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

Brandywine

Washington

4.35/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2012 Vintage

Appearance: Hazy orange and red with a fingers worth of a chai tea latte head. Moderate alcohol legs with fine bubbled lacing around the rim.

Smell: Mango, pineapple, apples, honey, desert white wine, toffee.

Taste: Toffee, caramel, honey, sweet malt carries through the middle. End of the tongue finishes with some bitter hops. Tropical fruits rather than resinous flavors dominate from the hops. Sweet malt backbone really balances this brew. Mango, grapefruit, and sweet citrus.

Mouthfeel: On the full side of medium and slightly syrupy with moderate carbonation.

Overall: A very well executed balance between the bitterness of the hops and the sweetness of the malt with lots of tropical fruit, honey and toffee.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 01:05:40 | More by Brandywine

argock

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a pinot noir glass. Batch 85 on front of label (bottled on 12/5/11 per the HOTD vintage guide). Purchased at Olive Tree Marketplace (San Diego, CA) for $5.49.

A: Hazy burnished copper with prodigious 2-3 finger off-white head with decent retention and some scraps of lace.

S: The aroma is more malty than hoppy, although there are pretty big contributions from both. The maltiness is very sweet toffee with some vanilla, cocoa, and sweetbread. The hops component is orange and lemon citrus with plenty of resin and pine too. The spicy rye peek through also.

T: It is a very American barleywine type of character with sweet winning out over hoppiness by a little bit too wide of margin. The maltiness is marshmallow-ike with caramel, maple, and vanilla with big breadiness. The hoppiness provides a punch of bitterness with orange citrus and floral components fading into a resinous finish. It is a huge blast of flavor, just too cloyingly sweet for me. It would be a superb dessert beer.

M: The sweetness is a bit much after a while and it leaves a sticky feel to this full-bodied brew. The carbonation is also high overall.

O: This beer is many things -- toffee, citrus hops, vanilla, breadiness, resin. It is definitely one to share as a nice nightcap given the ABV and high level of sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 05:49:42 | More by argock

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a perfect pint. Batch 83.

3.5 A: I needed a few pours to get a full glass due to the massive head. Anyway, I eventually got to a well hazed orange brown color with a lot of small particulate floating about. Three fingers of frothy/foamy beige head. Retention is impressive given the ABV and a ton of lacing is left.

4.5 S: Quite a nice nose on this. Quite malty like most HOTD brews. Deep caramel, toffee, light fruits, spicy earthy rye, and some raisin and fig. Candi sugar for that extra push of sweetness. Hops are floral, citrusy, and herbal. Solid, robust aroma on this.

4.0 T: Taste is like the nose, but just isn't quite as impressive. That said, it's still damn good. Lots of caramel, generic light fruitiness, dates and raisins, spicy earthy rye. Again that trademark candi sugar residue. Mild bitterness, but much more hop flavor. Citrusy, then floral, then herbal, then citrusy again.

4.0 M: Heavier body. Good moderate carbonation despite needing several pours. Good creaminess and plenty smooth. Alcohol is hard to detect.

4.5 D: This might be my favorite HOTD brew. Very nice balance and super easy to drink. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 04:49:38 | More by DavoleBomb

IllNate

British Columbia (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy medium amber with good amount of off-white head. Good retention. Nose is wonderfully complex with a good balance of malt, esters, hop and a tinge of alcohol (well hidden). Fruity esters abound with a tropical fruit feel and definite spicy note. Malt is mostly indistinc (pale), but with a definite caramel note. Could be some spicy hop here as well and also some pineapple. Taste is fruity and spicy again, citrus hop, caramel and definite alcoholic notes. Mouthfeel is great except for the alcoholic aftertaste. Overall a good beer. Not sure exactly where this fits in the style guides, haven't had this much ester character in a beer in a while.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 03:49:38 | More by IllNate

Immortale25

Florida

4.03/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Great thanks to SatlyMalty for this one! Poured into a Dogfish signature snifter. No freshness date.

A- Pours a very murky dark amber color with a full inch of off-white head that bears great retention time before meandering down to a thick ring around the edge of the glass and surface foam with varied thickness. Thick ring of bubbly lacing. She's a beaut.

S- Herbal hop aroma reinforced by strong booze and a heavy cereal grain sweetness. Maple syrup, raisin and oak come to mind.

T- Strong flavors of earthy hops, alcohol and toasted, semi-sweet malt. Everything is extreme but balanced and drinkable with no single element sticking out more than the other except maybe the booze. The IBUs are certainly up there, I'm sure.

