Fred - Hair of the Dog Brewing Company / Brewery and Tasting Room

RandomBattle

New York

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From the bottle in a SA perfect pint, because I have no HotD glassware...

Appearance - Rather than read the bottle I sloppily pour this bad boy into my pint generating a nice 9 finger head, great. Once the foam subdued the beer is a beautiful, hazy golden yellow, great carbonation, and a wonderful pillowy white head on top with some soapy lacing. Wonderful.

Smell- aromas of sweet malt and faint honey, with some hops in the background, nothing too crazy.

Taste - a sweet honey, treacle flavor hits the tongue in conjunction with sweet malts, floral hops come in at the end with some faint bitterness, this is a tasty beer.

Mouthfeel - nice carbonation and a smooth body. Tiniest bite of alcohol in the finish but hardly noticeable.

Overall - I had no idea this was a barleywine until looking at the info on BA, I figured it was an ASA. Regardless it is a delightful brew, almost refreshing given the ABV. Amongst my favorites from HotD.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 23:51:03 | More by RandomBattle

jera1350

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-20-2013 01:06:48 | More by jera1350

mattsander

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Poured almost dead flat, hazy copper in color. Not especially good looking but it obviously wasn't treated well on its trip to me.

S: Rich grainy malts, sweet & spicy, red licorice, apricot and plum, peach cobbler, fruit salad. Perfumy. Very nice, I could smell this all day.

T: Deep and decadent malt character, caramelized fruits, nice English/Scottish yeast esters. Juicy, sweet and satisfying. Very easy to drink.

M: Full bodied, juicy and sweet. Not overy sticky or syrupy, great balance.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2013 04:18:36 | More by mattsander

Jamison85

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-18-2013 01:53:26 | More by Jamison85

bcm75

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25

Overly loud hiss of carbonation when bottled was opened. After an extremely careful pour I was still left with a good solid 5 fingers of head in my tulip. It was an extremely thick head that didn't even begin to dissapate for 20 minutes. This beer is way, way over-carbonated. Flavors and aroma are nice but this issue ruins it.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2013 01:30:27 | More by bcm75

captainbearcat

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +15%

06-16-2013 23:27:49 | More by captainbearcat

ucsbmullet

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-16-2013 04:36:12 | More by ucsbmullet

Hoptometrist

Oregon

2.08/5  rDev -49.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Served from the bottle (Batch 88) into a globed glass

A- Poured a dark hazy orange color with zero carbonation, no head, nothing.

S- Big dark fruits (figs, dates), rye, honey, and tons of sweetness, cardboard, slight wet dog aroma. Not a great aroma

T- Pretty muddled, lots of sweetness, honey, graininess, rye, and marmalade. Some cardboard notes.

M- Very low carbonation, syrupy, fuller bodied, big alcohol warming. Drinks pretty flat overall.

O- I was excited to try a beer from Hair of the Dog but had heard bad things about carbonation issues and have avoided buying their bottles for that reason. This is my first bottle from them and it might be my last. Too much money to spend on unreliable quality issues. Their beers sounds really interesting, maybe I will catch some of their beers on draft sometime. Could not drink more than a couple of ounces of this.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 04:33:17 | More by Hoptometrist

g_jenkins

California

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-14-2013 06:25:48 | More by g_jenkins

Paccamacca

California

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

06-12-2013 01:03:12 | More by Paccamacca

ajzy

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-10-2013 22:43:34 | More by ajzy

TheRuss9585

Vermont

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-10-2013 17:29:58 | More by TheRuss9585

kscaldef

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -15.3%

06-10-2013 10:47:43 | More by kscaldef

jarrgal

North Dakota

3.5/5  rDev -15.3%

06-10-2013 03:10:28 | More by jarrgal

Jas45678

Michigan

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-10-2013 01:49:51 | More by Jas45678

praxis16

Oregon

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-08-2013 09:19:06 | More by praxis16

pisano

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-07-2013 19:35:02 | More by pisano

GilGarp

Colorado

4.48/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Batch #86. Twelve ounce bottle served chilled into a goblet glass.

Fred is a medium amber color, darker than expected, though part of that could be down to a hazy appearance. The head is thick and has great retention. The beer looks active in the glass with a look similar to fermenting beer in a carboy. As it starts to settle, a perfect sheet of lace is left behind.

Aroma is sweet and hoppy like a barleywine or old ale. There seems to be some tropical fruit, maybe pineapple, which helps to lend a freshness to the beer.

Flavor is strong and assertive with a huge malt body and big complex hop profile. It has sweetness from the malts up front with caramel and toffee but little or no roast. The hops give a lot of bitterness but also some interesting flavors. Tropical fruit, citrus, and pine all come through. It finishes fairly dry with a lingering alcohol. It's not hot but I imagine it might have been close when it was fresh.

Mouthfeel is medium plus in body and nicely bottle conditioned.

Overall another exceptional Hair of the Dog ale. Not quite as good as Adam but still a very special beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 23:05:08 | More by GilGarp

riemster

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-05-2013 03:55:38 | More by riemster

DrunkinYogi

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +9%

06-04-2013 04:24:02 | More by DrunkinYogi

ubenumber2

Arkansas

4.1/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from bottling into a tulip type glass , very hazy beer yellowish with an orange hue to it , huge head that goes down to a nice 1 finger head after a bit , spotty lacing

The smell is sweet and a little spicy with a hint of plums , raisins and brown sugar

The mouth is heavy with lots of carbonation to it

The taste of this beer just doesn't match up to the smell of it , its not bad by any means. Starts off spicy and sweet but ends off with a punch of alcohol at the end that just doesn't fit in with the rest of it

Overall it's a good beer with a great smell just a little off balanced in the flavor for me. The over powering alchohol at the end. I would like to get some and let it age for about a year and see how it levels out

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2013 00:53:46 | More by ubenumber2

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.48/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle from batch 75, poured into a Fantôme tulip.

A: Clear deep copper body under an inch of dense tan foam. Great retention, solid lace. Amazing - particularly for a vintage beer this strong. Just stunning, really.

S: Wow. Caramel, dark fruit, spice, oatmeal cookie, and some floral (hoppy?) notes. Again, wow.

T: Sweet caramel and toffee up front, followed by more caramel and finally some spicy, bitter, boozy intensity on the finish. Delicious.

M: Creamy, full-bodied, and almost prickly with the heat and bitterness. Quite a mouthful, and enjoyable in its intensity.

O: What a beer! This is not for the faint of heart, as even with a few years on it Fred packed a serious punch in every way. I particularly loved the complexity of sugars in the aroma. I just wish I'd bought more than this one bottle!

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2013 14:02:23 | More by woosterbill

Geno206

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +9%

05-31-2013 05:14:20 | More by Geno206

JamLand

Texas

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-30-2013 04:39:10 | More by JamLand

fox227

California

3.25/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 1 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5

For awareness purposes, I want to report what I've read from others in that this batch, 89, and others, have not been carbed, leaving a totally flat beer that gives the impression of a beer that has been poured more than two hours before. This isn't small head, this is zero foam. What happened? This seemed like a good beer, with flavors of candied sugar, toffee and caramel, but no life for these elements to become enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 15:35:46 | More by fox227