Hair of the Dog Fred

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

Fantastic beer. Creamy white excellent mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Light malty and exstreme powerfull hoppy aroma. Loads of nice citirc-notes. Heavy bitter flavor and finish. Long complex finish. Oily palate. This is totally balanced beer.

Mmm-mmm-mmm. This used to be available through the LCBO (in the glory days when vintages had a say), but no longer. An amazing beer, one of the best I’ve had. It’s been a while, so my description will be simple and to the point. Rich, flavourful, ballsy. Wow.

Tap- Dark, hazzy, and cloudy. Plenty of taste, carbonation, lacing, and hops everything combined in one. Pours a amber brown color with a bit of a copper look to it. Smells great, doughy, chocolate and oaked. Taste is of dry fruit, bitter chocolate and rye bread. Good hops that are a bit spicy and chewy. Great beer!

Cloudy brownish-copper body topped by a large beige head leaving good lacings. Like a good catchy song by talented musicians, appears relatively simple until you start dissecting it. The malt profile is like a yummy sweet spicy waffle topped by a thick layer of delicious smooth butterscotch. Quite a few spices but no particular one stands out. Buried in that rich body also hide some fruity flavours (apricots? Plums?). And let’s not forget the large amount of unidentifiable hops. Very creamy, very hoppy, rather spicy and overall somewhat “dirty”. The alcohol is fairly apparent but it fits this over-the-top extravaganza. The beer is sweet, maybe a bit too sweet for me but I suspect this could be fixed with a little aging. Brewed to honour a beer writer. Safest way to make sure a beer writer writes good things about your beer.

Pours an amber-orange color with some tiny particles floating around. Very intensely sweet malty, citrusy, grapefruit aroma with some caramel, brown sugar. Super sweet malty flavors with a seriously hoppy grapefruit element. Some hints of brown sugar, woodiness, and a bit of smoke. A very intense and complex brew. I doubt I could drink a whole bottle of this, it’s so rich... but it really is amazing stuff. Mouthfeel is amazingly soft and creamy, with some alcohol heat. Awesome stuff, but not to be taken lightly.

Fruitée!! Très goûteuse. Robe ambré aux reflets rouges. Très bonne bière. Alcool, rôti, pommes, fruits rouges, houblon floral. Excellente découverte.

bottle split with Muenster for rating #900. Pours very nice, deep burgundy with varying shades depending on the depth of the beer. There is a fantastic tan head on top that lasts and lasts. Aroma is powerfully hoppy, yet somehow not aggressive like a IIPA. Many of the more acidic, biting notes are absent, leaving a soft citrus, flower bouquet with notes of pineapple, orange zest. Oaken scents are noted along with dark spices and tobacco. Mouthfeel is savory. It’s slick and clingy with very appropriate carbonation. Hops are everywhere in the flavor with a delicious, deep world of bright, floral flavors. Plenty of malts are present with hints of caramel, peat, cigar, vanilla, earth, macadamia nuts. This is so complex and bold, I love it. The finish leaves just a slight burn over my palate and is very warming. Tremendous brew here. I have to say this is way better than the barrel aged version, in my humble opinion. I really wish we could get some HoftD offerings somewhere remotely close to my home. [Oct 23, 2007] Bottle batch #59. This stuff is about two years old now and I have to say I’m a little skeptical going into this. The pour is just as I remembered, thick with beautiful layers beneath the white, frothy head. This is some of the best head retention I’ve ever seen. Lacing is dense after a swirl. I do get some muted, oxidized hop notes but they are not off-putting here. Rich floral aromas still highlight things with additional hints at pineapple. The flavor really shines with some age on it. Everything has melded nicely and I get very few "dead" qualities. It’s richly sweet, but not excessive at all. Notes of honey, toffee, peanut brittle, citrus abound. This beer is amazingly well made, it is soaked with professionalism and craftsmanship. The bottom line: though I did greatly enjoy this bottle, ( very rare for me to enjoy a 2-year old brew) I prefer the fresher Fred as it has some outstanding hop qualities and clashing flavors which I love, that eventually fade.

A distinctly American take on the barley wine, this comes on strong and doesn’t quit. Full body, loads of flavor (citrus/grapefruit, if I recall correctly), and loads of alcohol on the tongue. Excellent.