Bourbon Fred From The Wood - Hair of the Dog Brewing Company / Brewery and Tasting Room

Phelps

Arizona

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2011 vintage. This is Fred aged 18 months in bourbon barrels. Poured from a bottle sent by wowcoolman into a snifter.

The bottle opened without a sound, which isn’t a good sign given Hair of the Dog’s tendency to release flat bottles. In the glass, the beer is a murky, muddy orange-maroon. There are hardly any bubbles; just a very thin tan ring.

I was interested to see how the major Belgian candy sweetness of Fred would meld with the barrels, and the answer is: in a weird way. Maple sugar, bright vinous oak and a touch of cedar blend with whiskey, toffee and floral hops. There’s a tiny bit of balsamic tang as well.

Huge, intensely sweet flavor. Maple, brown sugar and bourbon; toffee, almond, buttery oak; old oranges, dark cherries, milk chocolate and alcohol. Dry, minty hops don’t do much to temper the sugars, but there’s a touch of bitterness on the sides of the tongue. The finish is just a little sweet, packed with orange slices. The flavors meld even better as it warms — it eventually fuses to a cherry/chocolate/orange/bourbon treat that’s sweet, rich and pretty damn delicious.

I was right about the carbonation level — the brew is nearly flat, though there is a very faint tingle that could be bubbles, could be alcohol burn. The body, filled with sugars, is a viscous medium that sits in the mouth like good wine. Alcohol burns through the nose, warms the throat and numbs the tongue, but I could care less about it. The sweet flavor is a great distraction.

A very tasty beer, this Bourbon Fred. Good balance of the barrels and the barleywine. It’s a little sweet, but that’s just fine with me. A little more carbonation would make this one epic.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 05:21:05 | More by Phelps

bbadger

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

05-20-2013 18:49:56 | More by bbadger

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

05-19-2013 00:45:34 | More by Photekut

Hugonaut13

Illinois

4.06/5  rDev 0%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2012 bottle poured into snifter. Big thanks to Standardcherry for this bottle.

A - Pours a deep, cloudy caramel brown with some dark brown yeast floaties in it. Plenty of carbonation in this bottle thankfully. A fingers worth of white foam at the top that is extremely slow to recede. Not a very attractive beer.

S - bourbon, oak, vanilla, and caramel all mixed together and quite strong. It's obvious that this beer took on A LOT of barrel during it's time. This is not a bad thing, smells tasty!

T - Is about what you would expect after the smell. Starts off with oaky brown sugar/vanilla combination. When it was cold, there was some bitterness in the mid that was close to off-putting, but that left as it warmed. It was replaced by lots of sweet malts and dark fruits. Very good. Leaves with a very apparent sweet bourbon taste. Pretty good stuff once it warmed up.

M - Thick and rich is the best way to describe this. The alcohol is also quite present, not that I mind that. This is a definite sipper. Infact, I'd suggest having a glass of water along with it. A bit of a chore to drink.

O - This is one of the most bourbon barrel forward beers I've ever had. The base Fred is completely lost and was taken over by the barrel. Thankfully, I enjoy the strong barrel presence. This is a beer to pour when you only plan on having 1 and have time to enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 23:35:27 | More by Hugonaut13

ajzy

Wisconsin

4.75/5  rDev +17%

05-11-2013 14:35:41 | More by ajzy

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -13.8%

04-30-2013 00:53:21 | More by mikeincharleston

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.5%

04-27-2013 23:40:57 | More by Kegatron

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%

04-23-2013 04:46:20 | More by Kelp

blackie

Virginia

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

draft at the brewpub

a: draft served in a super cool branded tulip at the brewery, medium amber in color with a cloudy haze, creamy coating head with good retention

s: loaded down with sugary complexity - raisin, honey, brown sugar, lovely bourbon pulls in vanilla and coconut, caramel, sweet alcohol

m: thick and syrupy, sweet fullness, smooth moderate carbonation

t: heavy caramel and dark fruits of raisin and fig, brown sugar, strong bourbon with vanilla and raw oak, big warming alcohol, rich and sweet

o: this one doesn’t hold back on the sweetness and barrel, and that’s something I dig, loved it

4/45/4/4/4

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2013 03:31:23 | More by blackie

thegerm87

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-20-2013 03:46:13 | More by thegerm87

ijaap

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-16-2013 03:13:42 | More by ijaap

Paramecium

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-03-2013 04:51:39 | More by Paramecium

Gfunk720

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to whiskey for this bottle. 12oz'er out of my Lawson's tulip.

A- Pours almost like a apple cider. A murky brownish color, forms with a few bubbles on top. I could tell from the pour that this was flat as could be.

S- Smells of caramel, dark fruit, and toffee. It is very sweet, with hints of bourbon and vanilla as well. I get a little bit of heat, and some oak soury notes.

T- It is a sweet malty bomb up front, almost too sweet. In sweeps some vanilla, bourbon, and plum notes. There is a nice lingering oaky aftertaste with hints of rye and sherry.

M- Flat, flat, flat. This beer would have been better with just a bit of carbonation. The body is quite nice. The lack of carbonation though does make it seem a bit syrupy.