M- A bit stingy from the booze but also slightly creamy. Medium carbonation and a hefty body.

O- A very straightforward ASA that hits the spot pretty well. If I had another, I'd sit on it for a year or so to let the alcohol simmer down.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 23:31:47 | More by Immortale25

Brew33

Ohio

2.4/5  rDev -42%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A very generous "want" extra from Black13. Thanks Michael!

I popped the top on this and began to gently pour into my Founders tulip. Fred produced a glass full of sticky foam and around 1 inch of beer at the bottom. After letting it settle for 15 minutes I stuck my nose in the glass. Herbal hops, alcohol, and light belgian candi sugar dominate the nose. Really a muddled mess that the excessive amount of CO2 didn't help at all.

I don't know if it was my high expectations or a bad night or if I really just don't like Fred but this is not a good beer based on my one bottle sample. Lots of candi sugar. The most prominent flavor I got out of this beer. Candi sugar is pretty darn distinct and I've used it in home brews before in small doses. They seemed to go overboard. Earthiness from the yeast and/or rye malt is apparent. I think the candi sugar and highly attenuative yeast really dry this beer out. Overly carbonated but the mouthfeel is creamy and pleasant. Yeasty, earthy, bitter, dry, boozy. An odd beer.

Overall, I don't get it. I'm sure the ingredients are top notch but it's a freaking mess. Too much going on with 10 hops, candi sugar, rye malt, and booze. Weird beer but I'm certainly glad I was able to try it.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2012 12:38:10 | More by Brew33

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from Rutager, 12oz into a tulip. Batch 86.

Golden brown, voluminous cream colored head. Huge lacing and retention. Nose of citrus, malts, candy sugar. Light rye, spice and even some gentle herbal character. Taste has intense malt notes (caramel), some lighter rye, candi sugar, alcohol and bitter citrus hopping. Full feel, light syrupy quality and sticky sweet. Medium carbonation. Some sort of Anerican BW/strong ale hybrid, very nice stuff.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 00:09:00 | More by liamt07

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch 84

Appearance. Pours a lightly hazy, rich gold with a little amber and 1.5 fingers of thick white head that has decent retention and leaves some nice bands.

Smell. Nice light grains, sweet and fruity belgian yeast, a little lemon rind and caramel candy.

Taste. Nice sweet light grains and wheat, some nice bready yeast, a light amount of sweet fruits, both light and dark with a bit of honey and demerara sugar. High alcohol is fairly well hidden, very nice.

Mouthfeel. Medium-full body with medium carbonation. Just a little astringency and warmth.

Overall. Very nice beer. I hear "golden ale" every once in a while and it leaves a litlle confused because it's not defined on this site ...and everything I know about beer has been pretty much through here alone. Anyways, after trying a few "golden ales", this will define the style for me ...so far anyways. Extra .5 on the overall for making such a strong beer that went down a bit too quickly. Not sure why this (and a couple other HotD's) have sat in my cellar for close to a year. I'll be killing the rest off soon!

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 02:20:08 | More by Rutager

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a hazy amber in color with light amounts of visible carbonation and a moderate amount of small white yeast particles in suspension. The beer has a foamy three finger tall tan head that slowly reduces to a medium sized thick patch near the center of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate amounts of caramel malts with some lighter hints of dark fruit (raisin) sweetness and spicy yeast.

T: The complexity of the flavors of this beer really come out as it warms up. There are moderate amounts of malt sweetness including both caramel and dark fruits (raisin). Also, there are some notes of molasses and spicy yeast. Moderate amounts of lingering bitterness.

M: Full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and sticky with moderate amounts of alcohol warming and dryness in the finish.

O: Very enjoyable but this is a big beer and needs to be slowly sipped over a good chunk of time - the alcohol is mostly hidden which is impressive when the beer clocks in with 10% ABV.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 02:21:22 | More by dbrauneis

tlazaroff

Virginia

4.55/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On the nose I get big apples, big sweet apples. Its like what I would imagine a freshly baked apple pie would smell like if traditional spices (cinnamon, clove) weren't used in it's creation. Wonderfully inviting via the aroma.

This is a beautiful beer to behold on the eyes too, its a hazy honey-orange color with visible carbonation and a giant fluffy incredibly light tan head that just sticks to the sides of the glass, and doesn't go away at all! I love the aesthetics of this beer.

Sweet in the sense that this is a savory sweet desert in a glass. Full of peaches, pear, apple, and all those wonderful summer fruits that you just want to make a pie out of. I get a bready yeasty taste on the backend that brings it home. Creamy texture and a full body with medium-light carbonation (hard to believe due to the head on this thing) make this beer incredibly drinkable when combined with the taste. There is NO alcohol that I can taste in this, for a 10% ABV beer, this is a ninja!

