Hair of the Dog Fred

Hair of the Dog Fred is a slightly hazy and incredibly sparkling amber ale with a thick, resilient off-white head. It has a strong, sweet, malty aroma with notes of tropical fruit-- maybe passion fruit. It’s medium-full bodied and fluffy. It leaves the tongue sticky. It’s very full flavored! It’s slightly sweet, quite phenolic and very complex with notes of chocolate, caramel, leather and whiskey. It’s pretty shocking, actually. This is good stuff, but finishing a twelve-ounce bottle is kind of a challenge.

Bottle, from Lone Hill Liquors in CA. Sits dark orange with a huge head of fine pearly carbonation. Aroma has a bunch of candi sugar and bubble gum upfront, along with some pear, nutmeg and lemon. Really interesting . . . is the yeast contributing to the complexity of the aroma? Flavor has strong grass and dried fruit, followed by herbs, and sugar sweetness. Palate is quite light for the ABV, with a notably prickly mouthfeel from the aggressive carbonation. Finishes spicy, with a long warming quality. Leaves a syrupy residue in your mouth. Overall, Fred is definitely worth a try. It is a Belgian ale with all-American ingredients, and demands to be contemplated as such. I enjoyed this as a drink, appreciated the complexity of flavor, but was underwhelmed mostly due to Fred’s unruly carbonation.

Batch 62 sample from STLWill (Thanks!) Light gold pour, medium carbonation with some floaties in the glass. Aroma was pleasant malt, honey and booze. Flavor was very good, a little herbal, honey, and warming on the finish. Another solid HOTD brew.

Bottle. Nice sweet caramel and fruit aroma. Amber color with a small white head. Sweet full body with caramel, liquorice and alcohol notes. Nice smooth palate with a nice alcohol warmth.

Semi-clear, copper color with a small head and good lacing. Fairly strong yeast aroma with plenty of caramel malt and burnt sugar. Strong sense of yeast on the palate, with rye bread, caramel and some spiciness. Alcohol presence is strong. Full body, creamy texture, and a slight bitterness in the end that fights off the yeast.

Bottle thanks to my first trade with giarcsr batch # 71 poured the color of an apa not as dark as most barley wines in apperance, aromas of cotton candy,caramel malts rye,and hops taste is sweet of candied sugar and alcohol just amazing hope to get more of this in the future

12oz bottle. Pours a hazy, lightly particle filled bright, but dull orange body with a thin, off-white head that dissipates quickly and leaves a light, mostly oily lacing. Aroma is sweet and hoppy. Lots of wood, caramels, florals, and a mixture of fruits. Oranges, prunes, plums, lemons, berries, melons all coming together with a big hoppy, slightly sweet boozed nose. Quite complex. Flavor is big and tasty. Sweet, but very hoppy. Lots of wood with a light alcohol. Big time citrus and melon-prunes and very fruity. Lots of sweet and thicker caramels with a lot of lingering taste. Thick malty linger with lots of floral citrus hops. Palate is medium bodied, but fat with a light dryness. Overall, a damn good barley wine. Lots of taste, with a great mixture of sweet caramels, fruits, and hops. Mmm.

Bottle. Poured a hazy honey color. Aroma is complex, caramel, malt, wood. Flavor is sweet caramel with notes of raisin, toffee, hops, and maybe a touch of vanilla. This really is a good beer, love to try this one aged.