Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood

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

The lemony vanilla aroma from the oak barrels is perfect. The appearance is ruby yellow light amber with a small but nice head. The flavor is so smooth it is hard to believe it is a barley wine. It is slightly sweet like hints from the barley wine, but easy on the palate.

Are you a dog lover? Yeah, me too. In fact, I especially love my dogs when they are just about at cellar temperature and demanding my immediate quaffing attentions. Oh, wait. Are we talking about two different kinds of dogs? I’m talking about the bottled kind. You know, the ones from Hair of the Dog Brewery out of Portland, Oregon. Probably their most famous pooch is the Hair of the Dog Fred which, on his own is one fabulous standard Barleywine, but add a little bit of wood, a sprinkle of bottle-conditioning, and you suddenly have a rare breed on your hands. If you must give him a name, as all good dogs need a good name, I would call mine the Hair of the Dog Fred From the Wood. Don’t like it? Tough; I think it’s got a nice ring to it.

Dirty orange and desperately in need of a bath, he has a splattering of bubbly froth which splashes against the sides of my glass with nary a rhyme nor a reason. It’s quite the sticky stuff too, lingering from first quaff to last. A big whiff of his nose finishes with a prominent hit of alcohol in the back. Not enough to burn any nose hairs, but certainly enough to gather my full attentions. Oranges steeped in booze then stewed slowly over a low heat permeates his nose while in the background mingle faint notes of baled hay, sprouted grains, and sweet orange marmalade spread over toasted bread. This is definitely going to be one bruiser of a dog, or at least, that’s how he appears at the moment. My first sip is sweeter than I anticipated with homemade marmalade taking center stage. I take a generous dab and spread it over golden toasted bread while cinnamon sugar with a touch of nutmeg awaits their fair sprinkling. While I bite into that, boozy fruits rush my senses and latch firmly onto my palate. While her first impressions are sweet, toasty, and a bit spiced, her middle and finish are all about the finest oranges steeped and stewed in booze. There is no burn, just pleasantly permeating warmth with a nice addition of fresh peaches to the stewed oranges. Dry spices and warmth linger long in my breath as my mouth thirsts for more. Sawdust flitters in and out of the background; just enough wood to remind me of where Fred has been lately. Hair of the Dog Fred From the Wood was exquisitely un-complex which made for all that more of an enjoyable quaffing session.

I spent a long time with this beer, not so much to try and find more aromas and flavors than were actually there, but because it was most heavy, most warm, and most satisfying. A sipper to be sure, I’d love to pair this beer as an after-dinner aperitif to enjoy with some fresh cheesecake with fresh orange-peach marmalade drizzled atop.

Hazy dark apricot pour with a thin white head. Aroma is delicious citrus, vanilla wood, boozey warmth, orange, caramel malt creaminess. Flavor is sweet creamy vanilla and orange citrus that tingles the palate. the middle is sweet caramel and some fruitiness. Finish is exquisite, a tartness that is delightfully woody. I love the tart finish to this beer that obviously is a result of the barrel aging. Simply a revelation.

Hazy nectar pour with a thin white head. Aroma is bready caramel with lots of fruity esters, oak, orange, and vinous booze. Flavor holds an excellent balance of super sweet caramel, vanilla oak, tart orange nectar, angelfood cake dough, and sweet grape. Palate is very thick, rich, silky, velvety, and supple. Quite fulfilling. Super unique and well put together in all its facets a world class sipper.

Murky peach colored pour with a minimal head. Aroma is very nice; definite citrus hop,with grapefruit and orange peel, along with caramelized sugars, oak, and brandy. Flavor is wondrous; perfect combination of citrus hop, oak and booze, and sweet caramel malt. There is also a beautiful tartness from the barrels at the finish, which contributes marvelously to the overall palate impression; one could almost think there’s a pinch of brett in this beer. 10% is clearly there, but welcomed. Excellent barleywine.

Bottle. 2008 edition. Bit hazy deep golden with a big thick off white head. The aroma is dried fruit like prune and dates, oak, vanilla, barley, floral hops, dark molasse, bread, caramel and sweets. The flavour is a powerful mix of sweet malt, caramel, bourbon-like sweet alcohol, vanilla, oak, sweet tobacco, dried fruit and hops. Sweet and complex and oh so yummy. Creamy textured. A very nice Barley indeed!

Bottled 12 Floz. Pale beige creamy head. Flowery soft nose. Soft taste with raisins and hints of oak. At the end hoppiness. Tasty wellbalanced beer with suitable hoppiness. Mild vanilla hints. Soft creaminess.