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 16:53:07 | More by tlazaroff

BrownNut

Florida

4.7/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Batch 86 (bottled 3-22-12), drunk 6 months later, cool, tulip

A - 4.25 - Cloudy apple cider color, but then again I didn't think to hold back the yeast from the initial pour. Modest off white creamy head.

S - 4.5 - So pungent on initial pour, an almost winey puff of aroma spread around. Then it went straight malt, bringing to mind various breakfast cereals. Then it transmuted into a near-sherry smell. Yeah, definitely sherry... except that kind of borders on a yeast smell. So much happening!

T - 4.75 - Not surprisingly it tastes just like it smells, a cross between sherry and malty cereals, like the perfect cross between the two. There's a mild honey element, and though there's some sweetness, it's more the flavor or "throat fumes" of a special honey than necessarily the sweetness. There's almost an apple element going on, both the sweet nectar of the ripest apple and a somewhat bitter oxidized apple flesh taste. No real hop presence unless that oxidized apple bitterness is the hops. So refined and mature and elegant. Classy is the word I'm looking for. And yet the flavor is lighter and more subdued than you'd expect for something this concentratedly thick. A nice hot fume wafts up the throat for a good while after each swallow. There's a bit of that oxidized apple flesh bitterness left on the tongue for a bit.

M - 5.0 - Heavy body, the first I can genuinely categorize that way. So silkenly smooth, particularly on the lips, that it's sexy. That's easily the best mouthfeel I've ever experienced. The mouth is left coated. The few other 5's I've given out in this category should now realistically be 4.75s.

O - 4.75 - Holy cow. I had heard HotD was one of the best breweries around, but I'm cynical about hype anymore. But in this case it happens to be true. This is a sophisticated and impressively classy brew. The craftsmanship here is just impressive. I can't find a better word. Instant high respect and esteem for the brewers. Halfway through the glass I was already sad that I only had half a glass left. And only a 12oz! Accursed single-bottle limit! I agree with others who say to drink this cool and to savor it slowly in sips over an unhurried time. Treat it more like a digestif. I may need to rethink my reluctance to award scores of 5 after this. I keep wanting to leave room at the top of my scores for the very best beers I haven't tried yet, and I may have found one of them here. A tour de force.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2012 03:11:11 | More by BrownNut

rodlavers

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 77 poured into a snifter.

1-2 finger white head, thins out relatively quickly. Decent lacing on the glass. Burnt dark hazy orange coloring, with some gold coming through as it's held to the light. Looks like it might be really carbonated. Smell is sweet malt and caramel, maybe some floral hops; smells really good. Taste is similar, with serious bread texture included. It is super sweet. Mouthfeel is smooth, despite the appearance of high carbonation, with minimal bite. Overall I Fred is a good beer. It might be a little too sweet for some, and I could probably only have one every once in a while, but I enjoyed it. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 22:54:57 | More by rodlavers

cfrances33

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle thanks to WhereTheWildBeersGo, served in a snifter.

Pour: Completely hazy orange tan with two fingers fluffy, off white head that sticks around and leaves really nice lacing.

Smell: Belgian candy, caramel, bready yeast. Some hoppiness appears in there as well with a floral and citrusy finish.

Taste: Huge belgian candy and caramel. Nice chewy breadyness. Hops add some grapefruit and grass that oversee the whole affair. Really hard to tell where one flavor really sits on the palate, which is awesome for the taste in total, and complexity, but it really confusing and takes away from the experience at the same time for me.

Mouthfeel: Really, really sticky. No booze. Goes down easy despite the sticky body.

Overall: First HotD offering and really tasty. Makes me even more excited to try Adam.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 03:03:01 | More by cfrances33

azdback

Arizona

4/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle, Batch 83, poured into a small snifter. Super hyper carbonation on pour that lead to a massive, all glass consuming head. I stopped and let the head relax then started again but much more gentle. Color is on the copper side with some yellow highlights. Fairly clear and the head is just a hint off of bright white color and sea foam in appearance. Lace is off the hook sticky and great looking.

Smell is much like a barleywine, sweet caramel, some tart like a green apple. Some light virgin wood and just a hint of alcohol.

Taste is much like the nose. There is a tart bite right off the bat that does taste much like a green apple. Then the taste mellows into the sweet malts that I smelled. Not so much caramel or even caramelized sugar but sweet none the less. Not a hint of alcohol in this. Quite nice.

