Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

12 oz bottle from SBD. Pours a translucent copper color with a big off-white head that had decent retention. The aroma is strong with malted barley and whiskey. The taste is complex with oak, vanilla, barley, some butterscotch and caramel. The mouthfeel is full, smooth and malty. The finish is long with lingering vanilla. Overall: An absolutely fantastic brew.

RB Special Release Batch 64 purchased at the brewery. Very fruity. herbal aroma with plenty of berry-like notes with along with some vinousness. Sweet, woody/oak-like vanilla notes are in there, too. Moderately hazy amber body with a nice, strong off-yellow head. Pretty lively and carbonated to start. A little fruity with some slight vinousness in there before it gets quite roasty and a bit smoked. I don’t know how much barrel character is in this brew. There is a small light-vanilla wood flavoring present really late, which is also graced with some warming ethanol. I am not a huge fan of this, but it’s still decent.

Hoppy, lovely tasting, a superior barleywine. Apple juice with some white head lightly covering, this is aged. Integrated woodiness. Average mouthfeel, a bit drying.

Batch 64 bottle. BEAUTIFUL bonus from kp. Thanks Keith! Reddish brown color with a medium head. Decent retention and specks of white lacing. Brown sugary aroma came across as having some Belgian notes when I first opened the bottle. Some spicy hops in the background. Taste is brown sugar, maple, oak, strong resiny hops. Thick feel.

12oz bottle 08 release: pours amber brown with long lasting cream white head, aroma of oak some specialty malts and florial hops, flavor hits you hard tons of malt up front with some oak and a nice bit of hops at the end. very well made but i think i like the normal fred better.

Nice vanilla oak component to the aroma over light hops spice. Butterscotch and pine needles dominate the flavor.

Appearance: Suspiciously opaque, medium brown body with a very thin, white head. Smell: Rich, aromatic, malty nose! Woodsy oak, jam-packed with rum-soaked raisins, homemade caramel, vanilla beans, juicy peaches, and honey liqueur. Taste: Decadently sweet, tasting of honey, dark caramel, and pralines. Bready rye and barley flavor. Some rosebud florals. Hint of dull, earthy spices. A single drop of vanilla extract. Moderate bitterness present. Sip of champagne. Lusciously fruity, with tastes of raisins, peaches, and ripe green apples. Maybe a spritz of lime juice. Woodsy barrel character the pops up midway and grows into the sweetish, fruit-laden finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Excellent! A first-rate barleywine. Crammed to the absolute brim with flavor and complexities, plus they don’t skimp on the alcohol.

Aroma is sweet caramel malt, intensely caramel, a touch worty, citrus hops, some dankness and the merest whisper of malt sourness, and oak. Lots of oak. 2008 bottle. Pours a murky thick-piss yellow with a significant amount of head that lingers and coast the glass. Fucking beautiful. Taste is lots of sweetness in the same vein as the aromatic profile, some citrus and bittering hops in both the initial taste and in the finish, and oak. Finishes very crisp and dry for the style due to the oak and the bittering hops, yet still creamy and dense, yet quietly aggressive in the mouthfeel due to the oiliness and assertiveness of the hops, not to mention the malt structuring. This is a fantastic beer.