Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

Hazy opaque orange/copper color with a fine creamy head. Scent of Vanilla, wood, prunes, traces of smoke and shoyu as well. A quick, short-lived sweet apricot & cherry front that was quickly overwhelmed with a vinous oak middle, followed again by sweetness but this time more malt than fruit, strong oak in the follow with some Burton mineral saltiness and again a sweet flavor, like a fat juicy purple plum. This is quite an interesting concoction that has in its complex mix of flavors more twists and turns than a rollercoaster but the flavors mesh together quite nicely. Has a great velvety mouthfeel with just the right touch of carbonation for the style. I really enjoyed this beer and look forward to drinking more of it on my next trip back to the US. Hats off to Alan & the crew at HOTD for their creativity! PS: My GF said it smells like shoyu & wood and tastes like orange peels then handed it back to me and went back to her Nigori Sake.

Updated rating 11/14/09 - 2009 vintage; fresh from the dock sale; I’d love to age some but it’s hard when it tastes so good fresh IMO; super perfumey nose of sweet fruit, oranges, oak, vanilla and toasted nuts; creamy texture is perfect going down; super malty, sweet and fruity; wood notes are strong, but sweetness blends perfectly; a few months back we did a vertical of the to-date releases and I’d say that not only are the batches getting better, but fresh is where it’s at; malty, sugary, unique and nearing perfection

3/22/09 - 12 oz. bottle; 2008 vintage; pours mostly clear gold with minor carbonation; thick white head; floral, fruity aromas with rich malt and oak; incredibly rich flavor profile of lemon, sugar, vanilla and candy; crushed fred #71 in a side by side, and i love fred!! haha

Original Rating 12/3/07 (Overall score 4.2) draft @ bigwood fest - very excited to try this; hazy orange with creamy thick head and lots of lacing; aromas are strong and complex; some fruit, oak, alcohol, sugar and vanilla; starts bitter with a warm alcohol burn, settles into a sweet sugary wine

Tap at Brouwers’ Bigwood fest ’07.

Pours deep red-brown with stupendous lacing. Powerful vanilla oak nose atop sweet caramelly barleywine. Ultimately too much vanilla oak - this one would benefit from some more age - but dang if it isn’t good anyway. Perfect mouthfeel, just a hint of alcohol burn late, sweet flavor with orange creamsicle, lemon, butter toffee, muscat wine. Despite the vanilla oak this thing just keeps growing on me....wonderful.

Ratebeer bottle ’06 tasted Oct ’08

This has aged beautifully. Light smoke and tobacco, a mellowed vanilla oak adding plenty of accent but not overbearing, orange-blossom honey...splendid. 9/4/9/4/18=4.4

Word to beerandblues for hooking me up with this one. Batch 64. Cloudy deep orange color with a frothy white head. Wish I was trying this next to a regular Fred. Very nice though. Vanilla and caramel aromas. Surprised the 10% doesn’t turn this into an alcoholpop. Nice job masking the alcohol. Nutty oak flavors with a citrus/orange undertone. Oh wait, now after a couple of sips and a little warming there is a subtle hoppy bitterness in there too. Nice. Very complex and constantly evolving with each sip.

11-22 DM at the LF pad. Batch 64. Intrigue is the name of the game on this guy. The oak aspect is a wonderful addition to the orginal Fred. I wish I could have this around all the time...can’t recall ever detecting a tobacco-oak-nut like aspect so well in a brew - this was the main addition to the normal Fred flavors. Simply wonderful! This thing made my mouth water after every slow sip. Really enjoyed this guy - it was a nice change of pace from the beers sampled the past few months. Yum!

Nov.22 D-Metal session, beer #3 I believe. jarspag hooks it up again. Hands down a fantastic barley wine, masterfully put together, exhibiting a plethora of unique and intriguing flavors, most of which we detected are probably imparted by the length of time this beer spends in oak. Hazy saffron color with a foamy off-white head and seriously sticky lacing. Looks fantastic. Aroma is a blend of orange citrus, light caramel and toffee, with slight peppery spice and toasted wood. Flavors move from sweet caramel and malt into an intriguing blend of tobacco and oak with a warming finish. Very balanced and a true sipper. ’Tis a shame it was only a 12oz, we could of used a growler of this stuff...goddamn!

From a bottle purchased at the 2007 annual November dock sale--I waited in line an hour to purchase this beer and it was worth it. Poured a deep orange, hazy golden hue with a grappling yet small swirly, wispy off-white head. Unique malty sweet aroma. Notes of tannins from the oak barrel and a bountiful whiff of brown sugar and honey sweetness. Resinous and raisin-ous. Sweet fruits and nuts come to mind. Distinct Hair of the Dog aroma that I can’t describe except by referring to the brewer. Caramelly, boozy, with notes of cognac or brandy. A great slow-drinking beer to share with someone who truly appreciates the craft.

Bottle from aracauna, batch 64. The pour was much more tame than regular HoDF, yet for a barrell aged production, pretty carbonated, steady bubbles rising in the hazy orange/amber body, light peach colored head, great retention, sticks around, laces well, almost continuously on the walls within an inch of the surface anyway. The aroma was a gentle blend of oak, maple, caramel, and pine. The flavor was zingy piney brandy, wet wooden oak, caramel, molasses, vanilla, tobacco, and all sorts of light fruit notes of somewhat indistinguishable (peaches, apricots?) character for each sip, and even some darker fruits (rum soaked raisins). The alcohol was quite smooth and gentle, but this thing got a little liquor-bwine sweet, despite a good zingy piney hop finish with prickly carbonation. Sure, it’s all part of the style, so it’s not a killer, but it did keep this from knocking my socks off. A much better experience than my earlier singleton w/ regular HoDF, but that could also be in part due to evolving taste buds. Thanks, Jacob!