Mouth is medium, body if full, carbonation is medium and crisp (not as the pour first led on) and the finish is long and on the dry side.

Overall I was pleased with this one, but not overly impressed. The initial pour really caught me off guard and once I dealt with that and re-poured this it became quite nice. Get it if you can but don't trade the world for it.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 04:44:07 | More by azdback

Etan

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Batch 83. 12oz into a snifter.

A: Orange-gold with a big white head.

S: Cardamom and coriander, pale malt, citric hops, slight mint.

T: Aggressive pale malt, heavy spices, a bit of booze, floral notes, sugary cake.

M: Frothy, over-carbonated.

O: This tasted good, like a slightly hoppy BSPA, but Bourbon Fred is much better (and much different).

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 06:10:55 | More by Etan

RBassSFHOPit2ME

California

4/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Everything about this beer is good. Batch 83

A - Dark orange, burnt caramel color, with a 4 finger head upon a non-aggressive pour that sticks around for DAYZ. Active in the 13oz Tulip and lacing solid.

S - Rich Caramel you'd get from a Old Ale, wood, orangy-spicy hops, and candied sugar. Mild damp cave smell and a mild smokiness that's almost clove- like.

T - All the same as the nose.

M - Alcohol hidden well, and Full bodied, yet crisp.

O - Good beer. Nothing mind-blowing. Would be interesting what age would do to this beer. If it would smooth it out, it would FOR SURE get better over time. If it would enhance that mild "damp cave" flavor I mentioned, I'd say it's for the worse.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 00:32:00 | More by RBassSFHOPit2ME

zeff80

Missouri

4.4/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a dark bronze color with a one-finger, off-white head of foam. It left thin rings of lace on the glass.

S - It smelled malty, boozy and of some black licorice. Some dark dried fruit aromas, too.

T - Great taste! Dried dark fruits - plum, currants and fig. Some spicy bitterness, boozy caramel malt and toffee. Nice black licorice finish.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium to full bodied ale with a dry finish.

O - Awesome beer. I wish it was easier to get Hair of the Dog products in Missouri.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 01:36:23 | More by zeff80

bradcochran1234

Georgia

4.65/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is hands down one of the best beers I have ever had.
Imagine yourself sitting on your fireplace mid day in November, when all of a sudden your wife comes in the house and hands you Hair of the Dog Fred. When you open the bottle it reeks of huge pine tree sap and wants to penetrate your mouth.
All of a sudden it just jumps right out of the glass and discriminates against you bad taste buds and just hangs out with the cool ones.
This beer is that cool freakin' beer you just let hang out for a while and sip on when you want some amazing tasting shit.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 03:47:25 | More by bradcochran1234

duceswild

Maryland

4.33/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle - Batch #78, bottle on 12/10/2009 - Poured into a Pint Glass

Pours a golden orange with about a 1.5 fingers worth of head, does not leave much lacing in the glass. Smell is of candied sugar and that is about it. Taste is very sweet, but in a good way almost a little to much, but not over doing it. Very smooth taste with also some spices on the aftertaste. Mouthful is solid, light carbonation.

Overall this is a solid beer and I am going to see out a more recent batch to compare this one to.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 03:30:04 | More by duceswild

IvoryFoxhole

Virginia

4.13/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle - Batch 83 slooow pour into pint tulip glass

A: This is the 3rd time I tried this, so I finally managed a pour without overflowing the glass. It absolutely explodes out of the bottle. Be extremely cautious and make sure the sediment stays in the bottle. The head is insane; never seen anything like it. It persists for a long time and leaves gobs of lacing. Beer is a cloudy amber.

S: Typical of an old-world golden ale, but better, if that makes any sense. Sweet malts and the Belgian candy sugar they mention on the bottle. Some hops, a little bit of the piney citrus you smell in IPAs. Really good.

T: Quite sweet, very complex. You pick up more of the impressive ABV (10%!) as it warms, but it never gets overbearing. Well-balanced and a lot going on. You pick up the rye they mention on the bottle.

M: Full-bodied to heavy, definitely fits the taste and smell. Not too much heat from the alcohol.

This is a great beer. If you can get one, do try it. I'm aging another one, so we'll see what happens in a year. Just watch the pour!

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 17:18:29 | More by IvoryFoxhole

pschul4

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle #2 from the box Libbey sent me, Thanks man!

