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

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Bottle from trevor211 - thanks a ton. I wanted to wait, but this one kept calling my name (and I have another bottle sourced it looks like) so screw it. This one has a beautiful brownish, murky pour - very reminiscent of Adam. Aroma is a really nice mix of oak, bourbon, wine, apple, smoke, chocolate and so much else - unreal complexity in the nose alone! Flavor has a good bit of oak/wet wood with the bourbon being slightly more noticeable than the Apple Brandy. Smokiness is fantastic here with just enough smoky campfire and a good bit of wood and sweetness. Some funky cheese here too Theres candy, a multitude of fruits and earth. Probably the most complex beer I’ve sampled. Crazy good mouthfeel with just a hint of alcoholic heat and just enough sweetness and wood. This blows away almost all other Wood-based beers as its so well balanced, and I’m gonna guess its only gonna get better. Hypnotizingly awesome, and I don’t usually like young HOTDs nearly as much as older ones. A 5 all the damn way.

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.

HotD’s resident brewmaster, and sole employee, Alan, poured me a sample from the tap at the brewery a few weeks ago. Huge head on a short taster glass. I was just floored by the complexity and luscious aroma and flavor. The nose was full of apple, oak, and smoke. Sweet on the nose and the palate. Rich and big. I had to take home a couple of bottles as this is the best beer I have ever tried.

Thanks to Alan at the Brewery for letting me and my dad have this on draft. This beer was absolutely amazing. Poured a golden brown with nice head. Aroma was incredible, I just wanted to smell it all day before even tasting it. It had a sweet candy smell with hints of apples, smokey oak chips, and bourbon. Taste was an orgasm to the palate with so many complicated flavors to describe. This is probably the best beer i’ve had to date. It was perfect in every way. Thanks Alan for the tour and for the awesome beer.

UPDATED: JUL 21, 2009 12oz bottle thanks to fogdog for this mindblowingly good beer and for letting me take a sip. We had close to 30 people so I had initially declined to take a sip of this so some that had brought the rarer beers would be assured a taste. Fogdog kindly let me take a quick sip of this, I just wish I had another bottle because I think I probably would have given this even higher if I had been able to focus on the flavors more. Pours a deep brown with a tiny ring of foam and no head. Hugely awesome nose of smoke, leather, chocolate, bourbon, cherry. Its like nosing a fine scotch. The best smelling beer I’ve ever had without question. The flavor seemed to be dominated by awesome chocolate, smoke and cherries mixed with raisins. I did not get the apple that some others have mentioned but as I say I only had a sip. Super smooth with no hint of the abv and an silky mouthfeel. Simply outstanding. Alan’s beer’s are always a work of art and this is no exception. Not to be missed. rerate 7/20/09. Finally got my hands on a bottle. We had a rare beer tasting with this, Dark Lord and Dark Horizon Ed. 1 and this won by a wide margin. Even more amazing than I rated it the first time. Huge apple in the nose along with chocolate and leather and a whiff of smokiness. Some light apple up front with massive caramel, dark cherry, some light soy sauce, tobacco and smoke. One of the most complex beers I have ever had. Just amazing. It may not beat some beers in the appearance category but you would be hard pressed to find a better tasting one.

fogdog you ROCK ass for bringing this to the O-town throwdown!! Very murky brown pour with a small head. Aroma is amazing. Milk chocolte, malt, vanilla, honey, wood, bourbon, fruit all come together to make one amazing smelling beer. And the flavor? Holy shit. Rich and full bodied. Bourbon, chocolate, toffee, caramel, honey, light smoky tones, syrup are blended into an elixer than can only be described as pure world class. UNREAL beer.

Bottle (2010). Thanks to phredrik for sharing. Dark brown with a thin head. Lovely aroma dominated by chocolate, freshly baked bread, apples and with a hint of vanilla, alcohol and liqourice, Incredibly well balanced! At first it is quite sweet, but a slightly bitter finish, which prevents it from being cloying. The flavour is quite fruity, especially apples is dominant but cherries and plums are a part of the flavour profile. Combined with the chocolate characterm the well hidden alcohol and subtle smokey notes, the fruity flavour makes this ale extra ordinary good!

Deep brown, bordering on black with only a slight layer of head that forms and dissipates quickly. The swirl produces no legs, but does provide spotty foam and oily resin that coats the glass. The taste and aroma are phenomenal. Raisins soaked in brandy, vanilla, toffee, caramel, dates, plums, and some vinous notes as well. There is a hint of peaty smoke in the finish. This is like a nice glass of sherry. Easy to sip. Smooth, creamy, and full-bodied. Just about perfect in every way.

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!

UPDATED: MAR 19, 2009 12oz bottle. Thanks to explosivebeer. The beer pours an ugly dark brown/black color with low carbonation though some scant off-white bubbles do swim around and form a tiny rim around the edge. Fairly muddy looking. Aroma is mindblowingly complex, probably the most complex beer I’ve ever smelled. Where to start. Root beer and cola jump out, fresh apple core, white apple flesh, a strong vanilla oakiness and faint milk chocolate. Smoke creeps out, green apple skin and cocaine. No bourbon is detected on the nose, though the apple and oak is very prominent. Just a tad of alcohol present but not at all unwanted. The way that all of these elements blend together is nothing short of astounding. As this beer warms it gets even more complex and pleasing, which is scary.

The flavor is even more complex than the nose. Granny smith apple, rich chocolate, raisin and other dried dark fruits, caramel, caramel covered apples, bourbon (apparent in the flavor though the aroma did not show it), smoke, vanilla. The way one flavor melds into the next is amazing. The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, not creamy though it is full and sticky without being cloying. Huge, neverending finish. This is just a remarkable beer. I’ve read some say they think it’s a little hot but I find the alcohol hidden extremely well, especially for an 11.5% ABV recently bottled barrel aged beer. If anything this seems on the level of a high level Scotch, which it rivals in complexity. I could sit down with this beer for an hour and pay it complete attention. The only possible complaint I can think of is the phenols from the smoke blend with the apple character to create the aforementioned cocaine character which is slightly undesirable. It’s not a big deal and I figure it will dissipate with some age. I hope to try this in the future when I think it will be even better than now. Hair of the Dog is one of my top 3 or 4 breweries in the world and this is one of the three o