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

superspak

Michigan

4.73/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12 ounce bottle into snifter; Batch 77, bottled 8/13/2009. Pours cloudy almost opaque dark reddish brown color with a small light khaki head with poor retention, that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts. Minimal spotty lacing, and some nice alcohol legs as well. Aromas of huge raisin, prune, fig, molasses, toffee, caramel, chocolate, toast, dark bread, leather, tobacco, earth, wood, and herbal earthiness. Insanely complex and balanced aromas with big strength; Wow. Taste of big raisin, fig, molasses, toast, toffee, prune, leather, tobacco, chocolate, roasted malt, dark bread, light char, earth, wood, and herbal earthiness. No bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruits, molasses, toast, toffee, caramel, chocolate, dark bread, leather, tobacco, earth, wood, light char, and herbal earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible flavor balance with huge complexity of malty notes; with zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Light carbonation and very full bodied; with a very slick, creamy, and lightly syrupy mouthfeel that is incredible. Alcohol is insanely well hidden with almost zero warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a world class old ale! Huge complexity and balance of malty flavors; and dangerously smooth to sip on. This blew me away, wow.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 07:18:12 | More by superspak

PlinyBeMiney

California

3.25/5  rDev -23.9%

05-21-2013 23:17:50 | More by PlinyBeMiney

brian4beer

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-20-2013 00:48:52 | More by brian4beer

NJB145

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-20-2013 00:33:14 | More by NJB145

DJButters

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-20-2013 00:15:54 | More by DJButters

Gtreid

Florida

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-19-2013 23:42:59 | More by Gtreid

FondueVoodoo

British Columbia (Canada)

4.34/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to lazarus25 for bringing this up north.

Batch 87

A: Pours torched oak colour - Deep brown with tan-yellow highlights. Just a whisp of sandy head, that really there just to prove it's not a wine. The ale is murky and appears thick in the glass - full of sediment & rustic.

S: Full of alcohol esters with smooth vanilla & dark dried fruits, cherries, plums and raisins. Sweet chocolate with a solid presence of oiled leather and fresh wet wood. Overall sweetness of buckwheat honey shines through.

T: Molasses and smooth vanilla with nuts that give way to grains and finishes earthy and rustic. Alcohol vapours is noticeable on the tongue, but lacks any burn or fire breath.

M: Thick and chewy with a syrup feel on the palette. Offers some puckering dryness at the mid point and on the finish that support the flavours.

O: A sophisticated drink that might pair well with cigars and smoking jackets, in a formidable leather wing back chair with your hounds in front of a crackling fire recounting that day's pheasant hunt.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 04:01:57 | More by FondueVoodoo

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-18-2013 22:20:11 | More by Photekut

bbadger

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-18-2013 06:48:18 | More by bbadger

chossboss

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-17-2013 04:50:05 | More by chossboss

Pelican5

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-16-2013 07:25:14 | More by Pelican5

MontereyBay831

California

5/5  rDev +17.1%

05-16-2013 04:45:09 | More by MontereyBay831

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

4.49/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: dark, baked wood-meat color... interesting sort of chestnut or chocolaty brown hue... somewhat turbid and primitive.... some foam on the pour, but it took a nap

S: cocoa-dusted coffee cake... measure of toasted bread crumbs... mild phenolic mist coming through the cracks, floral-wood.... superb balance of the elements

T: like a smoky doppelbock - immediate comparison to a slightly silkier Celebrator, but with an almost cherrywood-smoked melanoidin-caramelized quality.... but clean... undeniable salivatory concentration of flavor, but floats wonderfully atop the smooth phantom-fruity alcohol

M: the core is concentrated on the top, soft fresh water carries it.... not as dense a malt foundation as it suggests.... still solid, hardly meek... surprised how clean the finish is.... it sits on the palate momentarily before quietly washing off....

O: I don't see how you can call this an "Old Ale" - it's an old style, I'm sure.... straddles a few styles.... excellent and more or less unique for what it is

Serving type: on-tap

05-15-2013 19:38:29 | More by Bouleboubier

meich75

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-15-2013 09:06:09 | More by meich75

OleDixie

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -6.3%

05-15-2013 01:57:01 | More by OleDixie

watsonmd

Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +11.2%

05-14-2013 04:07:38 | More by watsonmd

TheRuss9585

Vermont

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-14-2013 00:50:18 | More by TheRuss9585

flipdog0

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-13-2013 18:47:35 | More by flipdog0

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-13-2013 06:30:25 | More by Bonko_the_sane

FranzBC

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-13-2013 01:58:42 | More by FranzBC

yankeepride

New Jersey

3.84/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Pours a deep brown that has a ruby tint that comes out with a light behind it, with little foam or carbonation. Smells of an alcohol burn with deep, rich fruit notes like figs and currants. Rating to style, I can really see why people would love this beer. The flavors are strong and bold, and close out with just a slight bit of bitter on the back end, which all fades away into a smooth blend. For me personally, these aren't flavors I enjoy, so liquefying and fermenting them isn't going to change that.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 00:45:00 | More by yankeepride

AngusOg

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-12-2013 22:25:38 | More by AngusOg

ipas-for-life

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%

05-12-2013 15:56:16 | More by ipas-for-life

hopswap1

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-12-2013 03:14:04 | More by hopswap1

weaksauce

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

05-11-2013 18:41:04 | More by weaksauce