A- Pours a light brown/gold color and EXPLODES with 4 inches of head after pouring only a third of the bottle. Luckily Libbey alerted me to this possibility and I didn't have a mess on my hands

S- Lots of sweet malts or maybe thats the belgian candy the label talks aboout. Big sweetness at any rate with some hops lurking (lol Libbey) in the background

T- Whoa... Delicious hops cut through the sweetness you get from the nose perfectly and deliver such an awesome beer experience. You'd have to taste it to believe it

M- Nice and creamy without being heavy. Really pulls everything together nicely

O- What can I say? This is a phenominal beer that I would be happy to receive at any time from anyone

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 03:49:33 | More by pschul4

WillCarrera

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle, batch number 84, poured into a tulip glass.

A- Pours a slightly hazy golden color, topped with three fingers of billowy off-white head, good retention, leaves thick sheets of lacing.

S- Sweet fruit and candy aroma layered on top of a caramel and brown sugar sweetness. Also some citric, piney hops and some interesting notes of spice and yeast.

T- Bitter, citric and pine hops blend with sweet candi sugar, brown sugar and caramel. Bready, yeasty malt flavor as well as some rye spice and lightly phenolic booziness.

M- Full-bodied, moderate to low carbonation, slick feel. Booze is pretty well-hidden for 10%.

O- A very nice, complex beer, nice blend of Belgian influences and big American hop flavor.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 09:58:30 | More by WillCarrera

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.45/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Review from 10/2010 notes. Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Pours a dark orange amber. Thick off white head and mega lacing, more like the whole cloth! Sweet malt and hop aroma. Sweet and hoppy. Caramel malt, some dark malt, complicated hoppy flavors, citrus and very sweet. The sweetness almost too much, but fits in fine with the other flavors. Nice medium body. Very unusual combination of flavors, but it works. An obvious candidate for some interesting aging. Batch 80.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 20:18:35 | More by LiquidAmber

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

4.1/5  rDev -1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Cheers to Goblinmunkey7 for giving me a bottle. I don't remember where, when, or why I received this, but I'm happy I found it hiding in my closet.

Consumed 7/13/12

Note: Batch 85

Appearance: Poured gently, yet Fred formed a gigantic, unrelentingly epic head - it's a solid wall of foam - creamy, fluffy, dense - kind of looks like cake frosting from a distance - you could eat this with a spoon - the beer is impressively clear - amber, with some orange and burnt caramel - the head lasts forever and leaves blobs of lacing everywhere

Smell: Reminiscent of a barleywine - cooked malts, cooked grains, toffee, and caramel - lots of cooked, malty sweetness, but not sugary - hoppy, with some floral citrus - some spice, some light and dark fruits - some booze to round things out - vanilla extract, and a touch of rye - very complex

Taste: Rich and flavorful - cooked malts, caramelized malts, chewy grains, toffee, caramel, candi sugar - spicy, with some rye, maybe some wood - plenty of booze, gets a little harsh - malts are very complex - spicy light and dark fruits - nicely hoppy as well, with some floral and pithy citrus, and wet pine - somewhat bitter

Mouthfeel: Heavy, even with the impressive amount of carbonation - very smooth, sticky, with some alcohol heat

Overall: Did I mention complex?

This is ridiculous. It's similar to an American Barleywine, but it's definitely not. There's so much going on with the malts and the hops. This is rich, and pretty much the definition of a sipper. This is the only beer I'll be drinking tonight. Honestly, I think it may be a good idea to split a 12oz bottle with a friend. A whole bottle gets too sweet and boozy toward the end.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 05:40:49 | More by angrybabboon

siege06nd

Virginia

4.08/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

A. Pours a golden orange color with some faint haze. And that's about all I can say good about it. Absolutely flat, no hint of a head. No lacing to speak of. I picked up this bottle back in January and have no idea how old it is as I don't see a date. But it is absolutely flat.

S. Cherry, raisin, plum, brown sugar, bread crust, caramel. A lot of belgian influence here. Mild hops hint at an American barleywine. Great nose here.

T. Follows the nose with a heavy dose of malt, bread crust, ripe dark fruit, mild pine resin, and subtle alcohol burn. Drinks very much like a quad, though much sweeter. Finish is all residual sugar and some bready malts. Excellent.

M. The lack of carb hurts it a lot, but lighter carb would suit the style, so it doesn't completely wipe it out. Otherwise, it is a medium to full bodied, sticky, cloying strong ale.

O. Not sure if I got a bad bottle, but I have had carb issues with HotD before, makes me wonder how their quality control is. Regardless, the taste and aroma are knockout, as evidenced by the good overall score I gave this despite the carb problems. With a better mouthfeel, this could be a top notch strong ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2012 14:40:17 | More by siege06nd