Hair of the Dog Otto

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

Serve in Snifter

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Draft @ HOTD. POurs a murky, maroon brown color; head soon departs. Layers of dried fruits, a bit of warming alcohol, and some denser caramel and vanilla and light tannins. Full mouthfeel; modest CO2; a nice acidity; quite pleasant to drink overall. Layers of dense dried fruits, caramel, dates, and hints of toasty coconut; a delicious, full-bodied barley wine. Balanced end.

12oz glass at the brewery. Just tapped, so it’s out of the fridge at a really cold temperature. A: Bit of a mess off the tap. Looks like blood mixed with mud with some prune juice thrown in. No head, no hint of carbonation.Likely still settling after just being tapped, but this isn’t out of the norm for HotD either. N: Oak and cherry are the dominant flavors right off the nose. Hints of honey and brown sugar. Slight hints of the peach, but they’re very faint. Leather and tobacco. Don’t know if it’s the chill, but I’m not getting a strong nose out of this. It’s there, but it’s taking a number of whiffs to pull out flavor. T: Sweet cherries and cherry jam spiked with pepppercorns, toasted oak, and hints of caramel. Marionberries are present, as is some vinous red wine grape. Leathery components, and a very strong resemblance to port with the sweet brandy qualities and cherry flavors. Quite sweet, lots of malt and sugar, but it never breaks my threshold, either. Rye, I think, is evident. M: Thick, sticky, and beautiful at hiding the alcohol. This is pretty much the consistency of Fred as one might expect. O: A decadent treat for those who like port dessert wines. It’s far greater than the sum of its parts (Cherry and Peach Fred), and for that it should be commended. Still, I would rate this about the middle of the Hair of the Dog pantheon.

On tap @ HotD. Pours murky almost muddy brown with no head whatsoever. Aroma is big bourbon and peaches. Somewhat thin mouthfeel and totally flat. Taste is huge rich earthy oaky malts with notes of peaches, cherries, charred oak, bourbon, and figs. Super boozy, 13% feels on the lighter end. I haven’t had either of the beers they used to make this, but the end result is impressive. If there were some additional carbonation added this could be amazing.

On tap @ the brewpub. Very dark brown. Aroma is nothing short of pure awesomeness! Sweet dark fruits, cherries, crazy fresh pulpy coconut, treacle, vanilla, fig jam... I could drink this for the rest of my life. No hint of the ABV. How I wish I could bring this home.

I was told this was 13% abv, and that was quite noticeable. When I was leaving, I could feel every piece of Otto running through my veins. Tap at the brewery. Peaches, cherries, added to a barrel-aged Fred? Yes, fucking please! I see that people couldn’t taste the peaches all too well? I can’t understand that, as this had a nice Fred sweetness to it, that balance well with the deep peach fruit flavor. The cherries or a similar fruitiness that give this whole thing a wonderful twist. I consider Fred to be, borderline, too sweet, but the fruit really adds a nuance that helps mitigate that overly sweet sensation. The barrel elements are really poking through, as I just sit here, and let it warm up. The vanilla, and bourbon really come across quite well. The texture is insanely rich, for beer. I’m one of those weather-specific drinkers, as in, I think certain style suit certain seasons more, and I’d definitely prefer it to be colder outside, as the heat from the boozy flavor is warming me up. The color is nice, and it has amber, ruby, and somewhat purple hues to it. Overall, I’m going crazy over the rich fruit flavors that dominate here. Also, I love how the barrel elements are strikingly prominent. I love this "? From the Wood" menu option. Glad to be in Portland, this weekend.

On tap at HOTD. Colour...cloudy garnet amber with no head. Nose...loads of crushed currants and mashed dates with cherry kirsch red wine soaked oak. Palate...very low CO2, a quick boozy hit then port soaked raisins and dried Brooks prunes at the front of the palate and bing cherry and cherry bark at the back of the palate and a lengthy finish that has the fruity tartness of a low sugar jam. I sure hope Sprints bottles this gem!

Draught at HOTD Tasting Room. Fruity aroma: cherries, cocoanut, sour wine. Deep red wine-like color, completely flat. Amazing initial hits of dark fruit, berries, cherries; mid palate is wonderfully balanced. Medium-heavy body. Another winner emerges from the wood wizardry of Alan Sprints. Resembles a friendly, warm wine/fruit liqueur. Great!

On tap at the brewpub - Holy balls did I time my trip to Portland right. Pours deep ruby with no head. Nose is sweet bourbon and caramel, cherry with hints of oak and heat. Taste is fantastic--really smooth blend of black cherry, bourbon, vanilla, mellow oak, and big waves of bready malt. Don’t get the peaches, but I’m sure they’re in there somewhere. Real smooth and velvety in the mouth, even though it’s not all that carbonated.

UPDATED: SEP 2, 2012 [Updated Rating; 8/30/12] Had gotten to try this again at the tasting room. This time with added carbonation. It just pushed it over that edge to make it more sublime. It contained a nice, off-white pinkish head that sat lovely on top of the dark, murky red pour. The added body and carbonation allowed the bourbon and dark fruit flavors to shine and reminded me more of a bourbon cocktail. Nicely done!

[Original Rating; 8/1/12 - 4.1 score]
A blend of barrel aged Cherry and Peach Freds on tap @ HotD... Poured deep amber, sort of blood red, with no head. Thin body and mouthfeel, and hardly any carbonation. Not totally negative but I think this could’ve benefited from a thicker mouthfeel. Nose had brown sugar and whiskey barrel tones. The cherries and peaches combined tasted of dessert-like spices similar to nutmeg and cinnamon. Cherries were overall dominant over the peaches though. Some vanilla bean which reminded me of cobbler. Bubblegum sweetness, vanilla, and cotton candy. Not cloyingly sweet though. Light and dark fruits, oak and other charred wood tones. Had a big boozy, whiskey finish. I think this would be a phenomenal Christmas time beer.