Hair of the Dog Fred

2005 Vintage I think. Thanks to Islay for bringing this to my tasting!

Aroma is pretty awesome. Aroma is of dark fruit, caramel, honey. Just an awesome mouthfeel. Maybe I need to age some more barleywines, or maybe this is just good no matter what the age. Tis a shame that HoTD pulled out of MN. They have some excellent beers, and this one most definitely fits that mold.

Pours a very cloudy copper, nice frothy head. Sweet syrupy aroma with some fruit and malt. Tastes of apricot and spices, sweet and malty with balanced hops and a slightly bitter and tart finish. Very creamy and frothy. This is an excellent beer, seems just as much of a Belgian as barley wine in style.

Small sample from 12 oz. bottle consumed at tennisjoel’s tasting on 1-26-08. Batch 62. This was the eighth of ten beers that we tried and the one on which my notes started to suffer, as inevitably will happen at some point in a tasting. Classic aroma of a sweet barley wine: Candy sugar, light (peach) and dark (plum) pitted fruit, and fruitcake scents. Pours an amber / dark orange with a large amount of suspended particulate and a large amount of beige head. Produces nice lacing. The taste is sweet yet simultaneously bitter, spicy, and dry. Apricot, plum, and honey flavors. Thick and frothy in the palate. Hair of the Dog Fred is a solid barley wine across the board, and I very much enjoyed it, but it did not blow me away as I had hoped.

Bottle... Poured clear orange/copper with a thin white head. Sweet malt and berries on the nose. Smooth palate which expands to foam in your mouth. You initially get the leafy rye malt up front, and is then followed by piney hops and a warm alcohol character. HOTD is brilliant and this beer met every bit of my expectations.

On tap at Collin’s Pub

As soon as I saw this on tap I knew I would have to give it a try. Even at $7.00 for a tulip glass it was worth the cost. If I would have had more room in my luggage I would have picked up a bottle to bring home and age. This is worth trying if you ever run across it (what HoTD release isn’t?).

Aroma / Appearance - A huge densely packed head rested above the thick caramel body. It looks very similar to the Fred from the Wood which is no suprise given it is the base. The nose however is totally different. Honey, graham crackers and floral hops waft gently across the nose.

Flavor / Palate - Liquid rose petals wash across the throat. Graham crackers, cheesecake and more floral notes come next. The peachy finish wraps up an excellent experience. The mouthfeel during that time is light and easy. Rather than a traditional barleywine it feels more like a Belgian ale. In some ways I like this better than the wooded version.

From bottle, batch #70, Thanks to TopherDrinks : Pours a hazy dark amber color, with a big ole’ frothy head, about two fingers tall and white. The head has big time staying power as well. Nose is mainly hops, with some citrus i.e. grapefuit notes. The taste starts out with some hoppy flavors, then turns sweet and malty, finish with more sweetness and some alcohol notes, but not a massive unbearable amount of alcohol. Palate is medium with a sticky feel to it. Im usually not a huge fan of the Barley Wines, but this one is pretty enjoyable.

Had this one at the Taproom in Seattle...beautiful beer with large fluffy white head and fiery orange color. The aroma permeated the room...grapefruit, douglas fur, and wildflowers. The alcohol, although well masked by the beautifully pungent hops, made both your mouth water and mouth pucker. The finish was rather sweet...malt to round it out. Amazing beer...would love a second sample!!!

Bottle, batch number 69. Pours a lot like a tripel, deep golden color, nice fluffy head. Aroma very much like an appley white wine. Flavor a huge contrast to the aroma, and the most complex hop character I think I’ve ever had. Citrus notes, floral notes, piney notes, all seemingly coming from the hops and blending beautifully. Mouthfeel also dominated by sharp hops and pleasant carbonation. Excellent beer.