly is a sensory rollercoaster. The hops bitterness on the end seems to be a bit disjoined from the heavy sweetness up front, but this is no doubt due to the extreme youth of this beer. Moving on to the body, it is quite simple to describe: Full, creamy, viscous, thick and chewy. I would be lying if I said the extra full, chewy body didnt remind me, at least for a brief moment, of Dark Lord. It’s huge, powerful and very sweet, but highly flavorful. Certainly this beer will even out over the next year or so. Alcohol is also well masked, making only somewhat of a presence after the beer has warmed, and then, only on the very end.

17 May 2012, bottle. reddish brown, faintly hazy, steady bubbles, thick, foamy head. nose is sweet, raisins, powdered ovaltine, wet grain, and some alcohol. wow! full body and moderately fizzy. like fermented raisin juice. there is a sweet, raisin flavour up front with a slightly harsh alcohol finish. red fruit, wet bread, lots of huge flavors, though not a hoppy barley wine. fantastic!

Drank this out of a magnum at DLD, bottle was from 2004. Poured a slightly hazy golden color with a slight off-white color. Flavor was surprisingly still a bit hot, a bit rough around the edges. This beer was still very interesting, and found it an entirely fascinating attempt at aging a beer (magnum?) must try!

0.355l bottle courtesy of Meilby and shared with The Kristiansandsmafia. Looks like a blurry copper-ish golden cloud with a soft sidesticking bubbly head. Looks amazing. On the aroma its quite up there on the sweetness with tones of sticky caramel, sweet rum raisins with some dried fruits and a subtle hint of chocolate. Not extreme, but fantastically melted together. It’s softly carbonated and has this sticky thick texture in the mouth. Flavors are lovely sweet with yellow rum raisins, wood, chocolate, sweet caramel, dried red fruits and a thin hint of alcohol-flowers in the finish. Big thanks for sharing! 30.03.2012

Bottle 2011 pours dark nice head smells tastes honey dark fruits caramel resin not much booze. Tastes the same but crisp with a dryness to it. Nice fizz on tongue. Really solid beer should have got more then two.

12 ounce bottle from Bine and Vine via my beer broker. Great head, lacing, and mouthfeel. Lasting bitterness but not overly boozy considering the ABV.

Very nice deep copper pour with a ridiculously blooming head that takes up most of the glass, and takes forever to recede. Aroma of stewed red and brown fruits with a resinous background. Taste of caramel, toffee, candy sugar, resin, plum, cherry, kumquat, date/fig, and even a bit of kiwi. Very resinous, almost endless finish. Body is somewhat syrupy, but not overly so. Definitely one of the better barleywines I’ve sampled.

355 ml bottle.
Rated on 20101022.
Pours clear copper color with small head. Aroma of ripe fruits, hops, candy sugar, caramel malts and some resin. Flavor of dark ripe fruits, caramel malts, mild toffee and wood. Excellent.

2006 bottle shared by a friend. Opaque brown pour with a thin beige head. Malty nose with notes of toffee, caramel, honey and dark fruit. Malty flavor of toffee, honey, candied fruit and chocolate with some earthy hops in the finish.

Bottle. Vintage 2005. Pours a hazy copper with a small off-white head. Aroma is dry and hoppy with honey, stale bread, dusty notes and a slight oxidation. Flavour is sweet and stale with honey, liquorice, dark fruits and molasses. Bitter finish with a liquorice note, and alcohol lingering. Overall good and well-aged; the oxidation was just perfect. 30.03.12.

2005 and 2006 bottle at tasting, thanks Enjoyit. Pours dark amber, no head to speak of. The 05 is still rather hop forward in the nose - piney, citrus, slightly oxidized hops. Also a huge maltiness with caramel, dates and raisins. The 06 is more malt forward and has a more rich and complex caramel side to it. The oxidation that is present in both really hits the sweet spot where it adds to the complexity without adding an off taste. This stuff tasted sooooo good. Heavy, heavy sweetness throughout - big caramel, fudge, dates, white raisins and a decent hoppy bitterness to balance it out. Very mellow and harmonious, just a pretty fucken solid American barleyed wine, perhaps the best I’ve had.