O- Overall, it's hard to hate any of the oak aged stuff from HOTD. However, this one was a bit off the mark. While I knew it wasn't going to be carbonated, it was just too sweet and syrupy. I think the carbonation would have helped a bit, but not saved it completely.

-GFunk

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 23:17:50 | More by Gfunk720

beerpirates

Belgium

4.23/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12oz bottle poured into my CBS snifter , 2012 vintage

Pours a murky, orange-amber colored body with a 3 finger white head that stays a long time and leaves sole nice lacing.
Aroma is richer toffees with a good amount of bourbon and vanilla-oak. A few dark fruit notes, caramel, and buttered almonds.
Flavor is similar. Richer toffees and caramels with a bit more of a sherry-like, tropical fruitiness. A few raisin dark fruits, a nice bourbon and oaky vanilla, a light woody spice, and a touch of buttered almonds towards the end.
Finishes somewhat dry with a bit of a woody spice, toffees, bourbon, vanilla, and a light fruity note.
Nice aftertaste following a somewhat chewy, medium body and a good amount of carbonation.
Overall, a pretty solid barrel aged beer . Lots of barrel character, but plenty of toffees and fruits to balance.
Very good !!

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 19:44:49 | More by beerpirates

Adamostella

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

03-15-2013 20:49:08 | More by Adamostella

gratefulbeerhead

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

03-11-2013 21:10:26 | More by gratefulbeerhead

MasterSki

Illinois

4.06/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Another one thanks to ChrisPro. Served in a snifter. Not sure what vintage this was.

A - A few stray bubbles, but otherwise still. Transparent dark golden body.

S - Loads of bourbon and oak, both of an earthy and spicy character. Fred is long gone - he's been overwhelmed by Mssrs Woodford, Blanton, et al.

T - The taste has a touch more sweet caramel malt to it in the periphery, but it's still quite heavy on the vanilla, bourbon, and oak. A slightly tangy finish, from both bourbon and rye.

M - Smooth, medium-full body. Creamy and lightly dry in the finish. No carbonation, and some definite bourbon heat in the finish.

D - A bit of spritz would help make this more drinkable. If you like drinking bourbon, then you'll dig this, but it's somewhat heavy-handed. Age will blunt the alcohol a bit, but I don't anticipate this carbonating any time soon. I like spirits, so this was nice in small doses.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 05:59:25 | More by MasterSki

oline73

Maryland

4/5  rDev -1.5%

03-01-2013 01:04:57 | More by oline73

johnnyboy76

Oregon

4/5  rDev -1.5%

02-26-2013 17:34:37 | More by johnnyboy76

MarkIntihar

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +17%

02-19-2013 19:49:56 | More by MarkIntihar

Jeffo

Netherlands

3.05/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Absolutely love regular Fred and scored it a 4,55 here, so I had high hopes for the bourbon barrel version. Cheers to bsuedekum and Boozcamel for bottles of this stuff.

From a bottle into a snifter
Vintage: 2011
Drunk right after a regular Fred batch 80

APPEARANCE: Pours disappointingly flat. A hard pour riles up some jiuce bubbles, but that's it. Burnt orange in color with no carbonation. A bit darker than the regular Fred. Looks flat the whole way and leaves no lacing.

SMELL: Lots of bourbon, oak, vanilla and coconut on the nose. Some caramel and toffee there as well, but most of what made the base Fred so nice is outplayed here. Quite bourbon heavy and perhaps a touch of sulpher on the nose. Nice, but not as well crafted as I'd hoped.

TASTE: Liquor like, with lots of bourbon, oak and candy sweetness up front. Sugary sweet finish with brown sugars, caramel, and more bourbon barrel flavors, like vanilla and coconut linger in the bold and alcoholic aftertaste. Oaky wood flavors are there as well.

PALATE: Flat and liquor like in the feel. Syrupy and slick going down, finishing rather sticky on the palate. Too bad, as some carbonation would have brought this to life.

OVERALL: Disappointing really. The regular Fred is such a fantastic beer, and the barrel aging here didn't really help it out. Besides the fact that this bottle was completely flat, the bourbon barrel aging is too dominant, basically whiping the base beer off the planet. More nuanced barrel aging would allow the beauty that is Fred play a roll in the flavor profile a little more, and some carbonation would help the whole experience further. Glad to have tried this, and I'll wait and hope future batches turn out better.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 12:00:06 | More by Jeffo

Gonzoillini

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

02-15-2013 03:29:41 | More by Gonzoillini

Azrael

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

02-09-2013 05:57:54 | More by Azrael

yojimbo1

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +17%

02-06-2013 04:39:56 | More by yojimbo1

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.19/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to Chris and Adam for this bottle!
2012 Vintage poured in to tulip.

A -Murky/swampy brown/orange in color with a small amount of cream coloured head.

S - Bourbon, vanilla and oak dominate the nose with a slight bready/candy sweetness in the background. The base beer is completely drowned out by the barrel aging, but this is still an excellent nose.

T - The barrel qualities are dominant, as the nose suggested. Bourbon, toasted oak and vanilla flavours are noticeable up front and throughout. Traces of the base beer show up in the finish with some floral notes and a sweet candy-like flavour.

M - Medium body with some chew. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 03:21:38 | More by TheSevenDuffs