Hair of the Dog Matt

Brewed by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

12oz. bottle, with an enormous THANKS to bvc for going to all the extra effort to get me the hookup on this! Pours a muddy dark brown with burgundy highlights and a thin creamy tan head that lasts much longer than expected. Aroma is smoke, tobacco, peat, chocolate, light bourbon, oak, vanilla, freshly cut fruit, almost a brandy apple, and on and on, all nicely complimentary and well blended with each other. There’s a crapload going on with the nose on this one and different things seem to come out over time. Flavor has a similar thing going on, if only to a slightly lesser degree. Sure nice regardless, with a touch of sweetness on the finish. I didn’t find the alcohol anywhere on this one, and on the flavor the bourbon definitely took a back seat to everything else. Like all HotD beers I’ve tried, this one is a "mood" beer. If everything is just so, and I’m in the right mood and can change gears and slow down to really ponder something, man does HotD beer sure work for me. Fortunately, this is one of those nights. Thanks again Brandon, I owe you!

On tap. Dark brown with a smooth khaki head. Amazingly smooth with very little alcohol showing. Beautiful nose of bourbon, caramel, cake, and brandy. Smooth from the bourbon/oak. Soft spiciness with a faint tartness to the finish. One of the best HotD beers I’ve had.

Acetylaldehyde, treacle, vanilla, oak and fusel alcohol in the nose. Overly oaked with pencil shavings and more of the aforementioned acetylaldehyde and fusel alcohol. Great deep Mahogany color with no carbonation.

........."Hey Kleet, heard ’bout some new Hair of the Dog brew, guess them fancy pants seattle beer snobs been smokin’ sprints pole over this one" ... " yep, sure looks that way, Chet, smokin’ some serious pole alright, we otta git on up there and see what all the fussin’s about "............. 12 oz snifter at Brouwers. Almost black pour with a tan head. Incredible aromas of smoky peat, vanilla cherry chocolate, boozy bourbon, with black malts and wood char; i could smell this beer all night... Rich, creamy mouthfeel ( something which the bottled version is lacking ). Flavor mirrors the aroma with sweet boozy vanilla, peat, wood char, black malts, and candy sugar. Did I say big boozy sweetness already? In the end it’s so sweet and boozy that i had a hard time finishing the 12oz glass, but it WAS fantastic for the first few sips.... Great effort HotD, but how ’bout a handshake instead of a hummer ?

One of the greatest beer’s I’ve ever had...That is not an overstatement, I promise you. Had it on tap at brouwers the other night. Dark black, small mahogany head, real great lacing. Smelled of chocolate bourbon and alcohol, nothing too surprising. Taste seemed like a total clusterf*** of chocolate, bourbon, and alcohol until I tasted the apple. Somehow the apple ties everything together perfectly. It leaves a very nice, thick layer of chocolate apply goodness.

UPDATED: JUL 2, 2009 draft @ brouwer’s - finished my pliny the younger just in time as they started pouring both X beers about 45 mins early; a beautiful jet black with thick tan head; a good word to described every facet of this brew is dank; thick, juicy aromas of chocolate, cherries, whiskey, oak, licorice; on draft i didn’t get too many hints of smoke or tobacco and i definitely prefer it the way it is; we’ll see when I get to a bottle; slightly thin body, but silky smooth and full of flavor; quite sweet going down with just a touch of dryness in the finish; a chocolate-cnady apple party in the mouth; my thinking is that it’s basically a double adam and a style all on its own; almost bordering on a light stout/strong porter of some kind but without the roastiness; absolutely wonderful in every way; enough gushing; a great evening all around and big congrats to both Matt’s for all that you’ve done for the seattle beer community and Alan for yet another gem; yup, i’m a HOTD fanboy ;)

Sampled a few times since first impression - once on draft at Bottleworks and the second from the bottle; less than impressed from the bottle; seemed thin, quite hot and flavors all over the place; over all score dropped to 4.0 from 4.4

On tap at Brouwer’s. Wow. Was excited about this one and it definitely met expectations. Pours black with a thick frothy tan head and larger bubbles that last until the end. First sniff is heavy bourbon; after a while the bourbon fades a little and leather, oak, and dark fruits have more of a presence. Noticed something different every sip. Bourbon and oak of course, with tobacco, leather, cherry, blackberry, and sugary grapefruit. Nice thick mouthfeel and a long oaky finish. The alcohol gave a pleasant warmth without being overpowering in the least. Tried to pour all the remaining froth into my mouth and enjoyed smelling the empty glass until they took it away. Had to order another to end the evening.

Draught at Brouwer’s Café: Black as night, hues of dark cola, moderate to large frothy light beige head, nice lacing.   Seems even darker than your normal Adam.   Wow, that nose is Bourbony!   Aside from that subtle campfire, peat, vanilla, and woody notes.   Bourbon dominates, however.   Hot on the tongue!   Sweet and Bourbony is an understatement.   Faint apple character, just enough to make this one really interesting.   Warming.   Wow, this is fantastic.   Quasi smoky vanilla bourbon infused Scotch Ale with hints of apple skin and cocoa is how I would sum this up.   Silky smooth too.   Goes down like silk.   One of the better beers I have had in a long time.   Simply amazing.   A testament to fantastic brewing.   Full bodied, smooth mouthfeel.   Toffee really rounds this one out. Its a bit hot now but give this one two or three years and it will be utterly fantstic.   Superb now, but just you wait. Wow!

Still pissed off at myself for taking part in the Black Friday beer buying events at Bottleworks, I am officially contemplating removing myself from this incredible douche baggery that I think is ruining this wonderful world of enjoying great beer with great people. That being said, it was the beer of the day. It was damn good. Fantastic aroma of chocolate, earth, smoke, licorice, apple brandy, booze. Pours almost black with a bubbly head. Nice well rounded flavors of chocolate, licorice, vanilla, apple brandy, smoke, underlying sweetness, tobacco, some booze. Creamy smooth, wonderfully drinkable at 11.5%. Incredible sweetness, but the way everything just worked together and played off each other was amazing. This is a triumphant beer!

I had the chance to try this beer on tap at the HOTD brewery as well as from the bottle. I would say they are both fantastic with a slight nod to the tap version. My impression of this beer is that it is what I imagine that Adam from the Wood would taste like. Just as FFTW is a super complex version of a fantastic beer, Matt does the same thing with Adam. Great beer!